Living on a Budget

As a graduate student, your total educational loan debt at graduation will depend on how successful you are in developing and sticking to a budget. Budgeting is a means of comparing all expected income and resources (including student loans) with expected expenses for a given period of time. Budgeting may require you to review your expenses periodically and make adjustments to them in order to achieve a balance between the two. The goal of budgeting is to enable you to live within your available resources and to avoid unnecessary student loan debt.

There are some expenses that cannot be included in the student budget as items to be funded with federal financial assistance. Students should anticipate these types of expenses and develop a plan to pay for such costs:

Automobile payments
Consumer debt incurred
Residency application and interview travel costs
Relocation costs related to residency program

Students who enter Southern College of Optometry with consumer and/or automobile debt should have an alternative source of funds (savings, family support, spousal income) to pay for these costs.

The following tips will help you live within your budget:

Review your budget each month.
If you go over your budget one month, get back on track by cutting expenses the next month.
If you consistently go over the budget, keep a record of everything you spend during the next month. Use this expense information to trim excess spending and try again.
If you have unexpected expenses, such as unplanned graduate or dental emergencies not covered by insurance, etc., talk with your financial aid counselor to see if you may qualify for a budget increase.
Keep a good record/filing system and develop regular bill-paying habits. If you cannot do this successfully yourself, consider purchasing the latest personal finance software to aid you in keeping track of your spending.
Balance your bank account monthly and avoid costly bounced check charges and embarrassment.
Use savings beyond what you need for emergencies to avoid credit card use and limit non-subsidized student loan debt.
Have only one credit card with a low maximum balance and pay your balance in full each month.
Use a debit card instead of a credit card. It is accepted by most businesses that accept credit cards; however, the money comes out of your checking account, so there is no interest charge.
Don't use credit cards for cash advances. Most banks charge higher interest on cash advances than for regular purchases.
Keep a record of your monthly credit card purchases on a post-it note in your checkbook and subtract that amount from your checking account balance so that you will have it available when you receive the bill.

Return to Financial Aid Information