Tips and resources to get your finances in great shape.

One of the most important financial literacy skills you can learn is creating and following a personal budget. Setting up a budget allows you to chart your income and your expenses to make sure that what you’re paying for isn’t more than what you’re earning.

• 记录你的开销.
  For one month, write down everything you spend money on: rent, car payments, everything. Right down to that pizza you bought for lunch.
• 评估你的支出.
  Compare your monthly expenses to your monthly income. If your expenses are greater than your income, you need to look at your spending habits and determine how to reduce your expenses. One way to do this is to prioritize your spending, ranking items in order of importance from basic living essentials to a daily cup of coffee.
• 制定平衡的预算.
  Make a spending plan where your monthly income is equal to or greater than your monthly expenses. 要做到这一点, you may need to eliminate some spending or find ways to reduce the cost of things you need.
• 坚持预算.
  Now that you have created your budget, you need to follow and stick to it!

保持健康的预算：

• Don’t buy things you want that you don’t need
• Don’t buy expensive items when less expensive items of equal quality are available
• Create a savings account for emergencies or unforeseen expenses like car repairs and medical expenses

If you need to take out a student loan to pay for your educational expenses, 问自己：“我应该借多少钱？?” Then to help answer this question, follow these guidelines:

• Borrow only what you need for your educational expenses.
• Figure out how much you’ll need to borrow to meet you educational goals, 不管是合伙人, 学士, 硕士或以上学历.
• Consider what your monthly payments will be on the loan when it’s time to repay it.
• Determine what other expenses you’ll have after graduation: housing, 食物, 运输, 健康保险, 信用卡, 等.
• 使用 MCC的职业教练 to research what the average starting salary is for the career field you plan to enter when you complete your college education.
• Resist the temptation to use your student loans for other things beyond your educational expenses.

这些 还款计算器，由美国创建.S. Department of Education, can help you determine your future monthly payments.

More information on repaying student loans can be found in the 偿还贷款 联邦学生援助网站的部分.