How I Budget As A Student

If you are a freshmen in university, odds are you haven't had to hold responsibility for finances in the past. High school didn't teach me how to properly budget, which is why I decided to create a post on how I have learned to budget and hopefully help you create good budgeting habits. This post can be very helpful for students entering university, but also anyone already in college or university! If budgeting is something you want to start doing or need help in, then keep reading!

I use my phone everyday, so it has become a handy device for me to not only communicate with others, but keep my life organized. Below is a screenshot I took of the different components of my budget on the phone app "Notes". Most of the expenses on my budget is recurring every month, however you may only have to consider a few for your own budget.

For privacy reasons, I have not indicated the exact amount for each component. If you are renting an apartment, basement suite, or house... chances are you have food, hydro, and wifi expenses each month. If you are planning to commute to university with your car, keep in mind of gas expenses and possibly paying for a parking pass.

What is great about the "Notes" app is that once I have paid a certain expense, I have the ability to fill in the circle to signify that it is paid! This allows me to double check that I have paid for an expense and allow me to figure out how much money I need in my account to pay, for example, my last grocery shop.

As you can distinctly define in the photo below, I buy groceries every week. As a student, I do not have the luxury of having a spacious fridge, so buying enough for a week has worked very well for me. A reason why you may consider going grocery shopping every week is to create the habit of only buying food that you will consume that week and know that you won't forget about it and risk it becoming expired.

An important reason as to why budgeting like this has allowed me to spend money wisely is because I am constantly aware of how much money I have in my account. Every time I fill in a circle to represent that I have paid for an expense, the value at the top (indicating the total money in my account) changes.

That concludes the post for this week! If it has provided you any valuable information, keep an eye out for my next blog post that will be advertised on my Instagram account for my blog (https://www.instagram.com/kimberlyscampus/)! Thanks for reading!