1. Budgeting for College Students
Keeping Track of Your Money While in College
Display this slide while participants are filling the room.
Use limitations: These materials may be used only for nonprofit, noncommercial educational purposes. These materials may not be used in connection with any sale, advertisement, endorsement or promotion of any service, product, person or business, and may not be sold or offered for sale.

2. WELCOME & INTRODUCTIONS
Introduce yourself and express your pleasure in discussing how to track money while in college.
Have each participant introduce himself or herself and share one reason for attending the workshop.

3. LEARNING OUTCOMES Discover where your money is really going
Convert as many expenses as possible into “fixed” expenses
Make a realistic budget so your money stays on track
Find a financial institution that fits your needs
Specific workshop learning outcomes are to:
Discover where your money is really going
Convert as many expenses as possible into “fixed” expenses
Make a realistic budget so your money stays on track
Find a financial institution that fits your needs

4. BENEFITS OF LIVING WITH A BUDGET
Money available to pay bills
Helps establish record of paying bills on time (credit history)
Lowers stress over finances
Allows better focus on classes
Note that a budget is not about what you cannot have. It is about first putting your money toward your priorities so you can reach goals. Exercising power of money can keep the focus on education instead of panicking over “where did the money go?”
Note that even college students are building, or are continuing to build, a credit history that will last many years. A budget can help ensure money is available to pay bills on time and build a good credit history.
?Ask participants: Have you ever checked your credit reports — or know your credit score? Are you aware of how a credit score can affect your life?
Note that a person’s credit history or credit score is reviewed when someone applies for a loan (car, home, etc.) Some employers also check an applicant’s credit history before extending a job offer.
Distribute copies of the Checking My Credit History worksheet. (Another option is to distribute this worksheet at the end of the session.)
Encourage participants to complete this worksheet, but note that this is not meant to add stress. Participants could accomplish this task while on a break from school, or over a snowy or rainy weekend.
Note that by reviewing the credit reports, participants can identify signs of fraud and check accuracy. Emphasize that participants can order one free copy of each credit report every year from AnnualCreditReport.com.

5. WHERE DOES YOUR MONEY GO?
How do you keep track? (Do you keep track?)
?Ask participants: Have you ever kept a record of what you purchased — every single item bought — on a daily basis?
Note that all of us know that feeling of having $40 one day and the next day all we have is loose change. We don’t even remember what we bought. This disappearing money can be especially problematic for cash-strapped college students. Note that even college students are building a credit history that will last many years. A budget can help ensure money is available to pay bills on time and build a good credit history.
Activity
Depending of the size of the group, have participants break into small groups. Ask each person to write down the last three purchases he or she made. If not too embarrassing, have the group members share their purchases.
?Ask participants: Who had trouble remembering? Does this happen in your real life?

6. TRACKING SPENDING 101 Record all purchases for a week.
Try to repeat for 3 more weeks.
Use:
Expense app or memo on smart phone
Small spiral notebook
Envelope for receipts
Note that it is typically easy to remember the big expenses, like rent or the cost of a meal plan, but small purchases add up fast and can really blow a hole in a budget. Keeping a spending diary can be enlightening.
Recommend that participants to start by tracking all purchases for a week—even a cup of coffee or a pack of gum. Encourage participants to continue recording purchases for an entire month. The resulting information will be extremely useful when making the actual budget. It also could act as a wake-up call to spending habits that a participant may want to change.
Note that even college students are building a credit history that will last many years. A budget can help ensure money is available to pay bills on time and build a good credit history.
?Ask participants: Does anyone use an expense app or spending diary app on his or her smartphone? Do they find it helpful? What do they like/dislike about it?

7. FIXED VS. VARIABLES EXPENSES
Fixed expenses:
Housing
Tuition
Car insurance
Cell phone
Loan payments
Note that when making a realistic budget, it is important to consider both fixed and variable expenses.
Note that most fixed expenses remain steady for a set time period.
What are variable expenses? Examples could include unexpected car repairs or impulse purchases.

8. FIXED VS. VARIABLES EXPENSES
Variable expenses:
Gas or transportation
Food
Entertainment
Campus activities (that charge fees or dues)
Note that variable expenses are where many people run into trouble when making a budget.
Personal choices can affect the amounts going toward variable expenses.

9. FIXED VS. VARIABLES EXPENSES
Set spending caps:
Gas or transportation (limit/consolidate trips, etc.)
Food (more “in” and less “out”)
Entertainment/campus activities (prioritize events)
Recommend that participants should try to convert as many variable expenses into fixed expenses. This can be accomplished by setting caps on spending categories. In addition to the categories on the slide, other categories could include clothing, spring break, dorm or apartment décor, and computer and related items.
Activity
Have participants break into small groups again. Ask each group to pick a variable expense category and brainstorm creative ways to limit spending. Have one person present the category and cost-saving strategies to the whole group. Record these ideas on the flip chart.

