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So a friend of mine has suggested that I post on this form for financial advice. I am a 21 year old college student, and I am constantly broke. I get really decent financial aid (far more than necessary to cover my basic expenses), but four weeks into the term, I always find myself incredibly broke.  My buddy (who has seen this cycle play out several times), volunteered to make the above chart of all my expenses for the months of March and April. I’m looking for some basic financial advice as to how I can better budget my money. I have a tendency to spend absolutely every dime available to me.  Here are some of the major areas I spend in: I spent 1012 dollars in the last two months on rent. That covers both rent and utilities. I spent 41.54 on video games in the last two months. These were all steam sale games and as so much, didn’t cost very much. The most expensive single game was 20.00. I spent 287.00 in the last two months on hiking gear. I bought a new internal frame pack, flint and steel, a nice map of the PCT, and a trail pass. I need to budget a few hundred more for new gear at some point to replace my degrading hiking supplies. I spent 200 dollars on "herbal supplements". I spent 150 on an ounce for a hiking trip, and 50 later on. I spent 85 on credit card payments. Last year, I applied for a credit card through my credit union. I thought, for some reason, it would be good for my credit score to max it out, and then pay it down over time. As such, I spent 500 dollars (my cards maximum) in about 2 weeks (not including spending from other sources). After I had reached my maximum, I had it shredded at my credit union. Afterwards, I began to pay it back, payment by payment. I currently still owe about 228 dollars on it. I paid a payment in the beginning of the month for 25 (the minimum), and another one for 65 (it was late, so there was a 40 dollar fee attached). I spent 907 dollars on food and beer. That said, I found this number to be the hardest to calculate exactly. Nevertheless, I believe this to be a good working number. I also don’t know quite how much of that has been spent on food, and how much has been spent on beer. The friend of mine who made the graphs (and suggested I ask for advice here) estimates that I spent about 300 on food, and 600 on beer. I think the number is closer to 400 on food and 500 on beer. Regardless, this makes up for a major portion of my spending. I gave my friend (different from the one who made the graph) 120 dollars to help with his fraternity dues. He was in major need and was doing everything he could to raise the money (including selling plasma). Because of this, I thought he absolutely deserved anything I could part with. Anyways, I am really looking for advice as to how to improve my spending habits. I do not have a job, and just survive on a lump sum at the start of the term. I know I get more than enough financial aid to live well if I budget right. I just find it so hard to hold onto money for any prolonged period. I want to budget better, but not change my lifestyle too dramatically. TrueBlueOregonian fucked around with this message at 07:14 on May 20, 2014 |
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May 20, 2014 06:29
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 11:11 |
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I don't know, maybe you should stop spending $400/month on booze and weed?
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May 20, 2014 06:36
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If you want to go out, hike, and party you are going to need a job. It doesn't take much effort to go to school and work 10 - 15 hours a week. Even at $10 an hour; that would put an additional 400 dollars a month to cover your food/beer. Also, do you need those supplements?
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May 20, 2014 07:06
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Yeah, you're spending an absurd amount of money on booze and weed, How the gently caress do you spend $500-600/month on beer though. Assuming a generous $25/case, you're drinking at least 20 cases a month. That's not only a spending problem but a huge health problem. Either that or you're drinking an assload of expensive craft beer, which is stupid as hell because you're a broke college student. EDIT: Nevermind didn't realize that budget was for 2 months. Either way, that's still your problem. You're spending way too much on booze and weed. Even $250-300/month on beer is a shitload and incredibly bad for you. Welcome to the real world where you can't drink and get stoned all the time without consequences. EDIT2: You have Steam, grab YNAB on the next sale. Or pay full retail. It'll probably help you save more than it cost in the first month or two. Actually if I recall correctly it might still be free for college students. LogisticEarth fucked around with this message at 11:20 on May 20, 2014 |
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May 20, 2014 11:11
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It sounds like the envelope system would work pretty well for you. http://www.daveramsey.com/article/dave-ramseys-envelope-system/lifeandmoney_budgeting/ On top of that you need to reduce your spend on wants. I understand that hiking gear is expensive, but can you buy used or borrow or patch up your gear to get a few more trips out of it?
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May 20, 2014 13:44
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So how much money do you have and how long does it have to last? Is this for the summer and next school year then on to the job world? If you spend the money as soon as you get it are you just completely broke? It is hard to make a budget without the income/available funds.
