With all the activities and things to do on campus and around Ames, students may have a hard time keeping track of their limited finances. Creating and following a budget can be difficult, but doing so will help students save for things they want or need.

Mint.com is an easy tool to use to set up a budget and keep track of your money. You can link your bank account and see your transactions. The website will take that information and compare it to the income and expenses you have.

Other things Mint.com helps with include setting goals, giving financial advice, alerting you of upcoming bills, investment offers, ways to save and showing you your spending trends.

Three steps CNN Money gives for creating a budget are:

1. Identify how you’re spending money now.

2. Evaluate your current spending and set goals to take into account your longterm financial goals.

3. Track your spending to make sure it stays within those guidelines.

When managing your budget and keeping track of your finances, keep these things in mind.

• Watch out for cash leakage. Withdrawing money from the ATM can cause this to happen so keep track of every penny spent if you need to make a withdrawal.

• Beware of luxuries dressed up as necessities. Things you may think are absolute necessities really aren’t that important and don’t need to be purchased right away. This would be a good time to take a look at your budget and decide where to make cutbacks.

• Aim to spend no more than 90 percent of your income and save the other 10 percent. Although this may not sound like a lot, that 10 percent really adds up if you stick to it.

• Don’t count on windfalls, such as bonuses, tax refunds and investment gains. If the money isn’t in your account, don’t spend it. This can lead to problems down the road if you don’t receive that money when you expected.

If you’re looking for a job during the school year, a good place to look is the Student Job Board. You can access this tool by signing into AccessPlus. Here you can find jobs by category, location, seasonal/temporary and recently posted. Make sure you have an updated copy of your resume ready to be sent in with your application.