Successful Budgeting

Contrary to popular belief, budgeting does not mean you have to stay home and forget about having a life, it just means that you have to spend smart by looking for less expensive alternatives and not getting carried away on a night out or a shopping spree. The key here is planning… so if you have an upcoming trip that you would like to go on, start adjusting your budget to make it happen.

A budget is a plan for how you will spend your money.

Saving tips

1. List down your purchases on your Smartphone or a piece of paper

2. Before buying anything ask yourself this 4-word question “Do I need it?”

3. Make sure you save at least 10% of the money you make. A great trick to do so is to divide the month into 5 weeks.

Savings Account

A savings or deposit account is an account provided by your bank (in all major currencies) that allows you to deposit money and earn interest over a certain period of time.

Step 1

Keep an eye on your account; the lower the numbers, the more important it is to start saving.

Step 2

Set long-term (more than one year) and short-term (less than one year) goals to make it easier for you to decide which amount goes where.

Step 3

Track your expenses for an entire month, if you are buying more “nice-to-haves” than “must-haves”, you may have to make a “savings sacrifice” until you get back on track.

Step 4

Save something (anything… no amount is too small) every month and you will slowly but surely build an «emergency» fund.

Step 5

It doesn’t make much sense to put money into emergency savings if you are carrying debt. So pay down your debt first.

How can you make side money while being in college? Get a seasonal job, be a tutor, get a paid internship or a work-study program or look for on-campus jobs.