Time to put on your big girl or guy pants and start budgeting. Budgeting is such a grown- up word, right? It sounds daunting at first, but it really isn’t.

Talk
Make sure you and your parents are on the same page about money (especially if you don’t have a job). Discuss the option of an allowance, loans, and credit cards.

Create a system
Payment plans each week, two weeks, a month, or even a semester. Believe it or not, some students still use the ol’, “Mom can I have five dollars for today?” Whatever makes you and your parents satisfied.

Amount
It should be enough money to where you are comfortable and supports your needs. However, it should not be too comfortable where you are just rolling in dough. The idea is to not spend all your money at once.

Temptation
You’ve got new friends to eat dinner with, “social night” spending, gas money for visiting the beach, and random stuff that you want to buy because you couldn’t buy it back home. If this isn’t enough, you have this heavenly creation called online shopping. These money traps are around every second of the day but to save your wallet from dying of brokenness. You have to learn to say “No.”

Save
Save something, even if it’s a dollar every week. Just save. The feeling that you get when you don’t go over your budget is rewarding and I suggest putting that “leftover money” away. You never know when something happens and you’ll need the extra cash. Get into the habit now because soon you are going to have to pay back loans and later saving for retirement.

Budgeting money is daunting to think about, but as long as you keep track of what you are spending and save what you are not, you should be just fine.