With September just around the corner, it’s time to start paying tuition, buying books, and getting ready for the school semester to start.  September can definitely be a busy time of the year; you can find yourself drowning in debt if you don’t actively manage your money with a monthly budget.

Many students live on very little and they don’t really have a budget for lavish living expenses; but this does not have to be the case.  If students learn to make the most out of their money they can have a pretty average lifestyle while studying in college.

Use these helpful tips to help you stop spending and start saving more money today:

1. Cut Your Monthly Bills.  This is absolutely an expense that can be cut out of your monthly budget.  I don’t know about you but my internet, cable, home phone, and cell phone bills are my biggest monthly expenses after my rent payment.  I should definitely cancel my home phone service and only use my cell phone for calls.  I should also cut my cable bill because I have several channels that I don’t watch.  The problem with cable packages are that sometimes you can add a cluster of channels but only watch one of the four channels in the cluster.  This is an unnecessary expense and it can definitely be cut.

2. Leave Your Wallet At Home.  Having a wallet full of credit cards, debit cards, and cash can be a temptation to spend money that we should save. If you are like me then you can convince yourself that you need something if you have the money to buy it.  Bringing only the amount of money that we need for our essential purchases is a great way to cut expenses and save money.  The less money that we spend, the more money we can save.

3. Pick Up an Extra Shift at Work.  One of the best ways to save money is to make more money.  If you can pick up some extra shifts at work, find a second job or book a few freelance gigs during the summer months it can definitely help you save money faster.  If you are making more money, then you can save more money, you just have to make sure that you don’t spend your extra cash on personal expenses. I know that the idea of having more money can be tempting and you may want to spend your extra cash, but if you are making more money it’s important to use it for its intended purpose.

4. Set Up Automatic Transfers.  Automatic transfers are a great way to force yourself to save money on a regular basis.  You can set up automatic transfers for an amount of money that fits into your budget and at a frequency that is convenient for you.  As an example you can set up an automatic transfer for $25 to come out of your checking account and be directly deposited into your savings account on a monthly or biweekly basis.  Automatic transfers force you to save money continuously and on a regular basis.

What is your savings strategy?

Photo by tony crider

This post was featured in the Financial Tips -Wealth Management Carnival #3

Tahnya Kristina

Tahnya Kristina

Tahnya is 30 years old and lives in Montreal Quebec. She graduated in 2005 from Concordia University, and she currently works for a major International Financial Institution. She recently launched http://www.mediamadam.ca/. You can follow her on Twitter @TahnyaP.