Tracking and Saving money – There is a myriad of information regarding budgeting, but a good place to start is by keeping track of your spending and saving money. Review your bank statements and see where you are spending your money. Most of your money could be going towards eating out, shopping, coffee, or any other type of entertainment and you might not even realize it. Looking through your bank statements will give you a good idea. In addition, various apps are available to help you with tracking your spending. Additionally, a good rule of thumb if you’re starting to save is the 50/30/20 rule. This rule states that 50 percent of your income should go towards your needs, 30 percent to your wants, and 20 percent to your savings and debt repayment. Learn more and calculate the 50/30/20 rule relevant to your income here. People don’t start paying attention to their financial habits until they are taking a big step in their life – such as a wedding or buying a house – getting started early will prepare you for any big step. Tracking and saving money is an excellent start to creating healthy financial habits.
Nurture Your Credit Score – If you haven’t started building your credit score, start now! Your credit is everything as you adult. Companies check your credit when renting apartments, applying for credit cards, buying a home, purchasing a car, applying for personal loans, refinancing loans, or buying furniture. Your credit aggregates your bank account history, your debt, and on-time/late payments among other factors. One easy way to start building your credit is to get credit card (given that you will be a responsible user), use it and pay it off monthly. Some people use this method to improve their credit; they use credit cards for books or gas only and pay it off monthly. Read more about how you can build your credit while in college here. Your future self will thank you for tending to your credit score early in life.
Pay Your Student Loans While in College – If your budget permits, start paying your student loans while in college. You will be more prepared and familiar with the repayment process once you graduate. You have a six-month grace period after graduation and then you will have to pay off your loans. If you start while in college, all your payment will go towards the loan rather than interest. You will finish paying your loans earlier and you will feel a sense of freedom when you are done paying off your loans. In addition, you will have the extra money (that was originally going towards your loans) to invest in other things. Reach out to your school’s financial officers for more help and advice. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to graduate debt free.
Comments