August feels like a fresh start. New classes. New schedules. New goals. It’s also the perfect time to get a handle on something that will matter for the rest of your life: how you manage your money.
National Financial Awareness Day (August 15) falls right in the middle of this reset season, and it’s the perfect reminder that the sooner you start building good habits, the easier it is to reach your financial goals.
If you’re in high school, starting college, or already working toward your degree, you’re already making financial choices every week. Those choices – how you spend, save, and plan ahead – will shape your money habits for years to come, so it’s important to build good habits early.
Where should you start?
Step one: start figuring out where your money is going. After all, you can’t make smart financial decisions if you don’t know!
For students, income can come from a part-time job, allowance, freelance work, financial aid refunds, or even holiday and birthday money.
Expenses might include rent, gas, groceries, club fees, coffee runs, or subscription services.
Track every dollar for a month – in an app, spreadsheet, or even on paper. If you do, you’ll quickly spot patterns: where money is disappearing faster than you thought, and where you’re doing just fine.
Quick Tool Picks for Tracking:
- Mint: Free app, links to accounts for automatic tracking
- YNAB: Paid tool for proactive budgeting
- Google Sheets or Excel: Build your own custom tracker
Start budgeting and forecasting early
A budget is your plan for where you want your money to go. A forecast is your “in progress” version that you update as life happens.
Example: You budget $200 for gas, but halfway through the month you’ve already spent $140, maybe because prices went up or you were driving more than usual. That’s your signal to adjust – maybe cut back on unnecessary driving, or spend less in another category.
Budgets keep you focused. Forecasts keep you flexible. The goal is to catch issues early so you can adapt before they cause bigger problems.
Give your money a simple structure
When you think about how to build your budget and where to allocate your money, you may find you need a starting point. The 50/30/20 method is a common one:
- 50% for needs – rent, groceries, transportation, insurance
- 30% for wants – dining out, concerts, hobbies, travel
- 20% for savings or debt repayment
Think of it as a framework, not a strict rule. If rent takes up more than 50%, you might shrink the “wants” category temporarily. If you have fewer expenses, you can save more than 20%.
This works because it:
- Forces you to see your spending in bigger categories, so you don’t lose sight of balance.
- Builds a habit of saving regularly, even if it’s $10 or $20 a week.
- Gives you an easy way to make decisions. If you’re already hitting your “wants” limit for the month, it’s a sign to wait on that extra purchase.
You can make this structure more powerful by creating separate accounts for each category. Many banks let you open multiple savings “buckets” or sub-accounts for free. That way, your rent money and your travel fund are never competing for the same dollars.
Expect the Unexpected
A surprise expense like a phone repair or last-minute travel can throw off your budget fast. An emergency fund helps absorb those hits.
For students, even $300-$500 in an emergency fund can be a solid starting goal. Build it slowly: set aside $10-$20 a week, or save your extra income during months when expenses are lower.
Keep it separate from your everyday spending, ideally in a high-yield savings account, so you’re not tempted to dip into it for non-emergencies.
Be cautious with credit
Credit cards can help you build a credit history, which you’ll need later for things like renting an apartment or getting a car loan. But they can also be expensive if you carry a balance.
If you charge $500 at a 20% interest rate and only make the minimum payment, you could pay hundreds in interest before it’s gone. Borrow only what you can repay quickly, and pay your statement balance in full whenever possible.
Plan for big, irregular costs
Textbooks, holiday travel, sports equipment, hobby purchases, membership fees are all examples of categories that aren’t monthly expenses, but they are predictable if you plan ahead.
Look at your semester or year as a whole, list upcoming big costs, and break them down into smaller monthly savings goals. Setting aside even $25 a month for a $300 purchase means you’ll have the money ready when you need it.
Grow what you have
Once you’ve built a cushion, you can make your money work harder for you by investing.
Start with making sure your savings is working as hard as it can:
- A high-yield savings account earns more interest than a standard account, helping your balance grow without risk.
- Some banks offer automatic round-ups, moving spare change from purchases into savings without you thinking about it.
Then learn the basics of investing by starting small:
- You don’t need a lot to start! Some platforms let you begin with as little as $5.
- Look into low-cost index funds or ETFs, which spread your money across many companies and reduce risk compared to picking individual stocks.
- Use free resources like Investopedia, Khan Academy, or your library to understand how markets work before you invest.
The earlier you start, the more time your money has to grow, and even small amounts can add up significantly over a few years.
Learn by managing real budgets
If you’re in college, joining a student organization is one of the best ways to practice budgeting in a real-world setting.
Taking on a role like treasurer or finance chair means handling actual funds, tracking expenses, planning for events, and making sure the group stays within budget. You’ll get experience making trade-offs, building treasurers reports, presenting numbers to a team, and thinking strategically about resources.
It’s the kind of hands-on skill employers notice, and it makes a strong addition to your resume when you eventually start job hunting.
Why starting now matters
Money habits are easier to build when your expenses are simpler and stakes are lower.
Skills like tracking your money, planning ahead, and adjusting to surprises will serve you for decades, whether you’re managing your first apartment, leading a student organization, or running your own business someday.
This month is a good time to sharpen your financial skills or think about what that could look like in the future. The sooner you start, the more confident you’ll feel – not just for the school year ahead, but for everything that comes after.
