| The 411: MONEY MANAGEMENT
Saving up for the Spring Break trip to Cancun or paying off loans? Here are a few tips that can help you manage your money; no matter what your goal may be.
Track it. Spend a few weeks tracking where your money’s going. Many times you’ll be surprised to see where it’s all going. This will help figure out what you can save on.
Get a Plan. Figure out the next quarter or two. Write down all your income like loans, grants, and paychecks, then write down all your expenses.
Good Time Money. Be realistic. We all need money for entertainment. Don’t forget to budget for a movie or a CD but just don’t go over board.
Pace Yourself. Don’t spend it all at once. Make sure two weeks of steak dinners at the beginning of the quarter doesn’t leave you with eight weeks of Mac N’Cheese.
Go Easy With the Credit Cards. Don’t charge everything! Spending money that you don’t see can be easy so forcing yourself to withdraw from an ATM helps you keep your balance in check.
Set Your Own Credit Line. Credit card companies may give you more than you can handle when it comes to a limit. If it’s too high for you either limit yourself of give them a call and have them do it for you.
Get Real. You can’t have everything you want so be sure to figure out what’s most important to you.
Stuff Happens. Sometimes you really want something that out of your budget. Go for it but make sure that you make up for it the next week.
Look Ahead. Many times bigger expenses are foreseeable. Start to put some money aside so it does hit you all at once.
Get in Touch With Your Roomie. Split the bills. Unless you’re the one taking the free ride, make sure that the bills are being split evenly.
Spread it Out. There are times when you don’t have to make big purchases all at once. For example, each quarter you may not need to buy all your books at once.
Ask for Help When You Need It. Don’t let your financial problems get out of control. Sometimes a phone call to the parents might not feel comfortable at first but it may help you solve some problems.
For the full version of these tips visit http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/sav/20000814b.asp
Learn more at the SDLI ‘Personal Money Management’ workshop on Thurs., Feb. 23 from 7:00pm - 8:00pm at the Bronco Student Center, Andromeda C (bldg. 35-2341).
http://www.dsa.csupomona.ed u/osl/sdli.asp |