 TITLE: Create a College Budget Plan in 4 Easy Steps CONTENT: Fine-Tune Your Budget and Stick to It\n-------------------------------------\nNow that you know your expected income and expenses—and you have a strategy for tracking your spending—you are the proud creator of a budget. Your goal moving forward is to make sure your income is adequate to cover your planned expenses. If, after living with your budget for a month or two, you find that your budget doesn't work, go back and look for opportunities to either dial back expenses or raise your income.\nA few tips to keep in mind:\n*   Your expenses during the first month of school may run a little high. That's because you may need to purchase items you took for granted when you were living at home. It may also be that you've never had to mind your spending this way.\n*   Be prepared to make potentially painful adjustments. Saying goodbye to spring break in Florida and twice-daily trips to the coffee bar may be difficult, but it can save you from financial turmoil, or the need to come up with additional funding to bridge the gap.\n*   Successful budgeting is all about recovery. Occasional overspending is a fact of life. As long as you can figure out how to account for it—and you don't miss any essential payments like rent or tuition—you'll be fine.\nIn the end, budgeting isn't a matter of sticking rigidly to an ideal set of numbers. It's more a question of creating parameters you can comfortably live within; guidelines that let you know when and how much you can comfortably spend at any given time—and still be able to cover your necessary expenses.\nIf you're having a difficult time making your budget work, or you're concerned about what will happen if you have unexpected expenses, now is a great time to talk to your parents or get help from a school counselor. Ideally, a budget should help you alleviate your stress about money so you can focus on becoming the educated, independent adult you want to be. END