Let me preface this post by saying that anything I may know about budgeting, I have learned by trial and error. By no means am I the poster child for money management, but I am trying to make it work, just like most of you!
If you are in college, or have graduated from college, you understand what it's like to be on a tight budget. Gone are the days of laundry being free or your fridge magically being restocked. You need some new socks for the snow storm tomorrow? Catch a bus to the store and pick them up for yourself. But for all the trials that come with this new responsibility, the financial freedom it allows can be so liberating.
Of course, it is only liberating if you keep the money in your account. Piggy banks are great and all (did you see mine on Instagram?) but they sure don't hold as much money as the bank does. So what do I do to keep some coin in the bank?
Recently I saw that Carly from The College Prepster had an app called Mint.com on her iPhone so I decided to check it out, and guess what? It ROCKS!
Seriously, if you don't already have this app, get it now. The whole purpose of it is to help you budget your expenses. Not only can you create an overall budget for the month, but you can also make one by category. So you can allot $100 for gas each month and another amount for groceries, etc. That way, when you are buying things, you know exactly how much you spent on particular categories to adjust your budget accordingly.
I am fortunate enough to be working 2 jobs and have an internship this summer so I will have a nice chunk of change to survive on this school year. However, I am trying to learn the lesson of "just because it's there, doesn't mean it needs to be spent." In fact, while I was (kinda still am) debating a
How do you manage your money best?
xoxo,
SSP
If you are in college, or have graduated from college, you understand what it's like to be on a tight budget. Gone are the days of laundry being free or your fridge magically being restocked. You need some new socks for the snow storm tomorrow? Catch a bus to the store and pick them up for yourself. But for all the trials that come with this new responsibility, the financial freedom it allows can be so liberating.
Of course, it is only liberating if you keep the money in your account. Piggy banks are great and all (did you see mine on Instagram?) but they sure don't hold as much money as the bank does. So what do I do to keep some coin in the bank?
Seriously, if you don't already have this app, get it now. The whole purpose of it is to help you budget your expenses. Not only can you create an overall budget for the month, but you can also make one by category. So you can allot $100 for gas each month and another amount for groceries, etc. That way, when you are buying things, you know exactly how much you spent on particular categories to adjust your budget accordingly.
I am fortunate enough to be working 2 jobs and have an internship this summer so I will have a nice chunk of change to survive on this school year. However, I am trying to learn the lesson of "just because it's there, doesn't mean it needs to be spent." In fact, while I was (kinda still am) debating a
no...this is not my account info (I wish it was!)
My biggest financial problem has always been the budget. I don't buy hugely expensive things, but I rarely leave Target spending less than $70. Now, if I have a $100 Target trip (who doesn't love a good Target trip), I can plan accordingly for a few weeks to make up for the money I lost. Sure, it isn't a perfect system, but it's infinitely better than the (lack of) one I have going. How do you manage your money best?
xoxo,
SSP
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