Planning is always the hardest part of saving money because we all have times when we see something and just have to have it. But if you have a solid financial plan to back up you you can go out to eat without thinking about it and know that you will not be stretching yourself to thin. Thing the entire year through in your head and how you will be paying for things that are to come. Here are some questions you should be asking yourself as you plan for the upcoming year. ( I am assuming that you have a job all through the year). How much do i make at my job each month during the summer? How much do I make at my job each month during the school year? How many hours can i work during school with my class schedule? What would i like to do for fun this year that will be a big expense? What big ticket items would i like to buy this year if i have the money? Answering these questions will help you understand your financial situation much better because you will start to think of things BEFORE you do them. If you have a good idea of what is to come the upcoming year it makes it easier for you to stop yourself from over spending because you know that there are other things that you need to take care of financially.

While you are in college you will have a lot of choices to make that involve money. Most of them honestly will NOT be big expensive as most of you know that are in college. it is the little purchases that start to bite you in the butt. A pop here, a couple trips to a fast food joint there and pretty soon you have a bank account that is wiped out! On top of that you get hit with a overdraft fee for $35 and it is only the first week of the month! What do you do? You need to literally sit down with pin and paper and start writing down all of the things that you spend your money on for each month and try to put amounts by them. (If you are with a bigger bank they probably have some tools online that will break down some of your spending habits for the past year or so. You can use this data as a average as you are going through college.) Some price categories you will know exactly how much they are each month such as rent, cell phone, cable, insurance. The other categories that are harder to find amounts for are food, entertainment, gas, utilities. Everyone will have different categories to add to their lists but just run through everything that you spend money on and start from there. Do not skip any amount or category that you spend money on even if you think it was just a one time deal. Those €one time deals€ really add up in the end and can really hurt you financially when you don't account for them. Make it good practice to document everything.

Now ask your self, €Am I spending more money each month than i bring in?€ If your answer is yes then guess what, it is time for you to slap yourself on the side of the face and wake up to reality that you are starting to dig yourself a hole that you may never get out of.

TANGENT ->Most people that I have talked to about money while in college spent more money than they made and it didn't bother them at all because they were just going to take out more on their student loan. Now that they are out of college and they are having to pay back those loans they shake their heads at how stupid the idea was for them to take out more money just because they €felt€ like buying something or going on a trip. So what do you do with your expenses list that you have made? Find out what things you need to pay in order for you to live and continue to go to school. They will most likely,or should be, the most expensive on your list. Rent Car Payment Insurance Cell phone bill Food Transportation These six are the basic expenses that you will probably have. Keep in mind that each situation will be different and you will have to edit your list as to what your situation is. These things are your basic needs while you are in college that you need to maintain just for you to survive. We will call these the €BASICS€ just so I don't have to list them each time. What other things do you spend money on? Lets say that your other expenses are cable TV, Internet, and eating out. We will call these €Extras€ because you don't really need them, you should be studying!! With €Basics€ and €Extras€ all added up, how does this compare with how much money you are bringing in each month? Are you making more than you are spending? If so you are on the right step and you can take breath a little easier. Are your expense more than what you make? It may be time for your to reevaluate what is really important to you and start to cut out things that are hurting you financially. It will hurt at first to cutting expenses that you don't really need will save you in the long run and you will thank me later when you have money to go out to eat and don't have to worry about how to pay for it.