Car insurance is required in 49 out of 50 US states. When you’re a student, funds are tight and you often find yourself walking a tightrope between your needs and wants. Since cars are often necessary for getting around, you’ll want to find the most cost-effective car insurance for your needs.

This isn’t as easy a task as we’d like since many insurers will often charge students higher premiums. Students are considered relatively inexperienced drivers so the risk of liability is higher meaning pricier insurance rates.

As a student, you’re already juggling expenses for books, food, lodging, and gas as well as other things. To add expensive insurance payments to the mix only complicates an already stretched budget.

How will you deal? Are there more affordable insurance options for students?

The good news is there are car insurance companies that offer more competitive rates. You’ll need to do some in-depth research though since no two insurance companies offer the same rates.

Before signing on the dotted line, it’s a good idea to look at a few offers, check prices, and available discounts for comparison.

Top 3 Car Insurance For Students

1. Geico

Geico offers some of the cheapest car insurance rates to students. It offers low premiums and often has promotional discounts tailored specifically for students. For example, there are discounts for fraternity and sorority members as well as for students actively involved in campus activities.
Geico’s policy is set at an affordable $2,326 for six months of full coverage. These rates vary based on location so you’ll need to get in touch with them for a more exact price.

2. State Farm

State Farm has a long list of auto insurance discounts including reduced rates for students:

• It offers a generous 25% off for students under 25 with a ‘B’ average or better.
• New drivers under 25 without accidents and moving violations in the last three years can get a 15% discount
• If you are a courteous driver, State Farm honors young drivers with safe driver discounts.

Known as the best car insurance in the market for student discounts, State Farm’s premium is around $2,462 for six months of full coverage.

3. Allstate

Allstate is the only car insurance company that has a mobile app called Allstate Mobile. The user-friendly app provides functionalities like policy renewal, claims management, and customer support.

This is a great help for tech-savvy students who may not have the time to visit or call Allstate offices.

Without creating a hole in your pocket, the Allstate policy is around $2,467 to be fully covered for half a year.

Tips for Finding Cheap Car Insurance

To get the best rates for car insurance, keep the following tips in mind:

• Pay your bill on time
• Compare car insurance quotes
• Play around with your coverage
• Look for car insurance discounts
• Ask about a no-claims bonus/discount. This is a percentage discount awarded for not filing any car insurance claims during the previous year. It increases with every year that you don’t have accidents or claims.
• Consider the cost of coverage before buying a car

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Should college students have their own auto insurance policy?

It depends. If you’re a full-time college student, you can be covered by your parents’ car insurance as long as your primary address remains the same as your parents.’ This applies even if you’re attending college out of state.

2. What is an auto insurance premium?

An auto insurance premium is the amount you need to pay at regular intervals to keep your insurance active.

3. When do I need to get auto insurance?

If you own a car, you need to be covered by insurance. Forty-nine out of 50 states require it. In New Hampshire, the exception that doesn’t mandate vehicle insurance, you still have to show proof that you can cover any financial liabilities that may arise from accidents.

Once you have car insurance, you should always carry a copy of your current car insurance policy with you when you drive.

4. How can I avail of the cheapest car insurance?

Research and price comparisons are the only ways for you to find the cheapest car insurance available. You should also ask for discounts from each insurer.

Additionally, you can also ask about the minimum coverage for significantly reduced prices. Before doing so, however, you should see if what is minimally covered is sufficient for your needs and what’s required by the state.

5. What is the insurance rate?

The insurance rate is the amount of money needed to cover losses, expenses, and provide a profit to the insurance company for every vehicle.

Your Takeaway: Responsible Drivers Get the Best Insurance Rates

In the end, responsible and defensive drivers who don’t have any records of accidents and liability will always have a distinct advantage when it comes to insurance premiums. To keep your costs low, be careful and always follow road and safety rules.

When you’re trying to save money, every penny counts. However, one of the biggest expenses we all face is food. The cost of goods including food is constantly rising. If we aren’t careful, our food and grocery bills can end up occupying a larger part of our budgets than we intended.

It’s therefore vital to manage our food expenses economically and develop money-saving tactics. Here are some tips and tricks that you can use to cut down on food costs without sacrificing your health.

Prepare Your Own Meals

You can probably guess what the most common culprit of ballooning food expenses is: eating out. If you’re serious about cutting down on your food spend, start preparing more meals at home. When you stop eating out, you’ll significantly cut down on your food bill and eat healthier meals.

