Tag Archives: budgeting

Get a Job Communication

Get A Job!

In order to supplement your finances and enjoy a little extra spending money during the school year, the best thing you can do is find a part-time job on, or near, campus. Finding a job may not seem that difficult but finding the right job, that fits your schedule and offers the benefits you’re looking for, can be a bit tricky. There are a few things you should keep in mind when looking for a job while you’re attending classes.

Transportation

The first, and probably most obvious, factor to consider when looking for a job is whether or not you have transportation. During the winter months (November through April) a job at Sugarloaf in Carrabassett Valley can be rewarding and provide flexible hours during the school week and as many hours as you may need during the weekend. In addition it provides a free pass to the mountain. But Sugarloaf is a 45 minute drive away, and if you don’t have consistent transportation, it just isn’t an option. Fortunately, there are numerous on- and off-campus job opportunities within walking distance, and even more opportunities present themselves if you have a bicycle.

Flexibility

Can you build your work schedule around classes or do you have to build your classes around your work schedule? Another thing to consider when job hunting in the area is whether or not your potential employer can be flexible enough to set up a schedule that fits the hectic lifestyle of a college student. If you want the job badly enough but your employer needs you to work a defined schedule with little room for flexibility, you may have to build your classes around that work schedule. Fortunately, most part-time employers understand the needs of a college student and can figure out a schedule that works around your classes.

Leave time for homework!

Classes and work are not the only factors in your life! Remember to leave an appropriate amount of time every week for completing homework and other out-of-class academia you may have to ration your time for. You should also allow yourself at least some personal time. Remember college is about achieving academically, but it is also about personal growth and a large part of the college experience is taking advantage of the social opportunities that present themselves in a University environment. Don’t shirk your responsibilities, but enjoy time with your friends and look into extra-curricular activities such as clubs, intramural sports and the like.

On Campus Jobs

Jobs on-campus are conveniently located with minimal commute time, and they present opportunities for pre-professional experience and resume building. Student employment is an important part of a student’s financial aid package, and is integral to the daily operations of many departments here at UMF. We are very proud of our student work programs because they allow students to work in fields related to either their major or a personal interest, or even to gain employment that leads them to a decision of what they would like to major in or pursue in a professional capacity. Our two main programs here at UMF are the Federal Work-Study program and the Student Work Initiative program. Federal Work-Study is awarded to needy, on-time aid applicants as determined by information submitted on the FAFSA. For those students who were not awarded Federal Work-Study and still wish to work, there is the Student Work Initiative program started by UMF’s President, Dr. Kalikow. The third option for students is to find a job paid for by department funds. Not all departments hire students this way, but some do. Please be advised that it is not within our policy to place students into their jobs, so searching for a job is a competitive process. Look to the UMF website for more information on student employment. 

*Please be advised that our policies leave job finding to the individual student, that is, UMF will not place a student into a job they are meant to attain one of their own accord. Students are responsible for seeking job opportunities and are advised to look to the UMF website for helpful information on their availability.

Food Budget Communication

Financial Planning Communication

With budgets shrinking and the prices of some agricultural commodities rising, the effects can be felt directly….in your shopping bag. The goal of this communication is to give you an idea of how easy it is to eat off around $5 a day (although, at $5 a day it may seem like you’re camping…you still get the calories you need). To put this in perspective, students paying $1,910/semester for 19 meals a week (and $115 in points at the Snack Shack) over 15 weeks are essentially paying $128/week or $18/day. There is large potential to save money by shopping for your own food IF you know how to go about it…by the same token, though, if you don’t plan and execute shops exactly as you plan them, this exercise is valueless and you should stick with the meal plan.

There are a number of rules to live by if you want to be able to stretch your budget and eat well, they may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how much less you spend when you plan your grocery shopping ahead of time.

  1. Develop your meal plan based around sale items.

Use the local paper to find coupon sections for your local grocery stores. If you don’t receive the local paper, you can go in to the store and ask for a coupon sheet and if you’re proactive, you can even read your food ad in advance on websites like A Full Cup and then buy your coupons.

 

Here is what I buy

Produce: Generally, produce will have some items that are ‘manager’s special’, those items are a goldmine and they can be found all over the store, not only in the produce isle. I always take home a 10 lb bag of potatoes because they go a long way and they’re cheap. Often, potatoes will have coupon offerings as well, making them stretch even further for your buck. 12 oz bags of frozen veggies are also a savvy shopper’s go-to (unfortunately, fresh greens are less likely to be priced so they fly off the shelf). One pot meals are a blessing and get the shopping, cooking and (most of) the cleaning out of the way for a few days in one go, with that in mind I always grab a couple of pounds of carrots and an onion and celery in case stew is on the menu.