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May 20, 2014 13:59
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LogisticEarth posted:EDIT2: You have Steam, grab YNAB on the next sale. Or pay full retail. It'll probably help you save more than it cost in the first month or two. Actually if I recall correctly it might still be free for college students. http://www.youneedabudget.com/blog/2014/ynab-is-now-free-for-college-students/
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May 20, 2014 18:04
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Yeah, get on a cash budget for food and alcohol. $75/week and you only hit the ATM on Sunday, period. That'll let you pay off the credit card faster and save up a little cash. Then you'll have something put away for the next hiking splurge - and just stay off the herbal supplements until then. Thoughtless spending is a large part of your problem and poo poo will clean itself right up if you're just a little attentive about it. Less easy is changing rent but what are the options there? That's a hell of a lot for a college student.
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May 20, 2014 18:38
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slap me silly posted:
$500 a month for rent and all utilities is really not too bad. Depending on the school it could be a bit high or a steal. I still think he needs to cut down the food and booze budget and drop the supplement budget completely. But really we need to know what he is working with to set a realistic budget that will last the semester and knock the CC debt out two quick.
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May 20, 2014 18:45
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Is the financial aid grants or loans?
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May 20, 2014 19:53
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If he's in PDX, $500/mo on rent is pretty reasonable. Dude. Cut the food and alcohol/pot. Simple. And start using YNAB and probably physical cash and envelopes.
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May 20, 2014 20:26
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TrueBlueOregonian posted:I just find it so hard to hold onto money for any prolonged period. I want to budget better, but not change my lifestyle too dramatically. Stop spending ANY money on food or beer or pot or anything that isn't essential for your survival until you have the CC debt knocked off. You want to whine about how it changes your lifestyle dramatically? Debt will force you to take a lovely job, it will curtail your choices, it will ruin your world. Don't get in the habit of being in debt. Are these student loans that you're using to pay for your weed and hiking trips or not? If so, your future self is going to be furious at you for loving yourself over so you can have shiny new gear right now.
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May 20, 2014 22:12
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100 HOGS AGREE posted:It's going to be free for college students until they decide it isn't anymore, see here: Thank you all so much, this is perfect. I am well aware that I spend far too much money on trivialities (such as beer and “herbal supplements”), I just have had a really difficult time budgeting a lump sum of money. I will look into getting YNAB immediately. That, along with the envelope trick, may help hugely. Cicero posted:Is the financial aid grants or loans? As far the nature of my financial aid is concerned, it is almost entirely grants. I do take out student loans, but they are federally subsidized, and don't amount to much in total. As far as rent is concerned, there is no way that will get any cheaper. I live in downtown Portland in the cheapest dorm the university has.
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May 21, 2014 23:47
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I am so loving jealous you can live in downtown portland on $500/mo. You have no idea... I pay more than that and live in deep NE PDX...
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May 22, 2014 00:02
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CountOfNowhere posted:I am so loving jealous you can live in downtown portland on $500/mo. You have no idea... Don't be man. I live in what essentially amounts to a broom closest.
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May 22, 2014 00:12
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TrueBlueOregonian posted:Don't be man. I live in what essentially amounts to a broom closest. I used to pay just under/over 1k/mo for my broom closets downtown. Still jelly. That being said, find cheaper weed! $150/oz is high these days.
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May 22, 2014 00:13
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moana posted:Stop spending ANY money on food or [...] anything that isn't essential for your survival  Seriously though, I get that you're a college student and you want to party. But you're spending way more than you can afford on it. Buy cheaper booze and drink less(the more you drink, the more you have to drink to get drunk, and the more money you waste. Nobody worth knowing gives a poo poo how much you drink, in case that's a factor.), smoke less weed(and get cheaper weed too if CountOfNowhere is right about prices), and learn to cook so you spend less on fast food/prepackaged garbage/etc*. Pay off your credit card debt ASAP, then get into the habit of paying it off in full every month. Delay buying more hiking equipment unless it absolutely needs replacing - there's a difference between "actually falling apart" and "is getting kind of beat up but still works." *Your food budget really isn't that bad, but everyone should learn to cook anyway. Besides, it's an easy way to impress the ladies/gentlemen Haifisch fucked around with this message at 00:45 on May 22, 2014 |
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May 22, 2014 00:43
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TrueBlueOregonian posted:Thank you all so much, this is perfect. I am well aware that I spend far too much money on trivialities (such as beer and “herbal supplements”), I just have had a really difficult time budgeting a lump sum of money. I will look into getting YNAB immediately. That, along with the envelope trick, may help hugely. CountOfNowhere posted:I used to pay just under/over 1k/mo for my broom closets downtown. Still jelly.