10. STEP 1: IDENTIFYING MONTHLY INCOME
Financial aid per month (scholarships, grants, loans)
Part-time earnings
Available savings
Family contributions
Distribute the Spending Plan worksheet to participants. Encourage participants to make several copies of the spending plan or scan it to use throughout the academic year.
Note that the process of creating a budget starts by accurately recording income. Caution participants not to be overly optimistic when estimating income from jobs or contributions from family members.

11. STEP 2: IDENTIFYING MONTHLY EXPENSES
Education related (tuition, books, supplies, etc.)
Life related (insurance, rent, child care, clothing, etc.)
Note that some expenses may occur only occasionally, such as tuition or car insurance. In that case, the anticipated cost for a year should be divided by 12 and a per-month cost added to the expense sheet.
Emphasize that keeping spending diary will make it easier to accurately track expenses.

12. STEP 3: COMPARING INCOME AND EXPENSES
Money left over at end of month?
Place in savings.
More expenses than money?
Get back on track.
Consider goals:
If money left over, where would the extra money serve you best?
If there is a deficit, what circumstances contributed to the imbalance?

13. CONSIDERING COST-EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVES
Meal plans
Books
Housing
Spring break
?Ask participants to look at the categories on the slide and try to come up with at least one cost-saving alternative for each category. (Use the points below to encourage creative thinking.)
For meal plans, for example, a two-meal per day plan, instead of a three-meal per day plan, is likely to be less expensive. Another option is to skip the meal plan and make meals instead.
For books, the student could first check the syllabus and then ask the professor if an older edition is acceptable. The student could also use an app to comparison shop for the best price. The student also may consider renting instead of buying textbooks. Also, the student could sell books at the end of the semester.
For housing, living off campus is typically cheaper than living in a dorm, but the student should consider “extra” expenses such as utilities and cleaning supplies that are covered in a dorm.
For those students who would like to consider a spring break, but need to be cost-conscious, options could include a “staycation,” visiting a friend in another town or state, or taking a camping trip. Another possible option is to take a trip as a volunteer for a nonprofit organization. Time is often split between volunteering and touring, and the experience could be added to the student’s resume.

14. THE EARN-MORE ALTERNATIVE
Pro: could help with expenses
Con: may interfere with college
Job possibilities:
On campus: accustomed to students, often lower paying
Off campus: less flexibility, possibly higher paying
?Ask participants how many of them already have jobs.
If most participants are already working, note that it may be difficult to take on any more work without it affecting a student’s ability to attend class, study regularly, and complete assignments.
If there are participants who currently do not have jobs, note that it may possible to take on a modest amount of work, say 10 to 15 hours per week, and still stay focused on college. This may be an option to consider if the student is routinely running short of money.
Explain how jobs may be available on campus (a work-study job) or off campus. Campus employers are accustomed to accommodating a student’s schedule and can often be reached by a short walk between classes. However, they frequently pay less than an off-campus job. Although an off-campus job may pay more, it may offer less flexibility and perhaps require transportation.

15. PICKING THE RIGHT CHECKING ACCOUNT
Consider needs (ATMs, multi-state operations)
Comparison shop
Beware of account obligations (overdraft, etc.)
Note that no matter what a student earns, he or she needs to keep the money in a safe, easily accessible account. Fortunately, many banks and credit unions offer checking accounts specifically for college students.
Distribute the Selecting a Checking Account worksheet.
Encourage participants to use the worksheet to compare various bank and credit union checking accounts for the best deal.
For example, some banks may offer free checking, but require the account owner to sign up for overdraft protection. Explain that overdraft protection keeps people from having insufficient funds in an account — but if the account is overdrawn, this convenience comes with hefty fees and penalties. Low-balance texts or alerts in addition to or in place of overdraft protection might be a better choice.
Students also should consider the minimum amount necessary to open the account, the number and availability of ATMs, and other bank features.

16. SUMMARY In this workshop, we discussed:
Discover where your money is really going
Convert as many expenses as possible into “fixed” expenses
Make a realistic budget so your money stays on track
Find a financial institution that fits your needs
Review the topics covered in the session:
Discover where your money is really going.
Convert as many expenses as possible into “fixed” expenses.
Make a realistic budget so your money stays on track.
Find a financial institution that fits your needs.

17. RESOURCES Use your Resources info sheet. Questions? Thank you!
Encourage participants to use the information in the Resources handout to learn more about budgeting, bank accounts, consumer protection and related topics.
?Ask participants if they have any questions and thank them for attending.