Starting a new journey in college is exciting, but it also comes with new financial responsibilities. How you manage your money during college is essential in avoiding stress stemming from financial problems. Here are five budgeting tips to help you get started.

The first step in managing your personal finances is to create a realistic budget outlining your actual income and expenses. Having a budget helps you see how much money is coming in and out of your account and gives you a clear picture of your spending habits.

To create your budget, list out your income and expenses. Your income may come from various sources such as:

• Family Contributions
• Scholarships
• Loans
• Part-time Jobs

When it comes to expenses, it is important to know how to differentiate between fixed expenses and variable expenses. Fixed expenses are regular and don’t change from month to month. As a college student, your fixed expenses may include:

• Tuition Fees
• Rent
• Utilities (electricity, water, internet bills)
• Insurance

On the other hand, variable expenses are costs that fluctuate month to month. They also require you to be mindful of your spending. Here are some examples:

• Groceries and Personal Items
• Transportationt
• Entertainment
• Dining Out
• Medical Expenses

After you have listed out your income and expenses, subtract your expenses from your income. If your final number is positive, it means you have extra money you can put towards your savings. If your final number is a negative, this means that you are spending more than you make. In this case, you need to reassess your spending, which leads us to the next point.

Simply put, needs are things that are essential in your daily life. Wants, on the other hand, can enhance your quality of life but are not important for survival. Dining at fancy restaurants, buying a cup of Starbucks latte, and going on trips are all examples of wants.

You can easily splurge on wants if you are not aware of your emotional urges and do not keep track of your spending. While it is okay to treat ourselves to some luxuries, doing so frequently and without consideration will only land ourselves in a financial pit hole.

To avoid that, always prioritise your needs first. Then, dedicate a specific amount of money for your wants within your budget. You can further reduce your spending by opting for more affordable alternatives. For example, you can cook and do meal preps instead of dining out or look for shared rooms for accommodation. If you start building saving habits step-by-step, you will be able to save a lot in the long run.

The next step in budgeting is to track your spending regularly as this will help you stay on course. There are many apps out there that can help monitor your expenses, however such apps may come with a subscription plan. If you are looking to save those extra bucks, all you need is a simple spreadsheet or pen and paper to record your expenses.

By having a tracking system in place, you’ll be able to make any adjustments to your budget accordingly and keep yourself accountable.

One of the benefits of being a college student is that you get to enjoy perks like student discounts for various purposes like transportation, entertainment and education.

If you rely on public transport to travel around, you can apply for a student concession card from MyRapid, which offers a fare discount of 50% on cash rate for every journey on RapidKL Bus, BRT, LRT, Monorail, MRT services.

You can also get good deals for tech gadgets. Apple offers education discounts to students as part of its Back To School promotion, but your student status needs to be verified before you can proceed. Adobe Cloud also offers a 60% discount for students on their Creative Cloud apps, allowing you to save some bucks as you pursue your creative projects.

While you don't need luxuries to survive college, sticking a balance between cost and your non-negotiable requirements can make college life more enjoyable as you learn the art of frugal living.

Whether it is a car breakdown or an injury, having an emergency fund can be a lifesaver. A useful rule of thumb is to save 3-6 months of your expenses for your emergency fund. You can start by making small and regular contributions per week, per month, or per paycheck.

While it can be challenging to set up an emergency fund on a student budget, having this option can give you peace of mind because you’ll have something to fall back on when unexpected events happen.