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Espresso and Ambition

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A College Gal’s Guide to Money – Part 1: Budgeting

October 6, 2017 by Taylor 1 Comment

A College Gal's Guide to Money Part 1: Budgeting - Espresso and Ambition

Today’s post is the first in a new series I’m starting here on Espresso and Ambition. Dealing with finances is hard, particularly if you’ve never really had to handle your own money before. Since high school and college classes never seem to really teach you much about these important money management skills, I figured I’d create this short little guide to talk about what I’ve learned about managing money.

I want to acknowledge that this guide is by no means comprehensive; there’s a million different ways that people manage their money and sometimes people have to manage their budget in different ways based on their circumstances. I’m just talking about what’s worked for me.

Today’s post is on what is arguably the most important skill for keeping track of your finances. I’ve looked at my spending habits when I’m forcing myself to operate on a budget versus when I’m not, and I’m so much smarter with my money when I budget things.

 

Determining Your Budget

Putting together a budget is really a matter of dividing up your income. The first chunk of a budget is almost always going to be rent and utilities. If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere that pays for your utilities, this is a flat price. If you live somewhere that makes you pay for your own utilities (like my apartment does), it’s best to budget on the higher end with them. That way you’re still in the clear if it’s higher than normal and just have extra money if it’s lower than normal.

The next category on my budget is food. I try to budget the approximate amount of money I’ll need if I ate out for around 2 meals a week, plus a few coffee runs – you can adjust this based on your eating habits. The next category is kind of a catch-all – it’s where I put manicures, buying new toiletries at Target, and anything else I might need. Finally, there’s a “discretionary” fund, which is the extra buffer money I budget and apply to whatever category I might need it for.

 

Keeping Track

Now that you have a budget set, the harder part comes up: staying within it. The easiest way to stay within budget is to keep track of it – and you can do this in a multitude of ways. I have a May Designs book to keep track of overall budgeting numbers, but my preferred form of budget tracking is an Excel spreadsheet.

I’m not going to provide an Excel tutorial in today’s post (but there are a ton of pages that are great at that type of stuff), but I basically set mine up by setting up categories by column, putting my expenditures in that category underneath, and setting up a formula that subtracts my budgeted amount from what I’ve spent already.

 

Making Adjustments

At the end of each month, evaluate. Where are you under budget, and where are you going over (or running out 5 days before the end of the month)? If you notice consistent discrepancies, adjust your budget to reflect these changes. If you’re constantly going over, look at your spending habits and figure out what you can cut down on. Instead of paying $5 for a latte, buy a $2 coffee when you go to Starbucks. Buy generic brand groceries. There’s so many little ways to cut down on costs, so it’s just a matter of finding what works best for you.

 

So there you have it, my best tips for setting and maintaining a budget. I’m definitely still getting the hang of this myself, so if you’re got any ~*super useful*~ money management tips, let me know in the comments! Up next week, building up your savings.

xo, Taylor

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Filed Under: College, Etc., Lifestyle

Comments

  1. Darrian says

    October 6, 2017 at 10:53 am

    I love this post.
    It is so important to learn how to budget very early on in life.
    It’s something I’m still trying to figure out… at 25!

    Great advice!

    Darrian | http://www.darrianmichelle.com

    Reply

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Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
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🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
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posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
🎧 watch me - neffex
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