Day 4

Welcome to Day Four of the 101 Spring Break Series! Today I’ll be sharing some tips on budgeting.

1. Create a Money List

Write on the top of the list your monthly income. Then write a list of things you consume on a monthly basis. Some things you should include are food, hygiene products, entertainment services, etc. Then write a list of how much these things you have and subtract it from what you already have. Now check if you have any resources left over and find areas where you can save. This can allow you to better visualize your money habits and fix issues where you see them. Now you can any online spreadsheet to plan your spending for the upcoming months based on this list.

2. Track of Spending

Similar to the last tip, document everything you spend your money on. Even if it’s a pack of gum at the deli. This allows you to reflect on your needs and wants at the end of the month. The visualization of this tip will help you change your poor spending habits as you are able to identify them.

3. Identify Income

List out or simply just identify where do you receive your money from. Is it from allowances from parents, stipends or wages from jobs, etc? Then write down which sources of income do you plan on spending and which ones are you saving. If you receive financial aid or scholarship money you can identify that income for your school-related fees and expenditures. Make sure you’re saving some amount of money for emergency situations. It’s very essential to have a “rainy-day” fund!

4. Find a good role model

You can find many financial gurus or experts out there to help you. Watching their videos on YouTube and taking notes from their blog can save you a few bucks. But, you should try to find a good financial role model near you, it might be your parents, older siblings, cousins, etc. Someone that truly cares about your financial well-being and can guide and lead every step of the way. You can also watch them as they budget.

5. Saving and Giving

Saving is important and helps you accumulate wealth for the days you need it most. Giving allows you to give back to society and help your community. However, you can only be of help to others, once you’ve helped yourself. So here are some percentages t follow to help you save, spend, and give in a beneficial way to both you and your community. You should be saving/investing 20% of your income. This will come in handy when you want to make a big purchase (house, car, vacation, etc.) or when you’re down on your luck and you need a few extra bucks. You should try to give at least 10% of your income to donations to trustworthy causes, movements, and organizations. I say trustworthy because I was watching an American Greed episode where they exposed 3 fake gofundme accounts, so please be careful when making donations. Also if you don’t want to make repetitive small donations you can open a giving account and put away 10% of your income in that account and make a lump sum donation at the end of the month or year. That leaves you with 70% of your income left to spend on needs first (rent, loan repayments, groceries, etc.) Once you’ve paid off all your necessities for the month feel free to treat yourself! As your costs and needs change your percentages should change accordingly.

6. Call In Digital Reinforcements

In this digital age, there is no reason why you have to do all of this with pen and paper. There are a plethora of great websites and apps that can help you abide by these tips in terms of saving, investing, and keeping your financials in order. Some good budgeting apps for teens are Mint, Good Budget, and Prosper Daily.

Hope this helps save a few extra bucks!

Have a great fourth day of Spring Break. 🌴