If you’re a college student relying on financial aid, it’s essential to live within your budget while at school. It can be tempting, however, to splurge on expensive dinners out, new clothes, and late night food and drink.

This post from How to Pay for College HQ offers some great tips for college students on spending within their means and avoiding the temptation of going into further debt for frivolous expenses.

Free online tools like Mint make it easy to create a budget and hold yourself accountable.

Mint is a free tool that can help you manage your expenses and stick to a budget.

How to stick to a budget

The article advises regularly assessing your needs against your wants, avoiding spending too much time with people who waste money, and relying on cash instead of credit cards to avoid spending more than you have.

And if you do get into financial trouble, be sure to reach out to someone before your debt gets out of hand.

Avoid credit card debt

Today’s college students are more weary of credit card debt, but it’s easy to fall into the credit trap. Remember, you’re likely to be paying hundreds of dollars each month toward your student loans when you graduate college. Do you really want credit card debt (at much higher interest rates) on top of that?

And if you can’t pay your student loan bills because you’re paying off credit cards, your credit will be negatively impacted as well. This can impair your ability to take out loans in the future for a car, a home, and other larger expenses.

Live within your means

Don’t make the mistake of living beyond your means in college. There are plenty of free or cheap ways to have fun in school. Take advantage of free events, free food on campus, and student discounts.

Sticking a budget isn’t as hard as it seems. Don’t spend money you don’t have. If you do, you’ll end up paying for it (at high interest) later.