College ignites excitement and thrill. You are finally independent to explore new cities, follow your own schedule, and more! But with this new found freedom there is also anxiety and intimidation. College is a new environment that requires adjustment. A major change is controlling your personal finances. Creating a budget can seem daunting, but by following a personal budget, I enjoyed time out with friends at restaurants while maintaining wealthy habits!

            I attend college in Washington D.C., and similar to any other metropolitan city, prices for goods and services are extremely high. Until college, my parents purchased groceries and monitored our family spending. In college, I found myself without the assistance of my parents to create a personal budget. During my first couple of months in the district, I became overwhelmed with the temptation to venture out for dinner each night. After purchasing a mediocre $10 coffee, I realized I needed to change my spending habits. I created a budget to ensure my money would fund the entire year.

Budgeting groceries and nights out was challenging, but by following these steps, I kept myself from detrimental spending habits:

1. My first step in the process was establishing an initial baseline of how much money I spent each month on groceries.
2. I focused on buying ingredients to cook my own meals, which decreased the cost of each meal.
   1. For example, our local deli’s most basic turkey sandwich is about $7 without any add ons. If I buy my own food, it would cost me about $8 for half a pound of turkey and $7 for my bread. While the $15 for the sandwich products is obviously more than the one $7 sandwich, the sandwich products provide a week’s worth of lunches, whereas the $7 turkey sandwich is only one meal.
3. I made sure to stay below my available funds by establishing a set amount of money for groceries each month.
4. I compared prices between different supermarkets to find the best deal. A great way to comparison shop is through using an app or looking at the supermarkets’ websites.
5. I budgeted money each month to splurge for nights I did not want to cook my own meals.

While these steps were overwhelming at first, they ensured that I did not overspend during my first year of college. I had extra funds to spend on evenings out with friends, clothes, and weekend trips. Budgeting allowed me to enjoy college. I hope this budgeting guide will help you, and you can learn from my experiences. And remember, whenever you are shopping at the grocery store, be sure to actively check for deals, use discounts, and monitor your money usage as closely as possible!

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