If you’re short on time, try a once-a-week meal prep plan and start with simple meals you can whip up in minutes. You can slowly expand your repertoire of dishes when you start feeling more comfortable and confident with cooking.

Make a Meal Plan

Whether it’s an occasional weekend meal plan or a menu for every day of the week, creating a plan beforehand can help you stick to your planned meals and budget. Thinking ahead and making lists can also help you reduce unnecessary expenses when you go to the supermarket.

Rotate Foods, Don’t Waste Them

When you eat the same food day after day, it can end up being monotonous and boring. When there’s no variety in your meal prep and grocery list, there’s a high chance you’ll waste food.

Hence, your best bet is to rotate different types of food and dishes. Make sure to include a variety of veggies, fruits, dairy, grains, and lean protein in your meal routine to make it more interesting and palatable.

Choose Cheaper Proteins

Protein-rich foods like eggs, ground meat, and dried beans are not just cheap and healthy, but also have a longer shelf life. If you add in other non-perishable items like rice, pasta, and oats, you can have a steady supply of quick and nutritious meals. Moreover, buying these food staples in bulk is cost-effective and will save you frequent trips to the grocery.

Use Your Freezer

Cut down on ready-made meals and TV dinners. They offer little nutrition and are heavy on the pocket. Instead, prepare meals in advance, freeze everything that can be frozen, and defrost as needed. You can make large batches of chili, curry, or stew, and divide them into meal-sized portions so they’ll be ready whenever you need a quick meal.

Love Your Leftovers

Knowing how to recycle or repurpose leftovers into different dishes is a valuable skill if you’re looking to cut down on expenses. Identify and learn recipes that are leftover-friendly. Excess ingredients and food like carrots, celery, and rotisserie chicken can all be thrown into a pasta sauce and enjoyed as a new dish.

Start An Aromatic Herb Garden

The joy of preparing meals from ingredients freshly picked from your own garden is unparalleled. Contrary to what you may think, you don’t need a huge space to have a garden. Greens like herbs, cress, and lettuce can be grown on your window sill. Small vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes, and beans can be grown in pots that will easily fit inside your kitchen.

Track Your Expenses

Sometimes we buy food we don’t need out of habit. Tracking our food budget can help prevent this by making us aware and accountable for our expenses. Monitor expenses and your budget to scale back and change previous spending habits.

Shop Smart, Buy Local

Buying locally grown and produced food is fresher, more nutritious, good for the environment, and cheaper. Buying from farmer’s markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Programs also help the local community.

You can join a CSA by paying growers a lump sum at the start of the season. In exchange, you’ll get fresh produce at regular intervals that are cheaper by as much as half the price you pay in groceries.

You can also buy meat at the deli instead of the supermarkets’ meat section. They’re not only cheaper, but they’re fresher too.

Eat Before Going Grocery Shopping

When you visit a grocery store on a hungry stomach, you have a tendency to fill your cart with more food than you need. When you’re full, you’ll be less tempted and be able to shop more objectively.

Beware of Coupons

Coupons, cashback, and new customer discounts are great ways of saving extra money. However, exercise caution before you purchase items on discounts as coupons encourage you to buy more items than you need just because they’re on sale.

Budget-Friendly Habits: Start Small

There are many ways to cut down on food expenses and eat healthier, but they entail creating new habits in place of the old. The best way to adopt these budget-friendly practices is by starting with small steps and gradually adding more to your routine.

Whether it’s preparing your own meals, tracking your expenses, or cutting down on grocery visits, ease into it one habit at a time. You’ll eventually find yourself rewarded with healthier, better meals and have more cash to show for it.

About a year ago, a friend of mine wanted to obtain a loan from a bank. After going through his application, the bank promised to get back to him. A few days later, I found out that the bank denied his application. It was such a big disappointment as he needed the money badly.

I was angry at the bank for being so inconsiderate, but when I saw his FICO score, my anger died down immediately. No reasonable bank will give him a loan with such a poor FICO score!

In this article, you will find answers to the following:

• Why college students need to have a good credit rating score.
• What is a FICO score, and how does it affect you?
• What should a college student’s credit score be like?
• What is the best way for a college student to build credit?
• What are the dos and don’ts of a credit card for students?

