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Defining your personal budget can lend structure to your spending habits. It is a way of organizing your use of money by thinking in terms of spending categories and setting priorities. A budget establishes boundaries that you can observe to pace your spending—and it helps you recognize spending limits before you exceed them.

Budgeting as guidance

Thinking of finances in categories helps you discipline yourself in those moments when you are tempted to choose between something you need and something you merely want. Just as a blueprint guides the building of a house, a personal budget acts as a guidance system to steer you away from costly impulses and money-burning behaviors.

Creating a budget while in college can help you:

• Meet personal goals such as studying abroad
• Remain better prepared for emergencies
• Stay out of debt
• Keep accurate and up-to-date records
• Prepare to begin thinking about longer-term financial planning

Learn how to create a budget and then try the CashCourse Interactive Budget Wizard that you can access in the header of the Web site. After creating your budget in the Budget Wizard, you can logon to access and edit your budget any time.