The current study, carried out in 2010 after the global financial crisis, analyzes the factors affecting intent to control a personal budget among Israeli college students. The results show that intention to budget among students is affected by past debt frequency, level of negative emotions experienced by participants when their bank account was significantly overdrawn, financial literacy level, income and nationality. In addition, the results indicate that positive attitudes toward financial management moderate the negative impact of past debt frequency on the intention to control a personal budget without significant debt. Improving financial literacy and changing attitudes toward financial management can increase budgeting intentions.