Why Do College Students Need To Have A Good Credit Score?

As a college student, having a good credit rating score is almost as important as having good grades. To get access to loans, you need to have a good credit score. Lenders need to have the assurance that you’ll be able to pay back the loan at the stipulated time. Most lenders would usually look to your FICO score to give them an idea of your credit history and how trustworthy you are. If you have a poor score, you won’t be given the loan. You can almost bet your life on it.

You should also improve your credit score as a student because it would help you crash your interest rates on your borrowings, which would help you save more money.

What Is A FICO Score And How Does It Affect You?

A FICO score shows lenders how legitimate you are as a borrower. “FICO” stands for “Fair Isaac Corporation.” It is a data analytics firm that was established in 1989. It uses information about your credit history, credit utilization, and payment history to determine your FICO score.

As a student, if you plan on living the American dream, owning your own home, snagging a great ride, getting a good job, or even owning your own business then, you would want to have a great FICO. Your future landlord, auto loan creditor, future employer, and even the bank is interested in your creditworthiness by FICO. 

Now, whether you are a college student or simply an adult, you need to be creditworthy to access funds for most things. And if that is the case, as a rule of thumb, a credit score of 750 and above sounds good. Stay within that range.

So, What Is The Best Way For A College Student To Build Credit?

First things first, own a credit card. The single most important reason to apply for a credit card is to build a positive credit history. So, grow up and get one.

However, if you don’t want to or can’t open your credit card account, then another smart thing to do is to get your parents to make you an authorized user of their credit cards. That way, you can piggyback off your parent’s positive credit history.

Other ways of building credit as a student include:

1. Opening a secured credit card: This is a smart way of building credit, especially for students with little or no credit history. It’s quite similar to your debit card. Your credit limit is determined by the amount of cash you deposit.

As credit bureaus are aware of every transaction made with a secured credit card, you can easily build your credit score by making small purchases with this credit card.

• Making payments on your student loan: If you have student loans, start making payments on them while you are still in school. This will improve your credit score as it shows that you can repay your debts on time. Even if it means cutting down on your monthly expenses, you will find out later that the result is well worth the sacrifice.

• Get someone to co-sign for your credit card: You may find it difficult to obtain a credit card as a student, especially if you’re below 21 years old. Your best bet is to look for someone who is legally qualified for a credit card to co-sign for your credit card.

However, you should ensure that you don’t miss payments as you would be jeopardizing the credit of your consigner if you do. Also, avoid the temptation of overspending simply because you don’t have to pay immediately; always spend within your limits.

 What Are The Dos And Don’ts Of Using Credit Card As A College Student?

• Do your homework before choosing a credit card company. Choose the card that’s right and best for you. Credit card offers are endless. Just because you received an offer in the mail doesn’t mean you should take the dive. When you receive a credit card offer that piques your interest, do the due diligence. Don’t let freebies tempt you. Do you know how a pretty woman chooses her man from her roaster of chasers? That’s right. Compare and contrast various credit card company offers. Know what’s a great fit and go for it!

• Do marry your card features. Different cards like different phones do different things. Understand these differences, and they can potentially break or build your overall wallet.

• Do keep an eye on your purchases. Spend no more money than you earn, period! Differentiate your needs from your wants and evaluate your purchases.

•  Do pay up promptly. That is how extra fees/charges are avoided. You should also try and get answers to questions on interest rates or annual fees.

•  Do submit to your credit limit. When you are simply under the confines and boundaries of your credit limit, you’d be kept safe from the temptations of overspending with the consequent interests and charges

• Do keep an eye on your credit score because your ability to buy a nice car, own a decent home, qualify for a loan, and sometimes a befitting job hinge on that.

• Do pay more than the minimum payment when clearing your debts. Paying off your debts faster minimizes interest charges.

• Do use credit card reward programs to your advantage. Once you get acquainted with using your credit card right, strategically using rewards can help you save money.

• Don’t use reward credit cards when you can’t pay off the balance quickly.

•  Don’t do free money. Avoid cash advances because there’s no free lunch anywhere.

•  Don’t use multiple credit cards. Every new credit card application makes your credit score to drop. It’s as simple as that

• Don’t share your credit card. 

Conclusion

To have access to most of the important things in life, you need a good credit score. Aside from being a factor that determines your access to loans, it can also influence the kind of jobs you get, the house you live in, among other things. The above-listed points will guide you in building a good credit score as a student.

