As I sit here, writing about how to keep a budget in college, I realize that I’m like Rebecca Bloomington from Confessions of A Shopaholic.

I have no idea what I’m talking about.

I used to be very good at keeping a budget- when I was on my parents money.

Now, that I pay for my own things and have a job to keep me steady, I spend my money like no other. My excuse always being that I deserve it.

One would think that it would be the total opposite, I would be saving my money because of the hard work I put into it not be spending it.

So, in order to not be like me, here’s some tips on budgeting and how to stick with it.

Make lists! Write down income, what bills need to be paid, and miscellaneous stuff that one could possibly spend on.

Knowing how much money one has can help keep oneself in check.

When shopping, something that would always help me was asking myself if I really needed this item. Was it essential for me to stay alive? If not, then I didn’t need it.

I would remind myself of my budget and make decisions based off of that.

In order to make a budget work one must really have control over their urges. It’s easy to give in when there’s something one really desires but remember that we can’t always have what we want.

Maintaining a budget is hard but it saves one so much money.

Maybe I need to remind myself this and start making my own budget again.

This time I’ll actually stick with it.

Daisy Dardon can be reached at [email protected] or @daisydardon on Twitter.