Money financial planning for college students is the hardest course during an undergraduate degree. It is often overlooked, as there is no classroom cap, and no GPA on your transcripts.

However, unless you want to be asking people to send you your latest eBay purchase using Ramen Noodles as packaging material, budgeting your limited cash flow is essential. College can be an time of extraordinary debt accumulation, thanks to easy-credit, government backed loans, expensive textbooks, and of course, for some partakers, BEER.

The following tips offer college students some practical financial planning advice.

1. Don’t go for the credit cards
   
   
   Every fall, spring, and weekday it seems, there are booths and tables set out offering you FREE stuff for completing a credit finance application. Don’t be fooled by those easy gimmicks. The companies are there because of flak legislation saying “no minimum income” to receive credit, and will offer some pretty cool stuff. Combined with the fact the average student tends to accumulate nearly 2000$ in credit card debt in under four years, the tables are staffed by some of the slickest jockeys on the financial market offering “low” introductory APRs. They bank on you screwing up during your numerous dorm transfers and summer breaks to hit you with the default rate of nearly 30% AND the 30+ dollar “late fees”. They knowing once they hand you a Frisbee the vast majority of students have signed over thousands of dollars in debt into their financial plan.

    

2. Don’t over tap your student loans
   
   The current federally underwritten stafford loans provide many undergrads up to $2,625 their first year, $3,500 their second year, and $5,500 for each remaining year. And if you decide to continue as a graduate students, you can tap an additional amount of up to $18,500 annually. This is a vital part of the college student budget. After tuition, room, board, books, fees for grass-keeping, car parking, technology, and the slew of remaining fees are paid, students are entitled to go pick up a check from the registrar’s office. This, if well managed, can be a great asset to financially planning your monthly budget. However, it tends to disappear amazingly fast without a sound budget plan.

    

3. Buy used text books when possible, and avoid unnecessary frills
   Often, there are deluxe editions available in the student bookstore, but when each book costs between $80 and $200, and assuming you’re going to need 128 credits, that works out to 32 courses that you’re going to have to buy books for! If you don’t need the supplemental 3D skeletal animation cd interactive DVD experience, don’t buy the premium edition new book. Know that those books, once the cd pouch is opened, are usually bought back for less than 10% of the book cost. Ah the joy of selling that $200 book back for $4. In keeping in line with financially maximizing your monthly budget, contact your professors before your classes begin.Find out exactly what you HAVE to have according to their plan, and what would be BEST to have. More often than not, professors don’t plan to sack you with the cd-opened pricedrop and do not even use the premium editions. Additionally, if you find out what you need before EVERYONE buys their book, you can buy it either online (for maximum savings using sites like eBay.com, Half.com, and Froogle.com, or used at the student book stores (usually at 50-75% of the new price). Check to see if there’s an independent book store around if there is, they usually beat the university prices. If you save 300$/semester on books, your financial plan and monthly budget will be much more robust for doing fun things.

    

4. Opt for less beer
   
   If you do decide to partake, opt for cheaper beers. The premium beers are good for responsible drinkers, however college students on a monthly budget are not reknowned as entirely responsible. Look for restaurants with reasonable prices and draft specials, and if at all possible avoid drinking entirely. Alcohol impairs your judgment, causing you to often spend more than you financially budgeted on any given trip. In addition, it’s an expensive endeavor. Lastly, alcohol often carries HARSH penalties for underage drinking on campus. If you get busted underage, you can lose your dorm. And while dorms may seem expensive, wait until you get sacked paying $400-$1500/month for a (usually ghetto) apartment with cockroaches big enough to carry your financial planning textbooks to class for you.

    

5. Live on campus
   
   Your financial plan and monthly budget will be greatly aided by living on campus with the money you save on parking, gasoline, waiting on a bus, etc. In addition, dorm living is cheaper than an apartment, even though it may not initially look the case. Factor in driving, cable, high speed internet, electricity, laundromat fees – or at the very least additional kilowatts, and the average college student usually finds themselves living outside their budget, initially subsiding on credit cards, and ultimately having to work a job. In addition, apartment living generally results in more class truancy which often translates into lower grades. Lower grades, while may not seem to you as part of your budget, can make all the difference between having job offers after you graduate, and begging McDonalds to hire you.

    

6. Consider a part time job
   
   And on that note, your monthly college budget requires capital! One of the best ways to get extra money to support a more luxurious monthly lifestyle is to get a part time job. The campus is often chock full of opportunities for a student willing to save on gas, time, and energy – and can provide valuable networking opportunities and resumee fodder that looks a lot better after graduating than working at Claires, Target, or Wal-Mart. Help your monthly budget in college and out by trying to find on campus work.

    

7. Don’t rely on your parents to bail you out
   
   Your monthly budget should not be based on panhandling or begging your parents. Yes, you will overspend your budget at times, and yes, you will have to call your parents for a bail out. Remember, though, that you more than likely caused a huge ruckus when you turned 18 about “being an adult.” Set your own budget and live within it month to month. Your parents have their own monthly budget, which is for THEIR expenses. Don’t rely on them to be your sole leg through four years.

    

8. Consider leaving the car behind
   
   The savings on gasoline, the reduced tendency to make frivolous purchases, and the increased reliance on free campus sponsored events all are good reasons to not even bring a car to college. At some point during the bill that you’re paying every semester, they’re charging you for the bus so USE IT. You’ll have a lot more money in your monthly budget if you don’t have to work to make a car payment, carry insurance, and buy gas to go everywhere your heart desires. Find some other sucker and befriend him for a lift if necessary.

    

9. Take advantage of free on campus events instead of costly off campus events
   Each month, your budget will thank you that you elect to do the free on campus movies, parties, concerts, sporting events, and social events. Your monthly coffers will have a bit more stretch in them that you can use for the random frivolous purchases that dot your college experience.

    

10. Make a financial plan and STICK TO IT.
    
    All sorts of things will creep up, including furnishing your living space. These tend to be overlooked in your monthly budget. Remember that a dorm is not a popularity contest with a tangible benefit, so don’t spend to much money on them. Plan your finances around a modest dorm, and save money. Do you need a rug? If so does it HAVE to be an exotic one? Do you need a blacklight, 10? Your financial plan needs to have some leg room in it for frivolous purchases, but your monthly budget will be limited. If you plan to succeed in college, you will need to look, learn, adjust, and recover.