With all the budget cuts, and slumping economy, many students
are struggling to meet their basic financial needs. In addition to affording rent and commuting costs, many Fresno City College students say that textbooks are out of reach this semester.
“Now that school started, I’ve been struggling to buy books and to manage my money,” said Maiblia Vang, second year pharmacy
student. Vang is not alone, but experts say that students who are resourceful with their money can stretch it to meet their needs.
Here are some tips that will help you learn how to manage your money better and help your wallet in the process.
1. HOW MUCH DO YOU OWE?
To save money, you must know what your debts are. For example, if you owe $2,000 on your car, you can start by eliminating
that debt. If you are giving the minimum amount of money required on your payments, try to accelerate the process and pay more than the minimum requires. Be careful, any agencies will take that extra money and use it towards interest. You have to send a separate
check specifically stating that it is toward your principal.
This can work for any kind of loans or credit cards.
2. HOW MUCH ARE YOU SPENDING EACH DAY?
Keep a daily list of how much money you are spending. How many times have you asked yourself “What did I spend my money on?” If you keep a record on paper, other than on your mind, it will help you keep track of how much you are spending and what you are spending it on. This will help you become aware of how much money you are spending on unnecessary
things. You will then see that buying a brownie at the cafeteria everyday is not such a great idea if you are spending $10.50 on it weekly. Add all your expenses and calculate how much money you are spending weekly, or monthly. This takes us to our next step:
3. CAN YOU REDUCE YOUR EXPENSES?
Figure out how you can reduce your expenses. You can stop buying brownies everyday, or maybe even bring your own home made brownies and save yourself money. See what your long tern expenses are and which of those you can live without. Buying school supplies, like books, is very expensive and is a necessity. One way to save money on text books is to buy them used, they contain the same material and they are way cheaper than new ones. You can also buy books online, and have some extra money that you can use for gas. If you can cut down on little things, like these it will make a big financial difference
in the long run.
4. DO YOU HAVE A BUDGET?
Budget your money. Once you have figured out on what things you can cut down on, try to make a budget for each week, or even monthly. You can make a list of the essential things you need in order to survive and how much you are going to spend on them. If your budget is less than your income, you have some money left over that you can save by putting it into a long term bank account, which you can only take out once a month, or simply start by opening any bank account.If you follow these steps, you will be on the road to saving a great deal of money. Soon, you will realize that you are able to afford what is really important like textbooks. After a couple of years of saving money, you can even start investing
on greater things, and maybe make a big profit from it. You can become very wealthy if you learn how to manage your money now, before it is too late.