Dexter’s financial corner

Tools to manage your money

By: Dexter Nebitsi

Major: Finance

Tribal Affiliation: Navajo

Saving money while in college is not easy, but it can be achievable. Everyone has different savings goals. For example, some students may want to save in order to travel home to the Rez, or maybe some want extra money on hand for life’s unexpected situations. Personally, I want to save money to build a “party time” budget. Party time to me are fun activities such as going to Top Golf, collecting magnets and chilling with the homies. After all, college is a time to enjoy with friends, and I want to be able to do that when I can.

To help me think and plan through this, I talked with Coach Dan from State Farm’s Next Door and was amazed with the helpful resources available when thinking about being aware of your money and saving. I learned that they provide comprehensive and free resources for college students!

For example, they have financial tools (budget sheets) to help you break down your expenses. If you’re like me (and most people), you may not keep track of where you spend all of your money. But a crucial first step toward effectively saving money is to have an awareness of how and where you are spending money. With the help from Coach Dan, I made a plan to figure out where I was spending money.

For a week, I wrote down and documented everything I spent my money on. I did this by reviewing my bank statement and jotting down whatever I spent. The list of my expenditures for one week baffled me. Here is a snapshot of my week’s cash flow:

When I reviewed my expenses, I noticed that over half (nearly $100) of all my cash was going toward food! In retrospect, I could have easily saved some money by cooking at home and bringing food from home to campus. By actually writing down where I spend money, I quickly realized that I need to start allocating out a specific amount of money toward food. To achieve my goals of starting a party time budget, I will need to cut back on fast food and set aside money toward party time activities — every dollar on food is a dollar that can’t go to party time.

Being aware of where your money goes, no matter how small or big it is, is the first step toward achieving your savings goals. I challenge Native college students to become more aware of your spending by tracking down your expenses. Utilize financial tools and coaches provided by State Farm’s Next Door. And then start chipping away at putting money aside for savings!