“I also knew I wasn’t going to be in college forever and that I’d have to learn how to manage my finances.” “Budgeting was important for me because I wanted to become more independent and not rely on constantly asking my parents for money,” he says. Travis Sevilla, who graduated from San Diego State University in 2016, found that learning how to budget in college helped him stay on top of his finances as a student. Learning budgeting basics is the key to avoid running out of money before the end of the term and having to subsist on ramen noodles. That’s a recipe for accidentally overspending. Tuition is expensive, the cost of textbooks can add up and the one thing that’s not a mystery about the mystery meat in a residence dining hall is that it costs a pretty penny.Ī packed schedule with schoolwork, extracurricular activities and a part-time job (oh, and a social life) can mean little time to track every dollar that leaves your wallet.
At the end of the year, just shoot us another email if you’re still cranking away on your schoolwork, and we’ll send you a new license key that’s good for the entire next year.College is supposed to be the time of your life, but it can also be a time of financial stress.We’ll send you a special license key, good until the end of the academic year (August 31st).
Other budgeting software still makes money feel like an “abstract” concept. (Of course, the creators are hoping it makes them rely on the product and pay for it in the future–but hey, there’s no such thing as a free lunch).
I like the idea of giving college students this product for free because it will force them to think about cash in real terms. Using YNAB has caused me to be more conservative towards the beginning of the month and more splurgy towards the end of the month, which is okay with me. I can only spend that once I have it in my hands. I also am not allowed to guess which people are actually going to pay me this month. I’m not planning out all the money I’m getting. So if I get paid on the 1st of the month and the 16th of the month, I can only allocate that first pay check on day 1. What I like about the You Need a Budget service is that it only lets you allocate income that you have actually received.
This can cause a month to go from feast to famine by day 25. Mint also incentives you to spend as if your budgets are correct during the beginning of the month, then adjust towards the end. So my guesses are usually wildly off in different directions. I still use it to check my purchases and make sure my credit cards aren’t being used without my knowledge.īut Mint also forces you to guess what your income will be that month, and guess how you’ll use that money.įor me, I get freelance income, which comes in spurts. While the responsibility ultimately goes on the student, it’s difficult being handed that level of freedom without having some good habits built up already. Even using ice cream was technically doing this). (Front loading Amazon gift cards so you can hit minimum spend. And we, as a crazy-frequent-flyer-group, sometimes encourage spending money before you have it.
Which resulted in some of my friends having to get jobs, fast, freshman year.Ĭredit cards generally teach you to spend money before you even have it. They literally gave out credit cards more than they gave out candy. College was where I discovered cash-back cards and the wonderful world of “getting something for nothing”.