I don’t know about you girls but I am broke. Maybe it was the couple orders of makeup I decided I could not live without or maybe it was the fact that I’ve been eating out so much. Either way, I’m pretty much down to my last couple dollars. If it wasn’t for my tax refund from my job last summer, I don’t think I would be able to do anything right now.

So, I was thinking about some good ways that could prevent us from getting to this point; something that won’t take up a lot of time and effort – but definitely something effective. Money management is an important skills to have especially as we graduate from college. My mom has always been a stickler for paying credit bills on time (and I mean the whole bill, none left on the balance) and I admit it has helped me develop some pretty good habits.

First, don’t be scared to look up your online bank statement. Sometimes I hate to look at it because I’m afraid that I’ll be looking at such a low number that it’ll throw me into a mini-panic attack. But honestly, getting bad news is better than not knowing. Always check it. It takes like two minutes!

Secondly, have a separate debit account. I don’t have this yet, but I don’t some people who do just so they’ll be sure on how much they spend and it’s been working for them! Place a certain amount of money each week into your second debit card and use that to spend for the weekend! How great is that? That way, you’ll never go over what you meant to spend. Oh, and leave that tempting credit card at home.

Everyone has their own ways of dealing with money but when it comes to mine, I want it to be quick and easy. And you can bet that I’ll be doing this next semester! Hopefully I’ll never have to beg money from my parents again! *crosses fingers*