It’s never too early to start building your financial foundation for life after school or help support your goals today if you are already managing your money. College students preparing for the “real world” can start practicing money skills now that can help you for years to come.
These 3 principles are a great place to start.
Saving is Safety: Saving is the foundation for financial independence. Start by putting a portion of money aside regularly. No amount is too small. These savings will help build an available emergency fund. Start while you’re young and make it a habit. An emergency fund can offer peace of mind for unexpected costs, such as a car repair, emergency travel or sudden medical bills. How do you make it a habit? With automation. Check your banking app to see what kind of tools they offer. For example, Chase customers can set up Autosave, to help you automatically transfer money from checking to savings. You can set automatic savings right from your phone with the Chase Mobile app. This simple transaction can help you build an emergency fund without thinking twice.
Begin Budgeting: A budget helps you have a plan for your money. To create it, you need to know your income, your expenses and how much you want to save. The ideal is to spend less than you earn. There are a few different ways you can go about this. First is to consider digital tools available with your banking app. The Spending & Budgeting section in the Chase app provides a customized view of your spending habits that can help you keep track of what you’ve bought to prevent overspending. Snapshot serves a similar purpose but provides an in-depth daily look at your spending to help you recognize your habits in real time.
Another easy way to set up your budget is the 50-30-20 rule. With this method, you divvy your earnings into three categories: necessities, wants and savings. The goal is to keep fixed spending (necessities) to 50% of your net (after-tax) income and discretionary expenses (wants) to 30%, leaving 20% to put toward your saving goals. This system allows you to create a solid financial foundation by giving yourself a set amount to spend on entertainment and leisure activities.
Credit Basics: You can build good credit by managing your finances wisely. Having and maintaining a strong credit score and history is crucial. For example, it will be a key consideration when you plan to buy your first car or rent an apartment. Your credit score is based on how responsibly you manage your credit. One of the most important reminders is to always pay your bills on time. Other elements that make up your score are the length of time you’ve had a credit history (longer is better), and the amount of money you use on your available credit, and the kind of accounts you have. Potential lenders will use your history to determine if you’re a good credit risk. Learning the basics of credit and how to improve your score early on will set you up for future success when you want to make larger adult purchases. Chase makes keeping track of your credit easy with the Credit Journey, which offers free credit and identity monitoring, including alerts to let you know if your data is exposed in a data breach or on the dark web.
Overall, establishing a strong money foundation is important as you reach your goals.
For more information and to download the Chase Mobile® app, visit Chase.com/mobile.