I will admit, I am not the best with money. It's not like I lose it, or buy really stupid things that I'll never use. I just like to spend it on nice things for myself, or spend it on my family and friends. And for the last few years that hasn't ever really been a problem -- I've been working full time and have very few bills to pay, so I've been able to enjoy myself without really ever worrying about money.
This is not going to be the case for the next few years.
I'm going to have to put myself on a tight budget, and really stick to it, if I don't want to ask my parents for (monetary) help. And so I've taken a few hours over the last day or so to get real about my spending habits and my financial situation over the next few years, and outline a budget that, while tight, should *hopefully* be easy to stick to for the next year.
I've found a handy app on my iPhone that will hopefully help me keep better track of my spending and budgets while I'm on the go. It's called Ace Budget, and it's helpful in that you can track multiple budgets at once, you can set different budgets for different cycle dates (weekly, monthly, etc.) and you can see your budgets in reports or charts for easy comparison. I've become a fan, and I think having something like this will make it easier for me to stick to my definite budget.
As far as my budget goes, I know several people who are only budgeting for the 10 month academic year. I don't think this is wise. While you might be able to secure paying (legal) employment during the summer after your 1L, chances are you might now, and so you should be prepared. My apartment building only offers 1 year leases, so I'm going to have to pay rent during the summer whether I'm working or not. As such, I'm stretching my budget to the full 12 months, and then just hoping that I get a paying job so that I'm a little bit ahead of the curve (budget-wise) for 2L.
Since I don't plan on getting my loan disbursement until classes start, that means I'm going to have a lot of expenses out of pocket right out of the gate: my first month's rent (and deposit), first semester books, moving expenses, a down payment on a car and my first month's payment, etc. So I'm probably looking at $5000 out of my pocket before school has even started. Yikes!
Something that I would recommend to people starting out on their budget: make sure you over estimate a little for your first two or three months. It's better to have a little bit of a surplus in one area than to be scrambling to make ends meet by taking money from here and there. So if you think you can do on a food budget of $250 per month, for the first three months allow yourself $300. After three months you've got more of an idea of what you're actually spending (especially if you've been tracking your expenses on a budget app like Ace Budget), and can reevaluate your needs compared to your budget.
My budget looks like this:
Rent: $800/month
Utilities: $250/month
Car Payments: $250/month
Car Maintenance and Gas: $100/month
Car Insurance: $100/month
Health insurance (boo): $715/semester
Books/Supplies: $1000/semester
Food: $400/month
Entertainment: $200/month
Now, when you crunch all the numbers, that's pretty much my entire budget for the year...my total amount of student loans. I've got a bit of savings for a real emergency, plus (even though I don't want to) I know I can always ask my parents for help if I'm in a real bind. But the thing is, I feel like I've over estimated on several items...my car payment won't be that high, nor will my utilities. My food consumption probably won't take the whole budget either.
But when it comes down to it I'd rather be able to take the extra money at the end of the month and put it in my entertainment budget for the next month, than have to do without in November because I overspent in October, you know?
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