---
title: 3 Good Money Habits to Start in College
description: Lynnette Khalfani-Cox has tips about spending and financial aid.
authors:
  - name: wordsthatecho
    url: https://money.com/author/wordsthatecho/
    at_money_since: 2015
    articles: 44
    covers:
      - Education
      - Career Advice
      - Housing
      - Insurance
      - Investing
      - Lifestyle
      - Loans
      - Personal Finance
      - Retirement
    former_staff: true
published: '2015-11-25T16:59:29.000Z'
modified: '2024-04-16T08:18:08.000Z'
section: Education
tags:
  - Budgeting
  - College
  - Debt
  - financial skills
  - habits
  - Lynnette Khalfani-Cox
  - Money
  - Saving
  - video
word_count: 133
canonical: https://money.com/3-good-money-habits-college/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

> **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/).

![Lynnette Khalfani-Cox](https://img.money.com/2015/11/151125_em_lynnettekhalfanicox_grab_1.png)

Lynnette Khalfani-Cox suggests three financial habits that students should work on while in college.

**Learn to live beneath your means.** Have a budget and stick to it. Figure out how much money you bring in and how much you spend, and then make sure you don't go over that number.

**File a FAFSA.** It's not just your parents' responsibility to pay for college. Fill out and file a [FAFSA](https://money.com/what-is-fafsa-and-who-should-fill-it-out/) to see whether or not you qualify for financial aid.

**Apply for free money.** Free money? It does exist! In the form of scholarships and grants. And it doesn't matter if you don't have the best grades; you can get a scholarship based on your ethnicity, religious affiliation or the field you hope to study in college. It can't hurt to check it out.

[![Best college education image](https://content.money.com/wp-content/themes/money2018/img/college-site-banner-02.png)](https://best-colleges.time.com/money/search-colleges/?xid=cm-mcpFindTheCollegeWidget)

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "@id": "https://money.com/3-good-money-habits-college/#breadcrumb",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "Home",
          "item": "https://money.com"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Education",
          "item": "https://money.com/education/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Paying for College",
          "item": "https://money.com/paying-for-college/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 4,
          "name": "3 Good Money Habits to Start in College"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://money.com/#website",
      "url": "https://money.com",
      "name": "Money",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#organization"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://money.com/3-good-money-habits-college/#webpage",
      "url": "https://money.com/3-good-money-habits-college/",
      "name": "3 Good Money Habits to Start in College",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#website"
      },
      "datePublished": "2015-11-25T16:59:29.000Z",
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/3-good-money-habits-college/"
      },
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "breadcrumb": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/3-good-money-habits-college/#breadcrumb"
      },
      "dateModified": "2024-04-16T08:18:08.000Z"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Article",
      "headline": "3 Good Money Habits to Start in College",
      "articleSection": "Education",
      "image": [
        {
          "@type": "ImageObject",
          "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/11/151125_em_lynnettekhalfanicox_grab_1.png",
          "width": 1600,
          "height": 900,
          "caption": "151125_EM_LynnetteKhalfaniCox_Grab_1"
        }
      ],
      "author": [
        {
          "@type": "Person",
          "name": "wordsthatecho",
          "url": "https://money.com/author/wordsthatecho/",
          "@id": "https://money.com/author/wordsthatecho/#author"
        }
      ],
      "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization",
      "datePublished": "2015-11-25T16:59:29.000Z",
      "description": "Lynnette Khalfani-Cox has tips about spending and financial aid.",
      "abstract": "Lynnette Khalfani-Cox has tips about spending and financial aid.",
      "@id": "https://money.com/3-good-money-habits-college/",
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "dateModified": "2024-04-16T08:18:08.000Z",
      "wordCount": 133,
      "keywords": [
        "Budgeting",
        "College",
        "Debt",
        "financial skills",
        "habits",
        "Lynnette Khalfani-Cox",
        "Money",
        "Saving",
        "video"
      ],
      "about": [
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Education",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education"
          ]
        },
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Student financial aid in the United States",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student_financial_aid_in_the_United_States"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```