With only four weeks left in the semester, many students who received financial aid money may find themselves running low.

As much as I truly do appreciate my financial aid money, I have first hand experience on having a difficult time managing such a large amount of money.

Some people, like myself, become overwhelmed when they have extra money to their name. I constantly found myself wanting to make frequent trips to the mall even though I knew I had to make my money last all semester. Not to mention the fact that I was planning on using all that money for housing and food.

While it may seem idiotic to buy something like a television when students know they’re eventually going to have to pay that back, there are many young adults who become too tempted just knowing that spending money is an option.

This semester I’ve definitely changed my saving and spending habits for the better. Conveniently, I have two separate bank accounts, one at Wells Fargo & Co. and the other is a credit union from my hometown.

Having two accounts has become beneficial for me. I’ve now separated the money I need for bills and the remaining spending money in between one account and the other.

That way if I’m out I’ll be more cautious because I’ll only have my spending money on the Wells Fargo card that I carry.

Something as simple as preplanning expenses in the beginning of the semester could save students from being broke. Even though buying that cute top or video game might seem appealing at the time, no one wants to be struggling to pay bills at the end of the semester.

Veronica De La Cruz can be reached at [email protected] or @Veronica_dlc on Twitter.