Money management is very essential during the student phase for two main reasons:
- You don’t have much time and energy to worry about bills, income, expenditure, debts etc. while you are a student. You have one main thing to concentrate on - your studies.
- If you learn and practice good money management as a student, you will easily survive after wards when you earn and make a living out of it.
Saving money while you are a student is really challenging. Most of you won’t have an income, however some of you may do something in part time to cover your pocket expenses. But I am not going to talk about saving money here, that’s when there is abundant. This is about managing your money well. Managing the amount of money you have by living a decent life and at the same time not burning your pockets out.
So lets dive in.
Dwell and Shop in groups
Dwelling in groups helps you save a lot indeed. You can share most of the things. I am not saying that you should be parasitic. But for instance when 4 or 5 students can find a decent house to live on that would be far cheaper than you finding an accommodation for yourself. When you dwell together you share the bills on water, electricity, gas etc. Further you can avail some facilities like having a shared washing machine, kitchen utensils and so on. You can buy all these things on a shared basis which is again cheaper than buying a washing machine for yourself.
Shopping in groups can also save you a lot of money. You can go for the big packs which come with discounts and perks. And, in general all the big packs are cheaper when compared to buying small packs. Be it washing powder, food, crisps, groceries, snacks, meat, milk etc. - the bigger packs cost less for one gram or one liter when compared to smaller packs. If you are not aware of this yet, do a comparison with the packs when you go shopping the next time.
Avail student discounts
Student life comes with some good perks indeed. There are certain discounts available especially for students. The sad fact is that most of the students are not aware of it. They don’t intend to find this out too. When I was a student at the Lancaster University, UK I was also not aware of many discounts. But a few of them I knew and used (a few from those few of them!) are:
1. Discounts in buying laptops, if you are a student.
2. Booking flights (certain airline companies) with student card and you get decent discounts.
3. Buying books cost less if you can prove that you are a student.
4. Bus and train passes have special cards (and travel plans, say termly) especially for students.
5. Supermarkets and clothing shops offer student sign up cards that entice you with a small percentage of discount, every time you buy with them.
I came to know about many of them after I finished off with my student phase. Yet, I was excited to know that there are lots of opportunities for students. You have to ask to senior students and others to know if such discounts exists.
Say ‘Yes’ to Cash only
One of the very bad trend and a mesmerizing thing is the use of credit and debit cards for purchases. For online purchases that are completely unavoidable you can go ahead and use your credit card. But if you intend to use credit cards for all your purchases, you will soon be in trouble.
Choose cheaper options
This is basically common sense. But most of the students just won’t feel like doing it. There are always cheaper options for anything and everything. When you are staying in a hostel you don’t have to spend on costly furniture, curtains, carpets and so on. But you need not also leave your room empty. Just choose alternates that are available.
As a student, you can find tons of stuff that are cheap and best. Do a little research or ask your senior students. They would have known that.You can also opt for cheaper utensils and crockery for cooking. You can shop for these things mostly in charity shops where you can find great deal of stuff.
And don’t forget the thing with books. Borrow books on your account from the library. If you desperately need the book, go for the used option. Charity shops and used book stores offer a wide range of books to choose from.
On food and drinks
This one not only helps you on your financial status but also improves your health. Do not spend too much of food and drinks. Wait, I am not asking you to starve. Just avoid outsourcing too much.
Make it a point to cook your own food as far as possible; this applies only if you have access to a kitchen, of course. Cooking your own food is not only a cheaper but also a healthier option. You exactly know what goes inside your body. On the other hand, if you buy food from restaurants or fast food shops you do harm to yourself. First, you don’t know much about the quality of the ingredients that are used to cook the food (example, oil, vegetables, meat, pastry etc.). Secondly, you mostly spend 3-5 times more that you would spend for the same dish if you cook that by yourself at your place.
Eating out is fine for refreshment and once in a week. But don’t make this a regular habit. Apart from the above mentioned benefits, cooking also helps you relax and refresh. If you have a shared kitchen it will be a lot of fun to chat and cook with your inmates.
If you do not have access to a kitchen and if you have to buy your food from shops, go for healthier options. Instead of going for pizzas and burgers, choose sandwiches, salads and low fat options. Cut a lot on sugary and carbonated drinks to save money and save yourself from obesity.
Saving money during student phase of life is a challenge. If you learn to do so you will soon find yourself to be very responsible. You will also become eligible to face the world after your studies when you have to run a family at your own income. Use these tips and let me know how the worked for you.
Image credit
|
|
Article by JaneSheeba
+Jane is the founder of Problogging Success. She is an expert blogger, consultant, freelance writer and blog designer. Don't forget to get your hands on two FREE Ebooks she offers.
Jane has written 270 awesome posts for Problogging Success.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
This really needs a lot of self discipline.Now a days,we should really know how to spend our money tighten the belt to save.If you don’t need it that much,don’t buy it,if you really want it then save for it.I love reading this post! Thank you!
Hey Jane,
I wanted to let you know that your picture is appearing twice at the top of your post. Might be a setting with the featured image or something.
I remember my college days. It doesn’t really seem that long ago, but looking back it has been a decade now since my college days. My how time flies. Back in those days, cell phones were just starting to become affordable for the average person and they were huge by today’s standards.
I remember my freshman year living on campus they had a food pass. The allowance on it was large enough that I could essentially get whatever I wanted. Was plenty for meals and snacks. The freshman 15 was easy for me to gain with an all access pass like that
Damon recently posted..Credit Card Debt Lawsuit – Consequences of Settlement Done Wrong
I have never been a good financial manager, personal or business. So that’s why I’m here on your site. I will return often to get as much from your experise as possible. Thanks.
This post is truly remarkable, Money is important for every human being, I have many of my friends do unnecessary purchases with Credit cards and pay huge penalties and interest rate instead I do the purchase when it is required. I do purchases with cash which can help me a lot to stay away from extra spending.
Many times i thought about of saving money in many ways. But all those were crap ideas. And nothing happened. And when i read your article about the financial management, i feel like your tips are practically possible. Anyway thanks for the great ideas.
Finose recently posted..Difference between Credit Card and Debit Card
These are very helpful money management tips especially for students who have student loans. These ideas are effective in ensuring that their finances are handled properly in preparation for paying their debts. Thanks for sharing a very informative article.
Saving money way back in college is the most difficult thing I’ve ever encountered. It takes a lot of guts and discipline to withheld it. By just putting in mind that no matter what, I need to save some pennies is not enough, at the end of the day still I found myself spending the whole of it, no left for emergency used.
Back then, I’m a one time billionaire, I buy whatever I want to, or whatever is pleasing to my eyes. Now that I am already working, I realized that saving is the most important thing in life. If you don’t need it much, don’t buy it. If there’s an extra in your income then save it. You’ll see it’s worth in the near future, and maybe, you’ll even thank yourself for saving some.
Save and if weren’t that important and you can still find an alternative way then settle for it. Student should be wise then to look for thing that could help them handle their expenses.
{ 13 trackbacks }