Updated with new information Dec 17 2020

Having a healthy balanced diet is the most important lifestyle choice you can focus on – even more so than exercising. No amount of exercise will help you lose weight for example, if you’re consuming even more calories through pizza. What diet and food choices to pick can be confusing, though. There are a plethora of vegan documentaries telling us about the hormone levels in milk, and an equal amount of rebuttals from meat-eaters. 

At this point, these choices are somewhat personal preference still. What we can agree on, is that highly processed foods leads to cancer and early death. No amount of vitamin tablets and hours accumulated on the elliptical is going to offset buying pre-made, highly processed food. Getting enough fruit and vegetables and a wide variety of them, along with enough protein (be it nuts or non-battery farmed chicken) and healthy fats is perhaps the simplest way to look at things. 

How do we achieve this at college though? It is so much effort to cook everyday. Its not just the cooking either, but to eat fresh means to buy perishable foods. These go out of date within a few days, and you’re back down the shops again.

As a result, college students often turn to pre-made meals from the shops. They’re easy to make, and are often actually cheaper than cooking yourself. The allure is real. It’s just unfortunate that they’re highly processed, and are the number 1 type of food that needs to be avoided.

The solution to this, and fast becoming a trend realised by students all the way to large families, is to meal prep. Combing the healthiness of fresh cooking with the laziness of pre-prepared meals is the genius of meal prepping.

Reasons to meal prep

Easy on the wallet

The money we can save by meal prepping can be compared to how a large manufacturer saves money by expanding their output – bulk buying ingredients in larger quantities will lead to cheaper prices per lb/kg. Just hope you have enough freezer space.

We are very often told not to be persuaded by the “3 for $5” pseudo sales but the reality is, it is cheaper per unit than buying just 1. These allure you to buying more than you need, but with meal prepping, the more the merrier. Ultimately, we can make better use of the sales through meal prepping. We also waste less on impulse buys, because meal prepping forces us to plan better, so we tend to stick to it and buy less snacks. Not only this, but sticking to the shopping list and cooking with more attention on the ingredients will result in less waste, which is better for both the environment and the current account.

Time and effort 

Through deferred gratification, meal prepping means we spend some extra time now so we can reap future benefits. 

Very often we find ourselves on Sundays with lots of free time and energy, but none of that on weekdays after work. Meal prepping is a great way to exploit that, giving us a ritual activity to do on the weekend (and it still may only take 2 hours or less), and be able to lazily stumble home from work and chuck our planned hard work in the microwave for 3 minutes. It’s very rewarding! 

Additionally, if large cooking sessions isn’t ideal, then merely doubling up on portions when cooking a regular meal is a great way to feed you for tomorrow, with no real extra time spent (triple it?). 

Health 

No more carcinogenic, high sugar, salty, processed insoluble ready meals! 

Meal kit companies

There’s a relatively new solution to prepared healthy food which doesn’t require as much time, effort and energy to compile. Introducing MEAL KITS which are essentially personal easy-to-cook subscriptions that you get daily, bi-weekly or weekly to your doorstep with all the ingredients and preparation instructions included. The meal kits are tailored to your flavor based on what you have indicated on the app. That seems to be an-ever growing trend, those food boxes or meal kits. The thing is that they are not cheap, especially for college students and whatnot!

I liked the way Kyle from MealKitsCanada described it in his article about the global leader in meal kits, HelloFresh. Meal kits are more of an alternative to eating out, especially during COVID conditions, than a replacement to buying groceries. It’s more expensive but potentially worth it. Here is the article “is HelloFresh worth it”?

It literally applies to all of us, that when we cook ourselves, our meals become more healthy than when we purchase pre-packaged meals. Even if it was the same meal with the same ingredients, buying the meat from the butchers and the vegetables from a market is a far more sustainably healthy way of making the same meal. It will undoubtedly taste better, too.

As a college student, you’ll likely struggle financially. Even if you manage to obtain and work a part-time job, the expenses may seem overwhelming. Every penny counts so it is pertinent to make sure that you properly manage your money. One way to solve this issue is by taking advantage of a checking account.

With a checking account, you’ll benefit from the interest rate and you’ll have a safe place to store your money. Below, you’re going to learn about the best checking accounts for college students.

