Cardinal Points

Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Fuse

College life is full of adjustments, and for many students one of the most challenging ones is learning to live on a budget.

Learning to balance your life and what you spend compared to what you make is a difficult task for everyone, especially students. In college, money suddenly takes on a whole new meaning.

Now, the gas money is no longer just for trips around town, but trips home as well.

Also, you can no longer raid your parents' fridge when you're hungry - you now have to budget money for food as well.

According to Plattsburgh State freshman Meighan Jupin, one of the most difficult things is learning to distinguish between necessary and unnecessary purchases.

"It's hard just trying to budget expenses, deciding what is necessary and unnecessary is very difficult," Jupin said.

Karyn Neuhauser, assistant professor of economics and finance, feels that setting your priorities ahead of time will allow you to balance your budget around the necessities.

"Set your priorities and pay for things in order of priority," Neuhauser said. "For example, rent and food need to come before anything else since they are necessary for survival. Tuition and books would probably come next, then other important things such as car payment, gas, necessary clothing, and lastly, things that are fun but not really necessary, such as movies, video games, non-essential clothing, jewelry, etc."

Jupin learned some ways to budget in high school. She said that you should monitor your spending habits for one or two weeks.

During that time, write down everything that you buy and how much it costs. Then, at the end evaluate everything on the list and decide which purchases were necessary and which were not.

This will give you a better idea of where you spend your money and how to limit your spending in the future.

One of the dilemmas that several students find with living on a fixed income is finding the time to work while attending classes. Many students find it difficult to acquire a job where they can have a flexible schedule and work enough hours per week to earn money while being a full-time college student.

"It's hard having a job at school, and is more difficult than people presume it to be, especially with classes and extracurricular activities," PSUC senior Jennelle Vann said.

A good way to save money is to become more aware of how much money you spend and cut down on the amount spent on recreational activities. PSUC junior Dana Selmensberger said she tries to keep her costs down by trying not to go out as much, and stacking up on snacks at the beginning of the semester so that she does not spend as much while at school.

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