I've started to become more aware of my wants in needs as I've gotten older. I've come to realize that I don't need every sweater that I like at TJ Maxx or every candle that bath and body works make.

Maybe other's have figured this out way before me and I'm late to the party but hey, I like to show up fashionably late.

New things are nice and sure treating yourself sometimes is much needed but as I'm getting ready to graduate I'm starting to think in different ways. I rather save money for something more long term like a car rather than something smaller and less significant.

Don't get me wrong though, this isn't easy. Sometimes there are slip-ups and of course, it sucks always worrying about saving money. But I'm also not being extremely strick with it. I'm just trying to do it because I know my future self will thank me. Later in life, I'll have better money saving skills and be able to have things that are more important than the latest fashion trend that will go out of style in 3 months anyway.

It's important to have balance with your spending, just like everything else in life. There's a difference between wanting something new because it's new rather than needing it because the other one you had broke. It's about learning the difference between the two while also allowing yourself to splurge every once in a while. Emphasis on the once.

This idea of "want vs need" doesn't mean you should skip out on living. It's one thing to want to save but it's another thing to not go out to dinner with friends because you want to save the $20-$30 or missing out on a vacation of a lifetime because it'll wipe out a chunk of your bank account. Those things create memories that matter much more than a few dollars ever will but I also understand how it's hard to make that leap.

Money is an issue, and will always be, for a lot of people. It definitely concerns me, especially as a second semester senior with no job lined up after graduation. My biggest advice though is to live your life but be conscious of your spending and what you're spending it on. So get the venti coffee because you feel like it, just maybe don't drop $500 on a new pair of jeans when you only have $501 in your bank account.