• BBVA Free Checking
• Radius Bank Rewards Checking
• Chime Free Checking

BBVA Free Checking

While BBVA is not as well-known as Bank of America and some of the alternatives, it offers excellent free checking accounts for college students. BBVA Free Checking is available across the nation so you can sign up for an account whether you’re at the University of Tennessee or Stanford University. Furthermore, the bank boasts an impressive network of ATMs. There is a good chance that you’ll be able to find an ATM close to your dorm. The bank has 55,000 ATMs across the United States.

Even better is the fact that the free checking option is excellent for college students since the requirements are slim to none. The minimum opening deposit is $25 which is reasonable for all university students. Furthermore, there is no minimum balance requirement and no monthly service charge.

While BBVA has an impressive offering for college students, it has some limitations too. One of the most notable is the fact that it offers no interest so you’re not going to earn any money. There are no ATM fees when you use a BBVA USA ATM but it’ll cost roughly $3 per transaction when using an ATM out of your bank’s network.

Either way, BBVA is a good choice for students looking for an easy online banking solution with the bottom of the barrel minimums.

Radius Bank Rewards Checking

Next, you have Radius Bank which offers the unique Rewards Checking Account. It will prove to be compatible with college students because it has a low minimum and a user-friendly banking app. One thing that sets Radius apart from the competition is the fact that it pays interest. If you maintain a balance between $2,500 and $99,999, you’ll receive 0.10% APY. If you maintain a balance of over $100,000, you’ll receive an interest of 0.15%.

Radius also offers 1% bank on all debit card purchases making it a good choice for college students who want to be rewarded for spending money. The bank offers unlimited ATM reimbursements as well as mobile check deposits. This makes it one of the most convenient banks for students at any university. While the Radius Bank Reward Checking Account is impressive, it has a few minor cons.

For starters, students will need at least $100 before they can open an account. While the interest is helpful, it will not be accessible to all. You’ll need a minimum average balance of $2,500 or $2,500 in direct deposits before you can earn interest. Other than that, there are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements.

If your account drops below $2,500, you don’t have to worry about it being closed. Also, Radius has worked diligently to expand its ATM network over the years. It joined the MoneyPass Network a few years ago so members can take advantage of fee-free ATM withdrawals at more locations.

This provided users will access to 32,000 more fee-free withdrawal ATMs and 3,000 more deposit-taking ATMs. The only real con is the fact that you’ll need $100 to open an account but that shouldn’t be too difficult for the average college student.

Chime Free Checking

Long gone are the days of paid checking. Several decades ago, consumers were required to pay varying fees for checking accounts. The American financial system has undergone many alterations over the last few decades, resulting in free checking. Now, U.S. consumers can combine their savings and checking into single accounts and still avoid fees.

While fairly new, Chime has one of the most advanced, mainstream banking systems. Chime features checking and saving accounts with no fees, which is not unusual in the modern-day financial system. But, unlike some financial institutions, Chime does not require its customers to keep a specific amount of money in their accounts. The no-minimum balance is what draws American consumers to Chime checking but this is only the beginning.

Another benefit of Chime checking is expedited deposits. Chime checking account holders are guaranteed to receive their deposits in as little as 48 hours. This is ideal for college students relying on part-time jobs to pay their living expenses. From the second your employer deposits your paycheck into your checking account, Chime begins to process the payment to ensure the most expedient deposit.

Chime’s SpotMe feature is extremely popular among college students because it offers a $20-overdraft withdrawal with zero monetary penalties. If you are short on cash and need gas to get back and forth to campus, you can utilize your debit card to cover the expense without concern about future overdraft fees. The $20 can be utilized as an emergency fund in between paychecks.

An additional benefit of Chime’s SpotMe overdraft waver is its customizable capability. Chime checking account holders have the option to customize their SpotMe overdraft limit from $20 to $40 or $60, $80, or $100. To qualify, your account must be in good standing.

Conclusion

Ultimately, college students from across the United States need a reliable checking account. However, choosing one will prove to be very difficult since your options are plentiful and all banks are unique. So, which checking account is best for modern college students in America? While BBVA Free Checking has some cons, it is likely the best choice for college students. It is impossible to beat the minimum opening deposit and the minimum balance requirement is outstanding. Plus, there are no monthly fees to worry about.

The only downside is that members of BBVA Free Checking will not benefit from interest payments. While Radius is better in this regard, most students will never have enough money to meet the interest threshold. So, BBVA Free Checking is the winner of the pack.

