Create a savings goal while you’re in college or university.  Doing so may help you to cut back on erroneous spending, avoid credit card debt and start to grow your money.  If you create a savings goal now you can also start building your credit and put money aside to pay for your undergraduate and/or graduate college student loans.

By becoming aware of the amount of money you spend each week and month as well as the products and services you spend money on, you can start to form a picture of your spending habits.  Lists items such as the costs of restaurant meals, going to the movies, buying concert tickets and paying to get admitting to athletic events the college or university you attend hosts.  Subtract your expenses from the amount of income you receive from working part-time jobs, college internships or university work/study programs.  If you have money remaining from your income, use this money to start saving and growing your wealth.

Grow Your Wealth in College

Keep in mind that by creating a weekly savings goal (rather than leaving the amount of money you save to chance) you can increase the chances that you save the amount of money you want by a certain period of time.  For example, you might want to save enough money to pay for your college textbooks on your own or to pay off a car loan early.  Make sure your savings goal is reachable to avoid becoming frustrated and feeling disappointment.  Encourage yourself by setting and keeping reasonable savings goals.  You can create a savings goal by:

• Deciding which debts (e.g. credit cards) you’re going to pay off first (if you pay off high interest debts first, you can start saving more money each month)
• Depositing money from your earnings into interest bearing accounts as soon as you get paid (consider depositing 10 percent of your income into these accounts)
• Setting goals for the amounts of auto insurance deductibles you pay (depending on the policies at the insurance company your auto is insured by, you may be able to save money on your monthly premiums if you change the amount of your deductibles)
• Choosing items you no longer use at your college dorm or at home to sell so you get extra money to deposit into interest bearing bank accounts or to purchase products you want
• Steering clear of payday loans (you could pay more than 50 percent if you roll over a payday loan three times)

There are several areas of your life where you can create savings goals (e.g. auto insurance, car payments).  If you create a goal or limit on how much you’re willing to spend in each area of your life, you can start focusing on saving.

In addition to your education, creating and managing a savings goal is one rewarding skill you can acquire as a college student.  After you meet your savings goal, create a new goal so you continue to reach bigger milestones.  Once you get hired or use your college education to open and operate your own business, you can grow your savings faster.  You can use the money you save to pay off your college or university student loans, pay down any credit card or other debt that you may have and to reward yourself with products and services you appreciate.