Canned goods: You’ll rarely go wrong with canned goods: tomato sauce and salsa, two cans of soup, two cans of diced tomatoes, tomato paste and a couple cans of tuna (chunk light is the cheapest).

Protein: Protein is generally slightly more expensive, and it is also the foundation of my diet so I’ve had to learn to scoop up deals when they’re available. Usually there will be items marked as ‘best deal’ or ‘family friendly price’ or something of the sort, those items are the ones to get. I usually do all my protein shopping for two or three weeks in one go. I’ll buy 4 pounds of beef for stewing (whether I use it or not, it can always go right in the freezer) and usually a package (or two) of 20 chicken breast tenders. As soon as I get home I open the chicken tenders and put them in individual Ziploc snack bags so that I can freeze them all, and if I choose it takes about 10 minutes to completely thaw two out in a pot of warm water and they’re ready to cook. Chicken and beef are also great because there are a multitude of one pot uses for them (stews, soups) and other cheap ways to prepare them (stir fry, chicken salad, chili, etc.)

Miscellaneous: Rice, multigrain bread (whole wheat breads give you energy for longer, and help you feel fuller…don’t skimp and go with white bread…it’s not worth it), quinoa (a very nutritious and filling sprout),oil, sugar, cornmeal, milk, and a couple bags of your favorite snacks.

Using sale ads and coupons and a smart-shopping methodology, a grocery list like that one should cost around 50 dollars and last you around ten days.

2)  Shop with a plan

Don’t limit yourself to one option if you have several in the area; in our case we can take advantage of Tranten’s in town, Hannaford’s and Wal-Mart on route 4, and all within about 5 miles. Pay attention to store ads in the paper and see what is on sale where, if you’re going to do the shopping you might as well make an afternoon out of it and go to where the items on your list are cheapest, wherever that may be; you may find that this week you go to Tranten’s for meat and Hannaford’s for produce and Wal-Mart for your miscellaneous goods, and maybe in two weeks things change. That is the importance of planning ahead and finding where you’re going to be able to save the most money on your grocery list items.  You can find 5 pound bags of rice for around $3 or less and they come out to around 6 cents a serving!

3)  Cook with a plan

As I’ve noted, one-pot meals are a smart way to save time and money. Making your own soup stock from leftover chicken bones and pan juices is a free way to create healthier stock than you would have otherwise had to buy. Soup or stew in combination with cornbread can be a delicious and filling way to stretch your budget, if you make up an extra large batch you can freeze it in single serving portions and have them ready to go any night you wish. If you cook an ingredient and don’t use all of it (such as rice, or beans or what have you) save that ingredient in the fridge and use it to fill out another meal, later. Another way to stretch your budget is to remove meat as the primary food item on the plate, instead, mix it into a stir-fry or chili. Instead of having a chicken breast on every plate you eat, you can cook up a stir-fry with two chicken breasts and those frozen veggies and refrigerate it to last you through the week. If you pick up produce on ‘manager’s special’ (such as slightly over-ripe fruit) turn it into another dish (banana bread, applesauce) to make the most use of it.

Budgeting Prezi

We’ve created a presentation on budgeting:

The dialogue to accompany the slides is as follows:

Intro

The basic premise…the most important aspect of budgeting… is understanding the in-and-out aspect of your personal finances. The ‘in’ being what you earn and the ‘out’ being what you spend. If you can justify the two against each other and have your earnings remain greater than your spending then you’ve successfully budgeted your finances.

(Slide 2 + 3) Finding Balance-Title slide/What are we here to learn

College is expensive but you can take a great deal of pressure off of your family and yourself if you can keep your own personal spending organized while you’re in school…plus learning these skills now just gives you another effective tool when working towards a successful life beyond college. To start, you must find a balance between your income and your expenses.

What can I spend?(Fix Title) (Slide 6 + 7)

Remembering that your loans are debt, and should be budgeted into your monthly allowances as such, is key. If you’re spending loan money on food and the money you earn working on non-necessities then you’ve got your financial priorities mixed up and are due for a reassessment of your goals.

