Budgeting 101 for the College Student! | First Volunteer Bank

The team at First Volunteer Bank understands how hard letting go can be, especially when your student is headed to college for the first time. With this new freedom also comes responsibility, as now your student will need to know how to budget his or her finances without you around. The following are tips to help share with your college student about the basics of budgeting.

Help Your College Student Get an A+ in Budgeting

If this is the first time your student is in charge of budgeting his or her finances, he or she isn’t alone. Many times college is the first time students have to be in control of their finances. Therefore, it’s important to make sure you teach your student the proper way to handle a budget.

Sit down and explain to him or her exactly how much he or she will be receiving in his or her account for the month, and the bills he or she is responsible for, such as food, housing, etc. Show them how to set aside enough money to cover those bills when the money comes in. Then, it’s up to them to handle the finances so that it lasts until the next month.

This is where teaching your student the difference between “needs” and “wants” comes in. If your college student chooses to spend the money on his or her “wants,” the money will be gone in a blink of an eye, and the “needs” won’t be met. Remind the that once it’s gone for the month, it’s gone. Therefore, explain to your student what is considered a “need” (i.e., food, shelter, water, etc.) and what is a “want” (i.e., clothes, eating out, going to the movies, etc.).

Is your college student ready to handle his or her finances? Come visit the team at First Volunteer Bank to learn how we can help keep his or her financial account safe while you are not around.