Going to college - and graduating - comes with a lot of responsibility, like managing your finances. Managing your finances may seem scary at first but with a little practice and some care, it is actually pretty easy and can produce very rewarding results. Developing a budget is a great first step towards responsibly managing your finances. Below, you will find a calculator that can help you with the process. You may not have to fill out all of the blanks to develop a budget that fits your needs. That is the thing about budgets: everyone’s is different because everyone has different costs and financial goals.

We hope you find this calculator helpful. If you need any assistance developing your personal budget, give the College Planning Center of RI a call at 401-736-3170 and we can help free of charge.

Your Monthly Income

> Your monthly take home pay $
> Other monthly income $

Your Monthly Expenses

Savings
> Emergency fund $ > Investments $
> Retirement $ > General/vacation $

Housing & Household Expenses
> Rent/mortgage $ > Sewer/water/garbage $
> Insurance $ > Cable & internet $
> Gas/oil/heat $ > Phone & cell phone $
> Electric $ > Cleaning supplies $

Transportation
> Car payment $ > Gas $
> Insurance $ > Public Transportation $
> Parking/tolls $ > Car Maintenance $

Loans & Credit Cards

Health Care
> Credit cards $ > Health & life insurance $
> Student loans $ > Doctor/dentist visits $
> Consumer loans $ > Prescriptions/glasses $

Food & Personal
> Groceries $ > Laundry/dry cleaning $
> Dining out $ > Newspaper/magazines $
> Child care $ > Entertainment $
> Pet care $ > Haircuts/beauty care $
> Clothing/shoes $ > Gifts & cards $

Your Periodic Expenses

Periodic expenses may occur on an annual, semi-annual or other non-monthly basis. Enter the annual cost for any periodic expenses not included in your monthly expenses above and we will calculate the monthly cost for you and add it to your monthly expenses.

Enter Annual Expenses
> Car registration & tax $
> Car insurance, if you don't pay monthly $
> Newspaper & magazine subscriptions $
> Car maintenance and repair $
> Books & school supplies $
> Tuition & fees $
> Vacation $
> Other $

         

Summary

Monthly expenses $0.00 
Monthly cost of periodic expenses $0.00 
Total monthly expenses $0.00
Total monthly income $0.00
Surplus/Deficit $0.00