Step 2 Where is my money coming from?
Where does your money come from? List the sources of your income (e.g., work, student loans, parents) and the amount that comes in from each source each month. If you get one disbursement per semester (e.g., student loans and scholarships), determine the monthly allowance by taking the amount that's left after paying nonrecurring costs (e.g., tuition, books, dorm room) and dividing it by the 5 months in a semester.
Example: If you earn $400/month at work and you have $1000 left over from student loans after paying your once-per-semester costs, then your total monthly income is $600.
Step 3 Where is my money going?
Do you check your bank account at the end of the month or semester and wonder where all the money went? Before you can manage your money, you have to know how you’re spending it. Use a spreadsheet to track and categorize your expenses for one month. Get in the habit of recording your expenditures once a day. Download this form to create your budget:
It's useful to separate your expenses into three categories: