College Budgeting: How to Plan Your Budget? Six Steps For a Smart Start

1. College Budgeting How to Plan your Budget?

2. Six Steps For a Smart Start for College • Establish a Plan • Separate Needs from Wants • Create a Monthly Spending Plan • Smart ways to save towards college on regular basis • Utilize Savings accounts • Be in Control!

3. 1. Establish a Plan • Understand College Cost (Net Price) Average cost to attend UTA for 2016-2017 Academic Year • Short Term Goals (now ~ 3 years) * Good Academic Standing * Search for financial recourses * Complete FAFSA * Review Award Letters • Long Term Goals (5 ~8 years) * Complete college degree * Internships: gaining experience and starting your career!

4. 2. Separate Needs from Wants • Needs are fixed expenses, such as rent, utilities, food, clothing, transportation, taxes, health care, childcare and repairs. • Wants are variable expenses: entertainment, cable, internet service, magazines, eating out, hobbies, etc. • Prioritize Your Wants and Needs • Absolutely essential for survival! • More of a need than a want • Great to have, but not a need • 20lbs bag of Skittles NEED WANT

5. 3. Create a Monthly Spending Plan • Start at the beginning of each month • Pay your bills on time • Figure out how much money you have AFTER bills and needs, put some money aside for savings • Keep track of everything you spend; Starbucks, video games, new clothes, etc.

6. Smart ways to save towards college on regular basis • Choose your outings wisely • Find cheap places to hang out • Help pay for gas in a group ( or bike ) • There are so many free outings put on by your college, go to those! • $5 dollar bill challenge • Fun little challenge that will help you save money! Utilize a savings account!

7. Utilize Savings accounts • Most savings accounts have interest, meaning the longer the money stays in the bank, the more money will be in there • Use your monthly spending plan to put as much money into savings as possible • Take some money out of each paycheck for yourself. It is very hard to save ALL of your money if you don’t get to use it a little bit ( Don’t use it too much though) • Only go into your savings for emergencies. • After a couple of years, you will be able to afford some very expensive things (a car, a loan for a house, a nice apartment) Making your life much easier while you try to find your career

8. Be in Control: • Taking control of your financial situation helps reduce the anxiety of not knowing whether you have the money to pay your bills when they are due. • It is important to have a sense of control over money, rather than letting money have control over you. • There will be times where money is tight, or you may not have enough for rent, but having a plan helps reduce the amount of times this happens, or cuts it out completely • Building assets improves the quality of life for you and your family.

9. Financial Aid Terminology Award letter/ notification A document/ online notification about an admitted students financial aid the college is offering. Cost of Attendance The combined expenses of attending college (tuition, fees, room and board, books, living expenses, etc.) CSS/Financial aid PROFILE College Board's web-based financial aid application (used by colleges/ private scholarships) FAFSA (FREE Application for Federal Student Aid) Form everyone must complete to apply for financial aid (fafsa.org) Financial Aid Package Total financial aid offered to a student by a college (grants, scholarships, work study, loans) Financial Need The difference between the TOTAL cost of attendance and the EFC (expected family contribution) Grant A monetary aid award that DOES NOT have to be paid back Merit Aid Financial aid awarded on the basis of academic qualifications/ artistic or athletic talent (Scholarship)

10. Need-Based Aid Financial aid given to students who have demonstrated financial need Priority date Date in which the financial aid application must be received in order to have the strongest possible consideration Self-Help Aid Student financial aid that requires repayment of employment (part time jobs, loans) Subsidized loan Need-based loan where the entity awarding the loan pays the borrowers interest (be in college half-time) Work-Study An arrangement by which students combine employment and college study

11. TRIVIA TIME!! 1. Which is a method to fund your college education? • Apply for financial aid using the FAFSA and TAP applications • Seek out less expensive college alternatives • Seek out college scholarships • All of the above 2. You should keep a copy of all your filled-out application forms because: • They could get lost in the mail • Your dog may eat your application • You can use the records to verify that you sent everything necessary to each scholarship and school • All of the above 3. What is one major difference between applying to college in the US and applying outside of the US? • You apply when you are a senior • You have to pay to apply • You can apply early decision • You can only apply to 5 colleges

12. 4. What does FAFSA stand for? • Free Application for Funding Student Associations • Federal Application for Finding Solar Absorbency • Free Application for Federal Student Aid • Federal Application for flickering Student Accounts 5. What is the FAFSA used for? • It is a form used for admission purposes only. • It provides scholarships to students. • It gives government funds to students attending postsecondary schools. • It calculates a family’s financial need. 6. When should high school students start applying to colleges? • Junior year • Summer before senior year • Fall of Senior Year • When you graduate