It’s not easy being a student. It’s common knowledge that for at least three years of your life you will be slaving away trying to get the very best degree all whilst attempting to scrape the pennies together with a view to buying your next meal or hurriedly coughing up over-due rent.
It is wise to be scrupulous with savings and even more important to know where every single penny is. A weekly budget is nearly always advised too. That way, you know what money is tied up and what you can and cannot spend. It sounds so simple, but you’d be surprised at how many students come unstuck with money issues simply because they haven’t budgeted correctly.
A spreadsheet is always a good idea as is a good old fashioned money book – this way you are always able to check how much is left in an account and, more importantly, how much is left available for you to spend. Enter your weekly expenditure and make sure you don’t go over that. Being disciplined is the only way to ensure you have an easy financial time at uni.
When it comes to things like grocery shopping why not make a shopping list before you go? This way you know exactly what the essentials are and you are not lured into buying something that you don’t need. All too often people go to the supermarket or their corner shop and see things in bargain buckets and end up picking these items up because they think they are getting a good deal – all too often they’re not – and you end up spending money on luxuries and things that are not needed.
As well as having a spreadsheet or something similar to help you with your budgeting you’d be advised to also keep abreast of vouchers and other discounts on offer. Everyone knows that the NUS card is a good discount option, it offers 10 per cent off at many clothing chains as well as a handful of supermarkets. Make time in your busy schedule to get online and look at various vouchers and discounts that are available – it may seem time consuming but if you can save yourself a few bob week in week out, it could make a world of difference to your saving prowess. Finally, with regards to saving money through discount cards etc, you should look into travel cards. As a student you will spend a lot of time on buses, trains and trams more than likely and this, especially in large cities, certainly isn’t cheap. Make sure you get s student railcard and/or bus pass to help keep the cost of commuting down.
There should also be money set aside for the purchasing of student equipment such as books and stationery and computer and laptop set ups. Typically, students have a maintenance loan to help cover the costs of this initial start up but a lot of the time it isn’t enough and there is an ongoing cost for books and literature throughout the course. In your budget, just make sure you have a pot for the ongoing cost of university so you don’t get stung. It is a known fact that books required to pass certain courses can sometimes top £100 each. It’s ridiculous to be honest. But what’s even more maddening is that a lot of the time when you look at the literature required to pass these said courses, the author of the book(s) is the lecturer themselves. In simple terms, your lecturer (who is already probably on an eye-watering amount) is then advising you to buy the books that they have written to further line their pocket – and in a lot of instances if you don’t buy the book it will be almost impossible to pass the set assignment or the upcoming test. We don’t want to turn this into a rant, but it is something to be mindful of when budgeting – books and literature are excruciatingly expensive.
Other than that. Enjoy university. It is the time of your life. You get educated to a high level, meet new people and make friends along the way and have an enviable social life. It isn’t worth risking all the aforementioned by silly spending and putting pressure and stress on yourself when you don’t need to.
Be savvy. Do your budgeting and live the uni life without a care in the world.