Emergency! No Problem.

I have referred to an emergency fund in the post “All the Cool People Do It! Give Budgeting a Try!”  An emergency fund is very important, especially when you are in college and on a budget.  Life can be unpredictable and having a safety net in the form of a savings account will give you a huge advantage.

All the Cool People Do It! Give Budgeting a Try!

I’ve been posting a lot about saving money and making money, but not that much about managing money.  One of the most important skills you need to master now (and for the rest of your life) is budgeting. 

Luckily you already have a budgeting kind of cheat sheet in the Expenses worksheet (in the Useful Links tab).  A budget not only considers your expenses (like utilities, food, rent, savings, etc), but also when those expenses occur and when you get paid.  Here is a sample budget I have put together using Excel.