Throughout the past five years since I had my first job, I treated money as something that would always come back around. I had terrible spending habits, buying food, going shopping, and buying items I never really needed. While the “broke college student” stereotype is very real for me when I’m living in my college town, I still had terrible spending habits, despite not having much to spend in the first place.

It wasn’t until my financial stress overpowered my academic stress that I realized I should probably make a major life adjustment. To avoid getting to the lowest point of financial stress like I did, here are some tips for you to better about your money.

1. Get a savings account.

I knew I had to force myself to save my income. To be honest, those savings accounts that let you transfer money into your checking account by the press of a button are ineffective. Speak with your bank and look into options that do not allow transfers so easily.

2. Keep track of food spending.

Many people, especially college students, can’t get enough of their outside food. It’s easy to get in the car and buy delicious food that’s ready for the exchange of a few dollars. Sooner or later, it starts to add up. Keeping track of what you’re spending on food makes you realize just how much of that money could have been saved for more efficient items or actual groceries.

3. Take cash on spending days.

I started teaching myself one rule to overcome my poor spending habits. If you pay off all your bills and have enough saved up for next month’s expenses then you deserve to spend a little. If I wish to buy some new clothes from the mall, I’d take out cash and leave my debit card at home. That way, I can only spend the amount that I planned to, and not going over what was in my budget.