Many students during high school find ways to earn money and get a job. When they earn money, the first thought that goes into their head is, “How am I going to spend this money?”. Instead, students should be asking themselves, “How can I budget this money?”.
A budget is a plan for all of the money that you earn. In this plan, you create different categories that reflect your needs and wants. As you budget, you should think about how much you want to put towards both your savings and spending goals.
The reasons why budgeting is effective for students are because budgeting gives experience and establishes good habits, lowers stress, and helps prevent impulsive buying.
Keeping a budget gives you experience for the future. When students start thinking about how they are going to provide for themselves as they prepare for the future, they should be thinking about getting a job, saving for education, and saving for a place to live. While having a budget, students will be knowledgeable about what they can do with their money. They will also have an easier time setting aside part of the money they earn, for a larger savings goal. Senior Ashlee Soultz said, “With the money I earn, I have a percentage that will go toward my savings and the rest I keep to just spend.”
When people earn money, the more they get, the more insecure and vulnerable the money seems. Kelsey Eller, a Junior, explained, “A budget helps me understand the importance of saving money, and helps me spend my money more reasonably.” Without a budget, people become more unaware of when they spend their money and can become careless.
Many students have a desire to buy something they think they want right at the moment. People go to the store with friends and end up buying stuff they were not planning to buy. Soultz, described, “I do not enjoy everything I buy because sometimes after I buy something I will realize it was a waste of my money. For example I sometimes will buy food when I’m off of work because I saw it around Hy-vee and thought it sounded good. When in reality, I should not buy the food and just save my money.”
