When you’re in college and trying to make ends meet, it can be hard to keep track of your money. But putting together a budget for a college student isn’t tricky, and the payoff is excellent better money management skills. There are many ways to go about creating a college student budget, but here are some options that work well for students:

Budgeting apps like Mint and Level Money: These apps can be used on your smartphone and will automatically track your spending and income to see where your money is going. If you opt for one of these apps, you’ll need to make sure that you give the app access to all of your accounts so it can track your spending automatically.

A spreadsheet: You could also use a spreadsheet not linked to any accounts or transactions. In this case, you’d have to enter each transaction into the spreadsheet yourself manually. If you use this method, consider setting aside 15 minutes every day to log your transactions. This way, it doesn’t become overwhelming when you want to tally up your spending at the end of the month.

Pen and paper: The most old-fashioned option is pen and paper, but it still works. Write if you don’t want any technology involved in tracking your spending.