Nowadays, it seems like debt has just become an acceptable part of our society, and college students are no exception to this mentality. 

A recent study conducted by the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys estimates that 31 percent of students do not worry about debt and abide by a “buy now, pay later” philosophy. 

Here are a few principles for changing that mind-set and making sure you don’t drown in debt:

1. Live Within Your Means You’ve heard this time and time again, and that’s because it’s the golden rule to financial freedom.  Practicing how to live well below your means will not only help you stay out of debt, but it will help you accumulate wealth.  That also means not keeping up with the Joneses and running out to buy the latest “it” items. 

2.Pay Bills On Time Avoid late fees by paying on time, all the time.  Try to set up automatic payments to ensure timeliness.  Just one late payment and you can be penalized with high interest rates.

3. Cut Your Expenses Review your monthly expenses and figure out where you can trim extra spending.  Maybe you can cut back on eating out or downgrade your cell phone plan.  Use any excess money to pay down debt or to fund your savings accounts.

4. Pay Cash Get in the habit of using cash.  You remember what cash is, that green paper with deceased presidents on it?  Whenever possible, use cash and you won’t run the risk of getting into more debt by running up credit card bills.

5. Buy on Sale Never pay full price, as most items are likely to go on sale.  Be patient and sale savvy in order to find the best deals.  Additionally, switching to generic brands will save you extra money, too.

6. Don’t Take on Any New Debt The most obvious way of staying out of debt is to not incur any new debt. In other words: if you have loans, work on paying them off instead of buying that boat.

7. Build Your Savings Having a savings fund can help you get out of a messy situation.  If you happen to need extra cash, you can cover yourself with the savings you’ve built instead of incurring more debt.  Be sure to replace your savings as soon as you can.

8. Be Realistic Take a hard look at your financial situation and be realistic with what you can and can’t afford.  Make the necessary changes that will help you get from where you are to where you want to be.

There’s no doubt that at some point in your life you may need to incur debt to help pay for some expenses.  Not everyone can afford to buy the things they want all the time and that’sOK.  By applying these principles to your life you’ll make sure that you don’t get yourself into a messy financial situation and keep yourself out of debt.