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May 22, 2014 02:53
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In college I found beer was rarely the best way to get best bang for buck on alcohol. If you wait for the best sales you can often get handles of something lovely for $10-$15, then cut it with cheap soda or orange juice. It might be worth getting fliers / dropping by the grocery store every couple days and see if some hard alcohol is on sale, if it's super cheap then stock up for a month or two. This is only a good idea if you and your friends won't just immediately drink all the alcohol while you have it, though. A great way to cut down on food costs and cooking time is to share in grocery expenses/cooking with roommates since it takes about as long to cook 1 or 5 servings of something. But it sounds like your biggest issue is making the decision not to spend money on something - the logic you used for getting a credit card (that it's a good idea to max it out then pay it down) sounds like some heavy duty rationalization you used to buy something you wanted. Some people are just like that, you'll have to understand that you'll try to trick yourself into spending money and that's where budgeting tools like the envelope method can help.
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May 23, 2014 21:34
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You didn't buy anything else? No soap, clothes, books, event tickets, public transit tokens, or anything like that? Unless you're already accounting for this in another category, there's probably a slow cash bleed you're not thinking of just from random life stuff. Anyhow, seconding the guy who said an expense report isn't useful without the full picture. Gotta know that income, gotta know what your CC debts and APRs are.
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May 25, 2014 01:17
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Buy cheaper booze. Your alcohol 'budget' is the equivalent of a fifth of rum every day. And drop the herbal supplements. They do nothing beyond placebo effects.
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May 25, 2014 14:58
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Dik Hz posted:And drop the herbal supplements. They do nothing beyond placebo effects.
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May 25, 2014 16:40
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Tomfoolery posted:In college I found beer was rarely the best way to get best bang for buck on alcohol. If you wait for the best sales you can often get handles of something lovely for $10-$15, then cut it with cheap soda or orange juice. It might be worth getting fliers / dropping by the grocery store every couple days and see if some hard alcohol is on sale, if it's super cheap then stock up for a month or two. This is only a good idea if you and your friends won't just immediately drink all the alcohol while you have it, though. A great way to cut down on food costs and cooking time is to share in grocery expenses/cooking with roommates since it takes about as long to cook 1 or 5 servings of something. Agree with this! Not quite sure I've ever seen a sale, but most of the bottom shelf stuff gets the job done just fine. I also thought most of the cheap "college" beers like natty,PBR, and Keystone were in the $10-15/case range. One of the things I did because I was poor in college was that I went to work at the dining hall. It was minimum wage, but I got to eat whenever I worked. I usually got to take home whatever leftovers from the food court that I wanted (typical food court stuff like pizza and chicken strips) at the end of the night too. Basically got a little spending money, and didn't have spend as much on food that way.
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May 25, 2014 17:10
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You should be spending your financial aid money on necessities. Note: hiking gear, alcohol, and weed are not necessities. It's not wrong to spend a little on yourself now and then but you don't need to be constantly buying drugs and alcohol. If you can reduce that constant spending and also stop making large random purchases unless strictly necessary you should be able to manage everything fine. You should download You Need a Budget which is free for college students. Make a reasonable budged according to your financial aid and make sure to stay on top of entering your spending at least on a weekly basis if you can track your purchases online through your bank and on a daily basis if you're relying on receipts. Also, if you're trying to get the most alcohol for your money consider brewing your own very cheaply with fruit juice.
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May 25, 2014 17:59
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Nobody needs to spend that much on beer, even in college. But other people have covered that. Why are you getting $40 late fees on credit card payments? Not only is it a significant penalty considering the amount of the payment, it's going to ding your credit report. Pay it off before you buy any more beer or camping equipment or weed or give money for frat dues to some friend. Set up an autopay with your bank and put it on your calendar.
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May 25, 2014 20:51
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 11:11 |
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Tomfoolery posted:In college I found beer was rarely the best way to get best bang for buck on alcohol. If you wait for the best sales you can often get handles of something lovely for $10-$15, then cut it with cheap soda or orange juice. It might be worth getting fliers / dropping by the grocery store every couple days and see if some hard alcohol is on sale, if it's super cheap then stock up for a month or two. This is only a good idea if you and your friends won't just immediately drink all the alcohol while you have it, though. A great way to cut down on food costs and cooking time is to share in grocery expenses/cooking with roommates since it takes about as long to cook 1 or 5 servings of something. My roommate in college and I calculated that malt liquor is actually the cheapest alcohol, taking into account strength and volume. It might depend on the taxes of the state you're in, but my recommendation for the OP would be to buy nothing but 40s.
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May 25, 2014 22:23
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