When to say "No".

Have you ever bought something and then regretted it later on because you really did not have the money? Or wish you started saving earlier on so you could do something important now? How about this...have you ever been in a position where you want to buy something, but you cannot because you either do not have the money, or you know deep down it should go towards other, more important things? If you did not say 'yes' to any of these questions than I congratulate you for you are a very small percentage of the population who know how to budget!

Being able to budget will help you in so many ways. You will be able to keep track of your income and expenses, stay on top of your monthly bills, be prepared for unexpected expenses, avoid overspending. and figure out how much you need to save to meet your financial goals. Budgeting is definitely tough as it limits you're spending on what most likely are things that include going out, shopping, eating out, etc. Nobody is perfect!

This applies to you especially if you are going to University/College as they are going to be very expensive years of your life! Don't be afraid! There are ways to make it work, even if it means you have to be the one working ;) As I have said before in my blogs, talking with your parents/guardians never hurt as they most likely have been through similar challenges. Make sure you know the difference between fixed and variable expenses, the difference between a want and a need, how to make a budget, how often to review your budget (psst!...once a year!), what to save for, ways to cut your spending, and lastly...how to get rid of debt! It is probable that at some point in your life you will be in some amount of debt, whether it be to your parents, your bank, etc.

Unfortunately, budgeting is not a very fun thing to do at all at the time, but later on in life, TRUST ME you will thank yourself! No only that, you will realize how unimportant the things are that you would have bought! The sooner you learn about budgeting, the sooner you can start budgeting in your daily life, and the sooner you can get better at saying “no” to necessary expenses.

This information was based on the high school class "Personal Finance" (IDC4UM) at Craig Kielburger High School, along with the website: https://lkueh.wordpress.com/.