Budgeting after collegeis the key to financial success. Follow our lead and you will be just fine. Promise.

IN YOUR TWENTIES

BUT THERE ISBROKE

HOPE

&

Life after college is a lot different. Now that your stu-

dent loans are about to kick in, on top of the rest of

the bills you pay, you have to create a strict budget

and stick to it. You do not want to default on a stu-

dent loan because it can have severe consequences

that can damage your credit report. Damage that

will not go away for 7 years! It is also important to

not be late with your payments. If you pay on time

and consistently, your lender may offer you some

great benefits like a lower interest rate. So it’s impor-

tant to set your priority towards paying off the stu-

dent loans. This is where you will need to learn how

to budget •

Budgeting is an important skill that everyone should

have. If you can budget your finances well, you will

avoid a lot of stress from having to pay off overdue

bills. A solid budget will also help you avoid carry-

ing a balance on your credit card. This way, you can

save money for something you want in the future,

such as a vehicle or a vacation. But budgeting is

not always easy to do. If you are in a situation like

mine, (while at school I had no bills to pay, so I re-

ally didn’t have to budget a lot in college) obviously

I couldn’t be going out and buying dinner out every

weekend but, if I lived within my reasonable means,

then I would be ok. Even though I didn’t have stick

to a strict budget, I still had to be cautious on what

I purchased. I made sure not to go out to eat all the

time because eating out can be quite costly. Instead,

I would have cheap dinners like chicken soup and

snacks around the apartment to keep me from going

out. Another way I kept to a budget at school was by

finding activities around the school that were free

to join. My school always had activities to join like

bingo, wiffle ball, and video game tournaments •

Easily avoiddamage that

won’tgo away for

7 years.

FOR A LITTLE “CHANGE OF FACE”

REMEMBERIT’S ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED

NOT WHAT YOU WANT

we say...

AND BY THE WAYDON’T FORGET TO RELAX.

BROKE HOW?What do you spend your cash on?

Food

Shoes

Rent

Alcohol

Gas

Hold yourself accountable by analyzing how much you

spent on needs vs. wants each month. “See if there’s

anything there that didn’t bring you joy,” Thakor says.

“Then you can cut that out, save money and not lose

any joy.” So, even if plane tickets to attend my best

friend’s wedding made up most of my mega $635.79

bill, seeing that once-in-a-lifetime look on her face

was joy personified. But did I also have to spend $90

at Dunkin’ Donuts? No way. No extra donuts? Brutal

indeed, but not out of reach for the savvy student, ac-

cording to Thakor. Establish a “financial command

central” with online banking tools, she says. Virtually

all major banks offer some sort of wealth management

and spending-tracker tools, along with auto bill pay (so

that you’ll never get dinged again for losing that cable

bill in the couch cushions). However the best track to

financial stability is your career.

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A really easy tip for budgeting would be to learn how to cook. It’s far less expensive than

ordering out all the time. I work two jobs, so when I am heading home from my second job

and I see those big yellow arches (McDonalds) I am tempted to pull right in and order my

usual. If I knew how to cook, then I would have saved myself some money and not gained

4 pounds (or 6 pounds if you got the double quarter pounder with cheese).

Additionally, for those couples that are trying to stay on a budget, there are other ways

you can stick to that budget. One idea would be to not buy cards by Hallmark and Ameri-

can Greetings etc. Those little cards written by someone else can cost you up to 7 dollars

a piece! Show your significant other how you really feel about them and make your own

card. Believe me; they will enjoy it more than any pre made Hallmark card.

Going out places for a date can be really expensive as well. Going to the movies, bowling,

the mall, a bar, a sporting event… all things that cost a lot, especially if you go out all the

time. A few things you can do to stick to the budget could be to go for a walk in a nearby

park. Walking doesn’t cost a thing…. unless of course you’re on someone else’s property

and they fine you, but that’s a whole different story. You could play a board game or cards,

surf the web together, play a sport, or watch television. All things you can substitute for a

night out.

If you set your priorities straight to budget properly by living within your means, you WILL

avoid the stress of being in debt. Do you have any ideas on ways that you can stick to a bud-

get? Let me know because I have to stick to one as well.

SOME HELPFUL TIPS FOR BUDGETING

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FOR MORE GREAT TIPS

When it comes down to it college can be the greatest four years of your life. And why wouldn’t it be? You’re

away from your parents, you get to eat whatever you want, as much as you want, whenever you want

(though be careful about that, it can come back to bite you!), and if you have a meal plan you can do this all

without having to clean a single dish. Your friends were usually within a few hundred feet of you at all times,

whether you were in class or your dorm. You could stay up as late as you wanted and hang out with who-

ever you wanted. But the best part for me was I didn’t have to pay a dime for it… yet. But when college ends,

that’s when the fun begins (dun… dun… Dunnn!). But at least you will be ready for it. (thank us later)•••