With the new year approaching, some students reflect on their spending habits and want to enter 2016 with better budgeting habits.

Plenty of students face similar problems when trying to differentiate between necessary purchases versus impulsive spending on things they might not need.

“One of the hardest things about maintaining a budget is that when I go to the store and I go get something specific, I always end up getting things I don’t need and it always happens to me,” said Lidio Rojas, sophomore anthropology major.

Chico State students have resources available to them that can help them create a budget plan for the new semester.

One of these is the Net Price calculator. The calculator estimates need-based financial aid eligibility as well as the total cost of attending Chico State.

The calculator estimates the cost of the school year and provides a future look into one’s budget.

Andrew Orozco, sophomore kinesiology major, has trained himself to budget for the school year. He began the year worry-free and spent more money than he should have.

Orozco quickly cut down his drastic spending and found a job. He started cooking his own meals at home, realizing that making homemade meals saved him money.

“I stopped buying stuff that I didn’t need and started saving a lot more,” Orozco said “I also work at least 15 hours a week to have a steady paycheck come in every two weeks.”

The average cost for a Chico State student living on campus is $23,496. For a student living off campus, the price is $22,258.

For Chico State students who seek better budgeting habits, the Federal Student Aid website provides tips to managing money. These include:

• Choosing tools to help one budget, such as online tools, school-provided resources and budgeting applications
• Checking monthly income
• Identifying one’s expenses
• Maintaining and keeping up with budget
• Saving money for emergencies

  Chico State students also have other resources, such as the Student Services Center.

  The Educational Opportunity Program, located in the SSC, prides itself in helping students learn how to budget, according to Marcellus Brookshaw, Educational Opportunity Program adviser.

  The program coordinates workshops for budgeting money and encourages the student body to attend. The workshops are an essential resource Chico State students should utilize, Brookshaw said.

  The Student Services Center provides these resources to help students stay on track.

  “Students should utilize resources and go to workshops that teach them to manage budgeting,” Brookshaw said. “The Student Services Center is a really important resource. I encourage all students to utilize it and communicate with a financial aid adviser.”

Eva Gonzalez can be reached at [email protected] or @egonza13 on Twitter.