It’s not always easy to make ends meet when you’re a student, especially when you no longer live with your parents. Research carried out by MacLean in 2018 shows that Canadian students have to spend up to $20,000 per year to graduate from university.

This amount considers tuition, health, food, groceries, housing, and other expenses. There’s no doubt that earning a college degree is a significant investment, but $20,000 can still be a lot for a college student.

So we’ve created these four student budgeting tips to organize your finance and ensure you leave college debt-free.

1. Know exactly how much you earn per month

Any financial planning starts with budget analysis. It’s essential to understand how much you earn per month in addition to your internship, student aid, and parent’s allowance.

Then set up a table in which you separate expenses from earnings. This table will help you visualize your financial life and determine how much you can commit to expenses.

2. Organize fixed variable and superfluous expenses

Create a table in Excel with three columns. The fixed expenses column should contain expenses such as college tuition, rent, water, electricity, and internet bill, among others.

The variable expenses should list costs with food, transport, and study materials.

The third column should present non-essential expenses and include gym membership, streaming services, clothing items, and tours. These expenses can be cut if the budget is too tight. (See also: 5 Tips To Reduce Your Fixed Expenses And Save Money).

3. Set your budget

Once you have noted all your expenses and sources of income, you need to establish an adequate budget. If your expenses are more than your income, consider seeing what expenses you can reduce, such as your electricity and internet bill, cell phone plan, or transportation costs. If that’s not possible, try to find ways to increase your income. You may also be able to find other sources of income, such as scholarships and loans. Once done, create an adequate budget that will keep you out of debt. (See also: 4 Steps To Build A Budget Like An Expert).

4. Save money

Once you have created your budget, you can put money aside each month to deal with the unexpected in life.

Whether you have a lot of money at the end of the month or very little, putting money aside every month is a good habit — even if you can only save $5! As long as you make a habit of saving money, you will be prepared for the future! Saving money is extremely important as it will help you meet unexpected expenses and meet your financial goals. The earlier you start saving, the better because saving money at a young age can even help fund your first down payment for a mortgage or car! And as your income increases, you will feel more prepared to start saving for retirement.

In conclusion

It’s not easy to keep a student budget, and the efforts are sometimes laborious. However, by following these student budgeting tips as best you can, you could avoid getting in serious trouble.

Like so many other aspects of life, budgeting takes time and practice to master. Don’t be frustrated if you make mistakes or go over budget from time to time. There’s always a way to get back on track. Keep concentrating on developing sound financial habits that will benefit you in the future.