Welcome to “The Accounting Corner" with Chris and Katelin!
With midterms approaching, now is the perfect time to take a step back and review your finances for the year so far. It’s important to know where your money is going on a regular basis so you can identify any problem areas. Review your bank and credit card statements and categorize your spending.
Some common categories include:
- Food: Takeout, food delivery, & trips to the grocery store
- Transportation: Ride sharing, gas & oil changes
- Activities/Outings/Nightlife: Concert tickets, cover charges, & movie tickets
- Campus Expenses: Bookstore & parking
- Miscellaneous: Monthly subscriptions, office supplies, & impulse spending
Even though the semester may be jam-packed with classes and projects it’s good to be aware of how you are spending your money; you don’t want to go overboard with your spending! Staying on top of your spending also helps you plan ahead and save for expenses such as the holidays and winter break.
Take advantage of cheaper or free activities to save yourself some money:
- Food: Stock up on snacks from the grocery store instead of ordering takeout late at night – swap that late night slice for snacks that’ll last through the week!
- Transportation: Carpool or ride the bus instead of queuing up that ridesharing app
- Activities: Host a game night instead of heading to the movies – everyone loves Jenga!
- Campus Expenses: Do you really need another hoodie from the bookstore? And if you really do, consider maybe just purchasing one new hoodie a semester.
- Miscellaneous: Cancel that rarely used movie subscription
By cutting back now, you can better prepare yourself for the fun things you want to do later on.
Stay tuned for more personal finance tips from The Accounting Corner!
