College Credit: Monthly Expenses (and how they can kill you)
Of all of the expenses we have to deal with in college, monthly expenses are by far the worst and most difficult to face. Unlike expenses for food, or fun expenses, you can't adjust them. And, if you fail to pay them, other than not eating or not getting a new TV, you will very quickly get into trouble with debt collectors, which can end up haunting you for the rest of your life.
Everyone who lives on their own has monthly expenses of some kind. Rent is probably the most common example, and also one of the most necessary (if you don't pay it, you no longer have a place to live.) The key to dealing with rent is putting the money away beforehand. Unlike other monthly expenses, rent is one of the few that you can always expect to be the same amount, every month. As such, it's easy to put away in advance. It's a good idea to have a month's worth of rent in your savings account at all times. This way, even if something goes terribly, terribly, wrong, you'll still be able to pay rent, as you will already have the money available.
Rent falls into the category of non-negotiable. After you've set your rent, it's done; there is no change in the price. Therefore, when you make your budget, it should be the first thing you consider. After rent, you should consider the necessary, but changing, monthly expenses. Utilities are a good example of these
unless you're on a budget plan that fixes the monthly amount. Every month, if you are renting (and assuming utilities aren't included in rent), utilities will come due.
However, utilities vary from month-to-month and it can be difficult to determine what your expenses will be. Luckily, you can usually estimate based upon the average requirements (sometimes provided to you on your utilities bill, but if they aren't, you can always look them up on the Internet). Utilities tend to vary between seasons, too. Although this is based on the types of heating/cooling systems your residence has installed. Because utilities can vary, it can be difficult to account for them perfectly in a budget. Do your best to make an accurate guess and put that money away in your account.
The last kind of monthly expense, and perhaps the worst kind, is the optional expense. This includes cell phone bills, subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, or websites, Internet service, and cable/satellite TV. There are more, but these are the major and most common. Usually, once you've signed up for some of these services, you will be locked into a contract. So choose carefully while you're looking at contracts and make sure that you don't pick something that will become difficult to pay in the future. Internet and TV services are notorious for setting rates low in the first few months, and then raising them after a few months of service.
Monthly expenses are the most deadly of all of the expenses, and because many of them are locked in, they can lead to serious financial difficulties. The key to dealing with monthly expenses is to look into the future for what's coming up next month, and plan accordingly.
