Saving money can be challenging, especially in high school. You may have just gotten a new job, and you feel the excitement from the first paycheck you’ve ever received. Should you save it? Should you put half of it in a glass piggy bank on your desk? Here are our tips for saving money as a high schooler with a first job.

Putting Some Money Back
Putting money back into your savings regardless of how much it is can add up to what you’re saving for (i.e., college, a new pair of headphones, that baseball bat you’ve been begging for, etc.) The pennies, single dollar bills, and dimes add up and can be put into an account to help you achieve your goal. So instead of going to your favorite fast food place and buying dinner, you could always make a nice meal at home and put that money into your account!

Eating In
Eating at home is highly beneficial to your bank account and your body. Fast food is expensive as of recently, and saving an extra 10-15 dollars each night can help you put that money towards something else more important.

Keeping Extra Money In Your Checking Account
Saving doesn’t have to mean putting the money into an account. It could mean keeping it in your checking account to afford more minor things. Maybe you want a water bottle for school from the gas station, but you’ve already left, or if you are driving, you could also put that money toward gas. There are so many little things you may want to buy that you could afford with an extra $20 in your pocket.

After speaking with a senior at Lafayette High School, Alfonso Chadwell, he gave some tips on saving money and shared his personal experience with handling income as a student.

Chadwell stated, “I don’t spend my money on anything unnecessary.” He also said, “I only spend money when I am going out with people; I try to keep it to a minimum when I am alone. Eating in is a big one.” We also asked him what tactics he uses to spend money, and he offered, “I limit myself to 200 dollars a month. The rest goes into savings. If you can afford to put 80% of your paycheck into savings, 20% should be all you need.”

Saving money, especially in high school, is extremely tough. It’s hard not to want to buy useless things and put money back into savings. Hopefully, this article finds its way to you, and hopefully, it is helpful!