It’s easy to forget how much living comfortably costs, until you go to college that is. Since school is one of the more expensive things in life, it requires budgeting. The College Budget Template will track your expenses and show you how much each month of the semester costs.
How to use the College Budget Template
The Excel template can be downloaded using the link below. The one page budget calculator has a top gray portion that you don’t need to enter anything into as it pulls results from your data. The columns below are where you can begin.
The first green box is for your monthly income. The entries you fill in will be automatically added together in the “total” section of the green line. Next is the list of what you need as a one-time purchase for the entire semester.
On the right orange column is your monthly expenses. The text already entered is just to help guide you, you can delete or change them as needed. Once you have filled in both the green and orange parts of the template, scroll back to the box on the top of the page.
The green on the left shows how much you have coming in per month. In the orange part, the longer bar shows the total amount of money you spend each month, and what your semester cost is per month. These numbers are pulled from the “What I Need for This Semester” and “What I Spend Each Month” columns. These two numbers are then added together shown in the orange square. Next to it is the over/under amount that is your monthly income subtracted from your monthly costs.
Tips on using the College Budget Template
- The “Monthly Semester Cost” also factors in how many months your semester is. The defaults is five, but if yours is different, adjust it.
- Fill this out a month before your semester starts. If you are bringing in less income than you need, you will have time to change your budget.
- Print and keep this template with you to help you keep track of bills. Give a copy to your parent(s) if they help with your budget.
Download the College Budget Template
Template courtesy of Microsoft
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