No one ever taught me really how to save money, but I’m in college and work part-time, and don’t really get money from my parents (because they pay my tutition) but how do I stop living from pay check to paycheck? How much should I have saved in my savings and checkings any given time? I get about 170-200 every two weeks.

bitchesgetriches:

Buttercup, I am not mad at you, but I am fucking mad. You’re not the first college student to say “No one every taught me how to save money,” and it pisses me off that we send our youngest and most vulnerable people out into the world without the basic understanding of how to manage their personal finances. It’s part of why I wrote this:

Advice I Wish My Parents Gave Me When I Was 16

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Financial Math

I digress. You are a wise sparrow of responsibility to be coming to us with this question. Let me make the process easy for you!

To stop living from paycheck to paycheck, you need to spend less than you earn and save the difference. (I don’t mean to downplay how hard this is. But the principle itself is pretty simple and straightforward.) You can do this by tracking your regular spending over the course of a month and making adjustments accordingly.

You’re on an income of about $400 per month. So that’s allllll you have to work with. Track your spending for the month. That means keeping a spreadsheet of EVERY expense. Did you buy a bus ticket? Add the cost to the spreadsheet and label it “bus ticket.” Did you buy groceries? Add it to the spreadsheet! Rinse and repeat for every penny you spend. At the end, you’ll be able to see exactly how much you spent and how you spent it.

From there, you can adjust so you’re spending less than you earn. Maybe you spent $3 on coffee when you could’ve made coffee at home for, like… a cent. Maybe you took the bus more often than you needed to, and you can find ways to ride a bike or walk next time instead. Whatever. Identify the unnecessary expenditures, and next month eliminate them from your spending.

Then, take that money you DIDN’T spend and stick it in a savings account. Even if it’s just a dollar or two, it will add up over time and save you from the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle. Don’t give up. We’re rooting for you.

It Really Does Add Up: On Saving Your Little Savings