5 Money Management Tips for Community College Transfer Students

Most adults have a difficult time when it comes to managing their money, so it's no surprise that community college transfer students just starting their financial journey would struggle with both the concept and inception of financial planning.

And yet, to some degree you have it a lot easier than your parents at this point.

Although you may not have much money, most community college transfers also don't have many expenses (especially those that elect to live at home while attending school).

So this is a good time to start learning the ropes of money management.

Here are just a few tips that will get you off on the right foot.

Community College Transfer Student Tips To Manage Your Money!

Make a budget

This is an essential aspect of managing your money. If you don't know where it's coming and going you can't possibly expect to manage it successfully. So take the time to sit down with your paperwork and sort through what you're earning, what you're spending, and what's in the bank in order to determine what you can actually afford to spend. You'll want to begin with what you know and work from there, so if you have a job with variable hours (and pay), guesstimate your income based on your smallest monthly income over the past year (this way you're likely to end up with more income than you budgeted for). And make sure to enter all monthly and annual payments, including insurance, tuition, and so on. This will help you to figure out what you can contribute to your savings and whether or not you can blow some fun money.

Download some helpful apps

Tracking money is made easier by the many great mobile programs offered in the app-sphere. PageOnce, for example, is a free tool for tracking your cash flow that allows you to link up to your accounts (bank, credit card, etc.) so you always know just how much money you've got. However, it also lets you engage in online bill pay, input your budget so you can see the amount of upcoming payments, and even see your credit score. In short, it's one very handy app for the community college student looking for an easy money management solution. And there are plenty of other comparable apps to meet your personal needs.

Avoid credit cards

This is something you should try to do if at all possible. You might not be able to afford college without student loans, more's the pity, but if you can get through without taking on the additional burden of credit cards you're likely to transfer with far less personal debt to your name. It's better if you simply avoid the temptation of credit cards altogether.

Guard your information

Identity theft is a major problem these days and it can deplete your bank accounts, jack up your credit cards, and leave you in dire financial straits. So be extremely careful about who you give your personal information to, including name, address, social security, and any data related to your financial accounts. This means being savvy to scams, shopping only on secure websites, checking your statements, and refusing to give out sensitive information to anyone.

Get free stuff

Being frugal and tracking expenses are two activities that will help you to stay afloat and perhaps even save during your time in community college. But there's no better way to remain solvent than by getting free stuff. So peruse Craigslist in search of needed items listed at a price of "you haul" and get everything from coffee and cereal to floss and shampoo to laundry detergent from websites like FreeSamples.org.

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