The ability to create and maintain a budget is a crucial skill to avoid borrowing unnecessary loan debt.  You will never know if you are living within your means unless you can account for how much money is coming in and how much is being spent.  Your goal, of course, is to have more money coming in than what you are spending or to at least break even.  Creating a budget is easy; however, maintaining a budget is a bit trickier.  Learning to live within a budget while you are in school will make it much easier to live within your paycheck after you graduate.  

After reviewing the information below, you should develop a personal budget and begin to identify your spending habits.  By tracking how you spend your money, you can identify areas in which you can reduce spending so that you can live within your means and avoid overborrowing financial aid and any unnecessary debt.

The following resources are recommended for learning more about budgeting:

Please also see the following resources for additional information:

Lang, Russell, The I-Hate-to-Budget Book, Financial Marketing Associates, Richmond, VA

 

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