The Importance of Budgeting (Slide 8)

Now I understand that nobody here is planning their finances for ten years down the road and I’m not suggesting that you do…it would be a waste of time as you just can’t anticipate life in that way…BUT helping to keep your finances in perspective while you’re in school will provide a foundation for life after school (and hopefully minimize the amount of debt you graduate with). A budget answers three basic questions: (slide 9)

Where does my money come from? (Slide 10)

Where is my money going? (Slide 11)

What choices should i make financially? (Slide 12)

Budget Definition

Expenses

Essentials and nonessentials

 

Essential Expenses:

Essentials: food, water, electricity, heat, a roof over your head…

 

Non Essential Expenses

a 50 dollar bar tab at the dugout or eating lunch out daily.

 

Setting Financial Goals

The first step to taking control of your finances is to set yourself a series of financial goals based around three primary categories. those categories are your saving, spending and your income.

(insert snapshot of the three goals)

Income Goals

Goals related to income are really relevant only to students with jobs or sources of monthly income…that being said a goal for a student without monthly income could be to find part time work for a certain number of hours each month or week.

Spending Goals

Spending goals should be as concrete as possible. You want to try to stay consistent with your spending goals so every month you can gauge what you can and cannot afford.

Saving Goals

Once again, how much you spend is more important than how much you earn. The percentage you save will depend on the amount you earn. For example: If you make $250 per month, and put 10% of that monthly income into a savings, you will be saving $25 per month. The important part sticking to that percentage.

Financial Zen

How much you earn, save, and spend are all dependent on each other. If you stay consistent and keep a monthly tab on all three of these aspects, you have a solid budgeting foundation.

Young Money Slide

It is important to know about your income and how much you can safely spend. If you are aware of these things, you’ll be on the right track.

So how do we balance Income VS Expense?

So now we’re going to show how to track and balance your income and expenses so that, at the end of the month, you’ll be left with a little extra money to put in your savings.  To start off, you should use the two-month cashflow worksheet that we’ve provided for you. You can find it on the FinAid website or have one of us e-mail it to you.

Cashflow sheet overview

It looks like this.  One section for monthly income and another for monthly expenses.  The spreadsheet has been populated with all of the calculations so all you have to do is customize the expense categories to reflect your personal spending habits and enter your income and expenses….the computer will do all the calculations for you.

Monthly Income

Any type of income inserted in rows 3 through 7 will automatically be added together and placed in row 8, entitled ‘Total.’

Monthly Expenses

Now, down to monthly expenses. Let’s say you’re beginning your cashflow sheet and you input your cell phone bill as your first expense: $200.  The sheet will automatically calculate itself, placing the $200 at the bottom in ‘Total Expenses’ and subtracting it from the income total above, leaving you with $800.  Budgeting your cash is as easy as copying down your expenses.

Proper Budgeting Worksheet

After you have gotten an idea of your expenses versus your income, you can create a more proper budgeting sheet.  In Monthly Income, place the maximum amount of money that you are able to receive in the budgeting column, and in Monthly Expenses, place the maximum amount of money that you are able or willing to spend.  After the month is over, input what you actually spent and received into the Actual column. Although this individual received 50 dollars less in actuality than they expected to in their Budget column and spent 50 dollars more in Groceries, they made up for it in spending less on gas, receiving 50 dollars in Other Income, and spent no money on Dating; leaving them with $50 as their Difference.  That’s fifty dollars more to put into savings.

 

Tips for Managing Money

Expect the unexpected. Expenses pop up when you least expect them and you don’t want them to affect whether or not you can travel or, worse, eat. Peer pressure is also a drain on funds… if you can’t really afford to drink beers then DON’T! Just because a debit card isn’t cash and doesn’t feel as immediate doesn’t mean it isn’t. think of it as cash. Because it is.

Big Expenses

These things seem intangible and way down the road, but trust us: four years in college flies by and all of a sudden you’re in the real world staring down the barrel of significant financial obligations. Be prepared for them by practicing good habits now. if you don’t…

 

Loan Repayment Schedule

One tool for helping you to budget is an interest rate table which, based on the amount of your loan debt, can help you to figure your monthly payments (if you haven’t already)

Helpful Budgeting Tools

Your smartphone is a great tool in preventing added financial burden… if you feel your debit account is in the red zone (near overdraft) then quickly hop on your phone and check your finances before you go down to the dugout for wings… it could save you 35 bucks in overdraft fees! This leads us to an important thing to consider as a student: Some banks will offer online banking, no atm fee’s, etc. As a student, especially if you are a freshman or sophomore, it is recommended to open a student checking/savings and use direct deposit. It is only beneficial to choose a bank with online banking and no atm fees (maybe one or the other), but most of all, do your research on the banks before you apply to open a new account.