![]() ![]() Here are five of the most popular budgeting techniques touted by professionals-and how they fared in our testing. “The most important thing is that you pick a strategy that really resonates with you.” The more comfortable you are with that strategy, you’re more likely to implement it and stick with it. ![]() “Everybody’s different,” says Greg Giardino, a Tarrytown, N.Y.-based certified financial planner. One thing they stressed: There’s no one-size-fits-all budgeting solution. My main objective with my money is to make sure I’m taking care of my expenses while also saving for a down payment on a house.įor help, I turned to certified financial planners. ![]() I’m a married 30-something with no children who lives in New York City. But that can be a time-consuming process, so we put the most popular budgeting methods through our testing process over several weeks to see which ones work best for a regular person. To sort out which type of budget might work best for you, and if you need a budget at all, can take some experimentation. There are just about as many approaches to handling your daily finances as there are to counting calories. "It's a simple concept for college students," Hartsfield says.Trying to get your spending under control? Just like with dieting, it can help to add some structure by following a plan, especially if your budget is likely to be bigger because of inflation, as The Wall Street Journal newsroom has advised. And when you need money for a night out, you can take cash or use a debit card tied to the account with your variable money. That way you won't deplete the money you need for must-pay bills like your rent or car insurance. Reid Hartsfield, a financial planner in Jacksonville, Fla. It's helpful to separate your money into two accounts, one for variable expenses and another account for fixed expenses, says F. The Department of Education's federal student aid office offers a number of resources on budgeting for college students. It can even send an alert when a budgeted category is close to exceeding its limit, says Mullins. ![]() It syncs with your bank account and automatically buckets your spending into different categories that you set up. Mint is one of the most popular and comprehensive budgeting apps, he says. "It's never been easier to track your spending and create budgets that will keep your spending in check," says Mullins. Once you prioritize your spending, use online tools or apps to make budgeting simple. Wants: concert tickets, your second soy latte of the day, beer, and that spring break plane ticket. Needs are staples like clothing, housing, school gear, food, and transportation. Now comes the hard part: Categorizing your spending into two buckets, needs vs. Look at your debit card, bank account, and credit cards over the last few months to see where your money is going and what big-ticket items popped up. Once you see what you've been spending money on, you may be surprised at how much is on nonessentials. Next, figure out what you spend in a typical month. It's likely to be "lumpy." You may have a chunk from savings or refunds from financial aid (that's money left over after loans, scholarships, and grants are applied to your tuition, room and board, and fees) at the start of the semester, and some regular income from your parents or a job. First, tally up the money you expect to have for the semester. People who budget typically do it monthly, but it makes more sense for students to build a spending plan around each academic period. ![]()
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