Learning to save money now will prepare individuals for the uncertainties of the future.

No one knows when the next natural disaster will strike. The news cannot report an economic decline before it occurs.

The future is full of uncertainties, but college students can prepare today by learning how to budget and to save money.

"Four of the most important skills we can develop are establishing financial goals, budgeting, controlling debt and saving during times of plenty for times of need,” according to the April 1990 Ensign article “Where’s All Our Money Going?”

All four of these skills can help students prepare for the future. Financial goals work hand-in-hand with budgeting to keep individuals debt-free and ready for the trials ahead.

One of the four mentioned skills, budgeting, is one way to prepare for the future. No matter what kinds of incomes and expenses, everyone can learn to budget their money effectively.

Budgeting can help college students stretch their money out across a semester, a year or more.

LeaDawn Grant, a graduate of BYU-Idaho with a degree in construction management, spent the months following her graduation learning how to budget her money. 

During those first two months, Grant could not find employment and had to learn how to make money last.

“Keep track of your spending. The more you are aware of what you spend, the more you will save,” Grant said. “The first thing to do is to have an overall idea of how much you want to spend. That takes a little bit of research. What is a good monthly budget for someone my size or my age or my family size? … Set a goal and research it.”

Other parts of budgeting include testing the budget. Determine if any amounts need to be changed. Maybe a person keeps going over or under budget.
They should adjust their budget to match their needs and then stick to that budget. 

Even though Grant found a job, she still continued to budget her money and to look for ways to save money.

She listed a few ways that she has found to save money.

One way to save money is to use coupons.

“There are so many ways that you can save by using coupons, by just being aware,” Grant said. “Be aware of where the coupons are and where you can find them. Be aware that there are coupons and that you can save money.”

There are many different places that college students can get coupons. Local stores place cutout coupons next to their products in their store. 

Scroll and other newspapers contain coupon inserts for local stores. There are also printable coupons online.

Emma Johnson, a freshman studying sociology, grew up learning how to use coupons effectively.  Johnson learned to watch for and utilize store sales and coupons.

“Watch sales and always make sure to print out coupons every week,” Johnson said. Johnson also said to check which stores have the lowest prices and then to go use coupons at those stores. 

Another way to save money is to take advantage of free samples and online resources.

Companies give out free samples all the time. Free samples and coupons are readily accessible online.

When asked about where to find coupons, Grant said that couponing blogs are one of the best places to find coupons.

Grant uses the following coupon blogs: moneysavingmom.com and crazy-coupon-lady.com. 

Coupon blogs are collections of coupons for a large variety of stores. The blogs themselves do not have the printable coupons but they contain links to the Web sites where the coupons can be printed.

Grant made her own blog with the goal to share her knowledge with others.
Grant’s blog, www.thecouponbasics.blogspot.com, features multiple ways to save money.

According to Grant’s blog, Grant’s goal “is to be able to help each of you save money by budgeting, using coupons, shopping sales and promotions, cooking from scratch, and more.”

From Feb. 16 to Feb. 26, Grant is hosting a Broulim’s gift card giveaway on her blog.

Readers of Grant’s blog can enter the giveaway up to four times.

Two $20 gift cards will be given away. For more information, visit Grant’s blog.
One myth of couponing is that coupons hurt the store.

“It doesn’t hurt the store,” Grant said. “Lots of people feel like they are stealing or that they are hurting the stores if they use a coupon. But the stores make money off of it. It is just like money to them. They send it to the manufactures and get that money back. Except for the store coupons which stores know that they are putting that out there.  They are not going to lose money off their coupons. … The stores want you to use coupons because they know you will buy more stuff and come to the store more often.”

Amanda Eutsler

Scroll Staff