Three basic rules to efficiently administrate your money
It is important to have a healthy financial life while in college. College is, the place where your adult life begins. A very exciting and interesting period in which you have a lot of new experiences, discover new things and get new responsibilities. One of the most important is the management of your finances, and this is important because it has an impact now and after college. The decisions you take now can affect your future goals and also the habits you are acquiring probably will be present during your adult life. This is why you should do your best about managing your money. There are 3 simple rules you should follow in order to improve your financial habits.
Create a budget. This is the starting point for anyone trying to have a good handle on their money. No matter how much money you have in the bank, creating a monthly budget will help you to control your income and expenses. It will guide you about how much you have and how much you can spend. To create a good budget, you have to include regular payments as rent, transport, food and fun, as well as the small variable expenses like coffee, video rental, magazines, beers, snacks and apps. These apparently insignificant amounts of money you constantly spend, add up fast and can affect your finances. It is important to keep track and destine a specific amount to cover them. If this is your first budget you can set an approximate amount based on your previous regular habits and adjust it according to the reality.
Use your credit cards wisely. As Jesse Campbell, content specialist at Money Management International says, “Good credit is a little like insurance, you don’t really think much about it until you need it.” This is why you should use it very consciously and learn about how it works and what can you do to keep it healthy. There are some basic rules about this, first of all is trying to use your credit cards just in case of emergency and borrow only what you can afford to pay back. It is also important to have a plan about how will you pay your debt, and include the monthly payment in your budget without affect the rest of your accounts.
Smart spending. Before you spend, think that each dollar you save will be extra money designated to what you really want. There are too many things you can do to save money — get offers from coupons, student discounts, rent your books, use the internet instead of cable packages— It is not about being cheap but to reduce some expenses that result unnecessary if we stop to analyze them consciously.