Every student could benefit from a budget. When in college, money is a particularly scarce resource, as is your time. Working side jobs can be difficult, and working too many hours will only compromise your grades. Whilst you need enough to survive, a better way to look at it might be how to reduce your spending rather than how to earn more money. Afterall, money-making can be done once your degree is in your hands.

Budgets are the best way to achieve this. Following a spending plan can help minimize debt and overspending on less-than-necessary things. It may even lead to mindset differences, such as becoming more minimal and more appreciative of the smaller things in life.

The problem with researching the topic of budgeting

The issue is that everyone’s circumstances are different. Finding budgets online is a nightmare. Templates are an issue because they will likely consist of a bunch of things that you don’t have, like mortgage repayments and rental income. Whilst you can adapt them, you will have to add in things specific to you as well as remove items (and perhaps whole sections). The process is kind of pointless.

What’s more important is to really understand your own situation and spending patterns, and then making a budget from scratch, bespoke to you, will not take very long. Plus, filling in manually every type of spending that you have might be a wake-up call that’s needed.

How to create your own budget

Creating a budget doesn’t have to take long. In fact, it can be done in an afternoon with just a few steps. If you have more time to spare though, you can add in some extras (step 5) that will make your life easier and enhance the effectiveness of the budget.

Step 1: Income

The first step is to determine what your income is. This is easier to calculate than your spending, so it comes first. It should be a relatively steady number: living cost loan income, income from working, parental help, and so on. Find out what your income will be for the near future, or until the end of college if possible. Of course, use your after-tax income here for simplicity, unless you have a small business in which you want to track expenses within this same budget.

Step 2: Track spending

This isn’t about guessing what things you’re likely to buy next month, this is about tracking what you actually buy. The issue with forecasting items is that you’re prone to underestimating. Things constantly pop up, whether it’s getting college books or new clothes. It’s best to just track what you actually spend for a couple of months, then you’ll know for sure what the average month looks like. 

This doesn’t have to mean delaying your budget creation either. You can literally just open up your bank statements and reconcile them. Go through and write a note next to each spending. Even if you can only identify 75% of them, this means that you will need less time tracking them physically, meaning you can get started sooner.

Step 3: Goals

The point of a budget isn’t the budget itself, it’s to better reach a goal. Think carefully about why you want a budget. Is it so you can pay off more of your college debt? Is it to save up for a 6-month traveling experience? Whatever it is, write down a handful of meaningful goals.

SMART goals are best, too. This means making them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based. For example, a poor goal would be to “have lots of savings in the future”. A better goal would be, “build a $4,000 emergency fund by July 2021”.

The reason this is step 3 and not 2 is because “track spending” is a function of goal-setting. In other words, your goals must take into account of your spending. It’s impossible to completely turn your spending on its head and set unrealistic goals. 

Step 4: Set parameters

This is the fun/daunting part; the budget itself. Now that you have an idea of what you actually spend, and what your fixed, unavoidable costs are, you can start to set parameters on your variable costs. 

If you have optimistic goals though, don’t shy away from being ruthless on your fixed costs. For example, running a car may seem like an unavoidable fixed cost, but you should think carefully about whether it really is. 

Most college students live close to or inside the campus. Having a bicycle may be the more healthy, environmentally friendly lifestyle choice that could save thousands per year.

Step 5: The spreadsheet itself

Now that you’ve created your budget, you want to represent it on a spreadsheet effectively. Downloading templates and copying them is one way to do this, but alternatively, you can play around with it yourself and learn some valuable Excel skills.

For example, you may want to use conditional formatting to change the colors of the cells depending on their value. This is how you make your balance appear in red when it goes below zero, for example.

Likewise, you want to set borders around sections, instead of having prose of messy information. You could use different pages for different sections too, and have the main page that represents and pulls in all the data together.

If you want an easier way to input data into the sheet (i.e. input each purchase you make as you go), then you can make use of forms. Google forms (inputted into Google Sheets) are an easy way to do this — you simply make a small Q&A where you type in the data and hit enter. This will be submitted to the budget. The link to the form can even be placed on your mobile home screen.

Lastly, formulas are important to learn too. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but you want to automate the calculations as much as possible so there are few mistakes. “=SUM” will perhaps be your most used formula.