Budgeting Successfully For Students in Four Easy Steps

Creating and managing a budget successfully is not as hard as make out to be. Although, the initial commitment to live according to the budget you create is the hardest part, like most new things. But, once you get into a regular routine, it become a habit you are on your way to being a wiser spender and saving more.

What is a budget?

A written plan how your are spending your money. Some people look at as a savings plan, cutting spending to necessities and investing the rest. You will spend money on either things you need (fixed expenses) and wants (variable expenses); a budget just helps you to spend your money more wisely.

Managing a budget

1) Prepare a budget worksheet. You can create one yourself on paper or spreadsheet. There are also pre-made forms available. To create your own: down the left side list all of your sources of income and expenses. Across the top, you can break it down into weeks, or months. As you record the dollar amount for each, subtract expenses from income and that becomes the total at the bottom.

2) Tracking your incidental expenses in a small notebook. This is where the bulk of your money is going, but what about all those extras? The dollar here, fifty cents there add up quick over a month. This is an extremely important step if you are serious about stretching your money. Jot down all the money spent each day on meals, snacks, gas, movies, impulse purchases, beer, pizza, or entertainment. After you have done so for a few days, you will start to notice how small things add up to large amounts. This is where you can start cutting back putting the money into savings.

3) Learn everything you can about budgeting, spending, and saving/investing your money. The library is a great place to start as it offers many free resources. Talk to anyone who is already doing this, friends, parents, or teachers, to see what they have learned about using money more wisely, budgeting and saving. Maybe you can even form a small group at school to share what each student has learned.

4) Living a frugal lifestyle is not something to be shunned. Frugality is not a bad thing, it is the wisest thing you can do for yourself. Shop smart, spend less, invest more.

Some frugal living suggestions:

Define your financial goals. List wants verses needs. Concentrate on spending money only on needs and wants only if you have saved up for them. Don't gamble, drink, smoke, or do drugs. They are not only bad for you, addictive, and cost money it is how fortunes are lost. Always pay yourself first by keeping a savings account. Look around for high interest accounts, like money market accounts, and keep the majority of your money there. Eliminate waste, using everything to its fullest potential. Waste not, Want not. Reuse everything, study materials such as pencils, pens, and even paper. Even a backpack can be sewn at least once before it needs replacing. Then recycle. Don't spend money around the plans you make instead make plans around the money you have to spend after all of your responsibilities are met. Create a fun account and once its spent, that's end of the fun until you save some more. Don't be tempted by friends' to spend more than you have. They may just start wondering where all your money is coming from and that gives you the chance to educate them on living more frugal. Make the most of a school meal plan, or any event where there is free food. Use tuition money wisely. Always take the maximum number of credits allowed and don't burn you out. Get an on-campus job if at all possible. If not, find a job as close as possible to avoide travel expense. Make things yourself instead of buying them whenever possible or find another student you can barter for what you need. Shop smart when buying groceries and household items. Use coupons, look for sales. Stock up on discounted non-perishable items. Milk, butter, and cheese can be frozen. Don't buy soft drinks, they are too expensive and not goof for your health. Keep one bottle and refill it with water, bottle water is too expensive. Never spend money on snack machines. When buying clothes shop smart and do not pay retail prices. Go to thrift stores, consignment shops, yard sales, clearance racks, and buy during off seasons. Don't buy any item that requires dry cleaning. Consider consigning your own clothes to earn some money. Email or write a letter instead of calling home long distance, even if the parents are paying for it.

Just a few ideas you can use to start living more frugal, and to manage your budget successfully. Learning how to manage a budget in college not only helps you now, but all through your life. The decisions you make now will effect you throughout life. Use this time and your money more wisely.

Attract Publishers With Your Talent

The slushpiles in publishers' offices are higher than ever before, worse than that, they are getting taller by the day, and if you hope to avoid them, you have to grab the publisher's or agent's attention, with the sheer force of your talent. Here are some ways to help you improve your writing, which in turn might intrigue them. They won't guarantee you getting published, nothing will, but they might help.

Know you subject.

With the advent of the Internet you can obtain detailed technical information on any subject you can think of. There is no excuse for inaccurate or wishy-washy descriptive writing. If the publisher guesses you don't really know what you are talking about, guess where your work will end up. I recently read an otherwise excellent book that went on to describe the cicadas chirping in the grounds of Salisbury Cathedral. I don't think so. Cicadas in England? Global warming may be, but it hasn't happened yet. Or another book published by a well-known thriller writer, later turned into a successful movie, describing scenes of cruising through the locks on the Norfolk Broads. The only problem with that, there are no locks on the Norfolk Broads. I doubt if he would have got away with that today.

Spend sufficient time and effort settling on your characters' names.

Ideally they shouldn't be too ordinary, or too extreme. They should be interesting and memorable, and not already famous in another work. Remember, you're going to be stuck with these characters all through the book, all through your life come to that, at least with some of them, and you don't want those names grating by the time you reach page twenty.

Avoid using too many adjectives.

Especially those ending in "ly". They do make sentences wordy, and often deaden and weaken meaning. If you have to use them, try and do so at the beginning or the end of the sentence. "Obviously", seems to be the most overused word on the planet. Some people begin every sentence with "obviously". Some writers do too. Why? One editor I know strikes out every adjective and adverb ending in "ly", a strict regime you may think, but it usually works. I have just picked up the latest Lee Child blockbuster and at a quick glance I am hard pressed to find any such words. Lee Child is known for his tight writing and fast paced plots. Perhaps this is one reason why.

Try this as an exercise.

Write a 250 word descriptive piece, without using a single adjective. You won't find it easy, but you will notice how tight the writing sounds afterwards. Once you've finished, reward yourself by allowing the addition of one adjective only. When you have just the one to play with, you value it more highly, are more selective, and guess what? It reads better.

Decide on whose story it is, and thus who your central character is, and stick with it.

You will confuse the reader if your central character changes from one moment to another. Lee Child's writing is an excellent example of a strong central character. Almost all of Mister Child's work is centred on the very strong (in more ways than one!) main character of Jack Reacher. If you haven't read a Lee Child book, then do so, and you will see what I mean. Lee Child has built a hugely successful career on the back of his portrayal of the adventures of Jack Reacher, and clear lessons can be learned from his creation of this one outstanding character.

For more ideas and suggestions on improving your writing and thus your chances of becoming published, see my follow up article entitled: "Tight Writing is the Way To A Publisher's Heart."