According to Suze Orman, author of “9 Steps to Financial Freedom,” “It’s never too soon to begin, and it’s never too late, no matter how the bottom-line numbers read today on your particular handful of financial papers.”

Financial planning is important. Managing your money will help you decide how to save money for your goals, plan spending and know your credit limits. The U.S national debt now totals nearly $9 trillion, and it increases by almost $2 billion per day.

Everyone has different ideas on how they think money should be handled to benefit themselves and their families.

Ben Gonzalez, a sophomore Business Management major at Palo Alto, said, “I decided to invest some of my money into mutual funds to give me some cushion for when I have to begin paying my loans for school back.”

While investments have successful payouts, they require a fair amount of knowledge and a lump sum up front, usually $1,500, to get started. Investing money is an option for some, but for others saving money may be more suitable. Making your money grow through saving can be simple. Just by putting $50 aside every month, you will have accumulated $600 by the end of the year, $3,000 in five years and at the end of 20 years, exactly $60,000, not including interest earned!

Michelle Espinoza, a sophomore Communications major at Palo Alto said, “I should have started saving about 10 years ago when I was younger and making more money. I came from a family that didn’t discuss money. Had the subject been more openly talked about, I would have understood its value and importance sooner.”

Even though saving and investing money will help you accumulate wealth over time, knowing how to spend it wisely is just as important. If your income and expenses don’t balance, which is often what happens to students in college, debt is unavoidable. You must decide whether each expense is a need or a desire. Cutting back on “desire” spending can free up money that could possibly be used to save for the future or spend on items that are needed now, without sinking into debt.

Being in control of spending habits will open up many new opportunities, including credit. You have probably received many offers from credit card issuers, telling you about their amazing benefits. Borrowing money is neither good nor bad; however, when you use credit, you are paying to use someone else’s money, and it is up to you to pay it back, often at a very high interest rate.

Companies use these interest rates to increase their profits on the purchases you make. Pay more than the minimum when making payments. The amount you owe doesn’t really matter when you’re paying an enormous amount of interest. According to Consumer Credit Counseling Services, paying the $60 minimum payment on a $3,000 credit-card balance would take eight years to pay off and cost you $2,780 in interest. On the other hand, by paying an extra $50 a month, the amount would be paid off in three years and you would save $1,800 in interest charges.

Consumer credit offers both advantages and disadvantages. First, credit allows you to buy items that you could otherwise not afford to pay for, like a house or a car. And second, credit cards are simple to use and safer than carrying large amounts of cash. Still, you are often tempted to buy more than you really need because it’s simple to charge it.

“It’s easy for us to buy things we can’t afford with cash on credit cards, which is why I think so many students end up graduating college thousands of dollars in debt. I was naïve in thinking that always having a job meant financial security,” said Espinoza.

When it comes to finances, one size never fits all. However, a money management process will work for anyone. Only buy items you need, and make smart decisions when using credit. How you decide to balance your income is up to you. Think about where you are now and where you would like to be in five, 10 or 50 years. Your financial goals should reflect your life goals.