Some Money Basics

By Lev Novak

Heyyyyyyy buddy.

Let’s talk budget.

I know, I know. Money is never fun to talk about. It’s easier to pretend it just shows up and appears. Some weeks you’re buying drinks for your friends, other weeks you’re juggling groceries very specifically to get your calorie-per-penny ratio nice and tight.

I understand. We’re just going to go over the very basic things, right now.

1. What’s Your Income?

As a student, you might not have an income. If you do, great. If not, we’ll get to that.

Let’s say for the sake of this article you have $36,000 to work with, separate from school costs. That sounds like a bunch, but it isn’t as invincible as it sounds.

Your income is the money you’ll be making. Not the money you hope you’ll be making, or even could be. If it doesn’t look like you’d like it to, consider getting a job. That’s not a possibility for some people; you’re already working, or you’re taking five classes, or this economy is going to wreck you.

Fine, fine. I get it. But your income is something important to watch while making your budget, because it’s a lot more fun to make money than to save it.

2. What’s Your Split?

Essentially, what is your rent going to cost you?

Generally, you should look at the whole picture of what your other expenses are. If you live in New York City, obviously your rent split is going to be enormous. If you live in a suburb of Tennessee, you can probably get a fantastic apartment for a far lower split.

There’s no real percentage of your budget to take for rent, but splitting is important to remember. If you spend more on rent, you’ll have to spend less on clothes, trips, and food. If your rent is cheap, you’ll have a lot more leeway.

Simple, simple stuff, but that sentence was a litmus test; if you’re not into travel or fashion, and you like food plenty but can cook your own, an expensive apartment won’t damage you too badly. On the other hand, if you had specific trips or clothes in mind as you read those words, your apartment should probably focus on value instead.

Money isn’t about percentages; it’s about splits and priorities. Take yours.

3. Spend, Don’t Bleed

You can be a big spender, because ultimately, you can reel your spending habits in as needed.

Bleeding is different.

There are costs of living you don’t anticipate, like shampoo and necessary, immediate taxis, and then there are the costs that you incur yourself. Buying extra drinks for strangers, always eating out, taxis or Ubers when you could just take the train….all these are examples of bleeding money, because they aren’t active decisions. They are passive lifestyle choices that bleed out money.

You can spend money on what you like, but be aware what you’re doing. Don’t throw money away at problems.

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