Money plays a vital part in everyone’s life. It can determine how people live their lives. Sometimes money can be troublesome, but the key is to use the money wisely.

There is so much college students have to spend their money on. Tuition, books, clothes, travel and leisure activities, are all very expensive things that students end up frequently spending money on. If students are not careful, they sometimes see themselves running into problems with their spending.

Spending habits vary as much as personalities. Some students find it easy to curb their spending habits by only using their money on the necessities.

“I end up spending most of my money on food,” sophomore Chris Ducey, a journalism major, said.

“I try not to buy expensive things like CDs and DVDs,” Ducey said. “I keep things simple.”

Other students find it harder to save money.

“When I got to school I spent a lot of the time on the computer and became addicted to online shopping,” junior Melissa Trebbe, an undecided major, said. “I buy so many clothes online that I never have any money.”

With all of the spending it can be hard to keep track of how much money you have.

This is where budgeting comes in. Keeping track of how much money is coming in and going out is a key to maintaining a budget.

Some students find it easier than others to keep track of their expenses.

“I don’t really budget my money,” freshman Stanley Lukaszewicz, political science major, said.

“I definitely need to budget and keep track of how much I spend,” Trebbe said. “I buy everything with my debit card so I need to know exactly how much money I have in my account so I don’t overcharge my limit.”

Most students agree they spend a lot more money while at school then when they are at home.

“Here, I need to pay for everything, [but] when I’m home, my parents pay for my food and sometimes my clothes,” Ducey said. “At school everything comes out of the money I made during the summer.”

“I usually spend about $100 a week at school, which is definitely more than I would spend at home,” Lukaszewicz said.

“Even though I spend a lot more money while I’m at school I also get more money to live off of from my parents while I’m here,” Trebbe said.