I’ll be the first one to say that spending a very large amount of money in college is extremely easy. Everything adds up quickly -- laundry, Uber rides, snacks, late night pizza, online shopping, blue books, you name it. Before you know it you have zero cash and $4 on your debit card. And a savings account? Yeah, you don’t have one.

I’ll admit that I am better with my money than most college students due to a purchase I made when I was five years old that left me with some serious buyer’s remorse that haunts me to this day. If anyone is curious, I spent all of the money my five-year-old self had and bought a FurReal Friends cat that could move its head. Let’s just say that once I took the tags off and realized how dumb it was I cried, begged my mom to return it and told her that I was moving to my grandma’s house when she said she couldn’t because the tags were already off. From that day on, I was so stingy with my money and became really aware of all of my purchases.

With that being said, I still spend money on Uber rides, pizza and things I probably don’t really need. While some students get money from their parents, a lot don’t, and eventually we all have to grow up and have to start making our own money. In a few short years, we will no longer have our parents transferring money to our accounts, and if we don’t start figuring out our finances now, we will be doomed.

Here are some tips and tricks to help you get your finances in check as a current or soon to be college student.

1. Create a budget.

It is actually terrifying how easy it is to spend 100 dollars. Every little thing adds up and before you know it you have no more money left for the month. It is imperative to have a monthly budget. If you set aside a certain amount of money you can spend, then you will become more aware of your purchases. This will also help with impulse buying which is where most money seems to go. Having a budget will make it much easier to control your spending.

2. Start a savings account.

It doesn’t matter that we are of the ages of 18 to 22. You need a savings account. Even if you only put a little bit aside whenever you can, it will help in the long run. The future is expensive, and if you don’t start saving now, then you will spend the rest of your life trying to catch up.

3. If you have a credit card, pay it off immediately.

Credit cards are extremely risky for college students, but they also are great to help you build good credit early. If you have a credit card, use it sparingly and only for purchases that are not a ridiculous amount of money. You should be making sure that you have the money on your debit card to pay off what you are buying on your credit card. It’s easy to run up large amounts of debt on your credit card thinking you will pay it when you can, but the longer you wait to pay your bill, the harder it will become. It is best to pay your bill right as it appears so that one, you don’t have to worry about it, and two, you are building good credit and good habits.

4. If you have a job, then split your paycheck into spending and saving.

Getting a paycheck is great. The first thing you want to do when you receive it is spend, spend, spend. And that is wrong, wrong, wrong. Take half of your paycheck and spend it and take the other half and put it in your savings account. This will keep you from buying things you don’t really need, while also adding to your savings. It’s really easy to want to spend all of your paycheck especially in the summer, but if you save over the summer, then you will have more to spend during the school year.

5. Be aware of how, when and where you are spending your money.

Every so often take a look at your billing statements and see where your money is going. Do you spend more money on food or clothing? Do you spend more on the weekends or the during the week? Do you spend more when you are drunk? Ask yourself these questions, and find out your patterns of spending. Once you become aware of these it will be easier to manage, and it will be easier to cut out excess spending. If these seems too difficult, download the app Mint and it will do all of this for you. There are no excuses for not being able to manage your finances.