Ever find yourself wondering how you\u2019re going to pay your rent and save enough for next semester\u2019s tuition? Feel like you\u2019re destined to eat Kraft dinners all your student days? If you ever feel you don\u2019t know where your money goes or that you\u2019re only scraping by, looking into a budgeting tool could help.<\/p>\n
Load budgeting tools are online (let alone the many budgeting guidebooks lining library bookshelves). Choosing the right one for you is often a matter of skimming over them to see which one suit you, your preferred layout styles, and even your lifestyle the best. A layout that\u2019s most intuitive and easy to use is probably going to help keep you on track and motivate you to enter in the information required on a spreadsheet. Trying one or two out for a few days also gives you an indication of which one you\u2019re most likely to stick with.<\/p>\n
Some people like print copies but it could be easier to simply keep a running online budget which automatically calculates your incoming and outgoing $s (as an Excel spreadsheet does). It\u2019s all a matter of which format suits you best. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
To get an idea of the Tuition and likely Living Expenses you\u2019re going to need you may want to check out 2 resources from UBC to get started. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Youbc: Calculate your financial plan<\/a><\/p>\n It gives you a rough idea of how much you\u2019ll need according to your program and your living arrangements. <\/em><\/p>\n Youbc: What does it cost?<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Includes a timeline indicating when tuition is due and information on meal plans and residence fees. <\/em><\/p>\n Here are a few FREE(!) online budget tools to explore. \u00a0The first one is particularly for students. <\/strong><\/p>\n 1) Student Budget Calculator<\/a><\/p>\n Thorough break down of expense items. For example, in \u201cFood and Groceries\u201d there\u2019s a break down\u00a0\u00a0for\u00a0\u00a0 “Meal\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Plan”, “Grocerites”, “Eating Out”, “Snacks”, “Other”. This way you can see exactly where you’re spending your money and where you may want to stop spending as much.<\/em><\/p>\n 2) Spending Diary<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This is a free tool which you have to sign up for. It includes a demo and includes a weekly illustration on your\u00a0expenses by each day of the week.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n 3) Xpenser<\/a><\/p>\n Allows you to record your expenses over the Internet, tag them, and search them by keywords.<\/em><\/p>\n 4) Plan2Spend beta<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0Another free tool not geared to students particularly but worth a look. You have to sign up for it but it includes\u00a0a\u00a0demo and a helpful visual to show you how much of your allocated $ amount you\u2019ve already spent.<\/em><\/p>\n 5) My College Budget<\/a>\u00a0(Available in Excel 2010 version)<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 College Student Budget<\/a>\u00a0(Available in Excel 2010 version)<\/p>\n More general Money Saving Tips to check out are<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Money Saving Tips for College Students<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 118 Ways to Save Money in College<\/a><\/p>\n