thebabyperks

How many times do we say "I'm so busy" throughout the day? I have a lot of problems with the "busyness" in today's culture because I don't think it's healthy or productive. Constantly feeling drained without the chance to really recharge can only last so long before one part of your life begins to suffer.

Here's a cute Girl Scout photo from the "Teddy Bear Tea" in fall 2018.

I can only recall a few things from my high school personal finance class: we learned how to write checks, played a stock market game, and wrote letters to ourselves. I know we definitely took tests and did worksheets, but I honestly cannot remember anything we discussed.

Going into college I was thrown into the world of balancing my money. My freshman year this wasn't too bad because I had worked all school year saving up money and I was graciously given some money at my graduation party. I lived in the dorms so I had a rather large meal plan so I didn't need a lot of groceries. My main expenses were my sorority dues, car insurance, gas to go back and forth between Springfield and O'Fallon, and going out to eat. 

The summer before my sophomore year I didn't get to work as much. I had the opportunity to attend Kappa Delta National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona, I went on a family vacation and went on a float trip. I am so glad I did all of these things and so thankful for those memories, but I definitely didn't have as much money going into the fall semester. I struggled with learning how to cook and went out to eat a lot to compensate. I started working at the school gym at the beginning of my sophomore year, but fun fact about on-campus jobs they only pay you once a month. I was constantly waiting for the 15th of every month to get paid. I found myself feeling anxious about my finances so often.

Here is a photo of David's cat and his roommate Micah's cat because they are cuter than anything photo-wise related to finances

That leads me to this past summer. I got an internship at Spectrum and was determined to spend and save my money wisely. I worked 40 hours a week this summer at my internship and got into a routine of going to work, going to the gym, eating dinner at home and repeating that cycle. My biggest expense during the summer was gas money-- both from O'Fallon to STL and O'Fallon to KC. When I moved back to school for my junior year I was in a much more comfortable spot. But, whenever I went to the grocery store I felt anxious spending $50+ on groceries. This very long intro takes me to my main point of this post: how I learned that it's okay to spend money on food, how to cook, and ultimately how to create a budget.

I was determined to not go out to eat as much this year. I had a kitchen and I wanted to learn how to cook. When I went to the grocery store and spent over $50 on groceries I would freak out, but when I calculated it out I realized how much money I was really saving. My groceries can usually last me 2 weeks, 3 meals a day times 6 days a week (given that I still have a small meal plan so sometimes I go to the dining hall or order pizza/go out to eat) times 2 weeks that the groceries last, that's 36 meals. This breaks down to around $2/meal, which is obviously way cheaper than going out to eat. Something that I struggled with last year toward the end of the semester and felt this past semester was fear of going out to eat. I was afraid to overspend and be broke which made me turn down opportunities to go out to dinner with friends. The past two months I've tracked my spending a little more diligently and decided to outline a budget in Google Sheets so I could see how much I could spend on going out to eat without fear. I knew that during school I would most likely be striking even on my expenses/income ratio, or spending a little bit more (hence why I save so much in the summer). In Google Sheets I calculated my expenses like Dollar Shave Club, car insurance, a range of sorority dues, Spotify, gas, going out to eat, etc. From there I did some simple equations to project where I would be at the end of this semester. I also plugged in different incomes to see how much money I would have if I worked different hours at the gym for next fall. After doing this I was able to make some decisions on how I wanted to spend my money the rest of the semester so that I can go be where I want to be financially next semester, too. I downloaded the app Mint which helped me create a budget that has specific categories for spending. It updates whenever I use my debit or credit card so I always know where I'm at.

Obviously, I'm only a college student and I am just getting started with budgeting, so I don't want people to think I think I know it all. I just wanted to share what I'm learning in hopes that it can help others. I know finances will get more challenging once I graduate, but I am so proud of myself for taking the time to build a budget and recognize patterns in my spending now rather than later. It's great to understand where my money goes.

Until next time,
Taylor x