7 Easy Ways To Save Money As A Student
Being able to save money as a student is an actual skill that needs mastering and it usually takes a few tries to get used to the daily life of a saver. It is not as difficult as it may seem although you may have to say goodbye to a few luxuries that you may be used to whenever you’re back home and your mum and dad can afford to splurge a little for when you’re around. Although you may have to occasionally try and not use the phrase ‘Treat yo’ self’ as much, saving can actually be quite easy, so here are 7 ways you can do that even as a student!
1. Shop smarter, not less
Going shopping shouldn’t be a thing you would need to cut off from your life, you should just do it smarter! For grocery shopping choose places like Aldi or Lidl where prices tend to be lower than most supermarket chains and look for reduced prices or any deals going on in places like Tesco or Sainsbury’s.
When you go shopping for clothes, shoes, and cosmetics, make sure you know your student discounts and you have made good use of them! You can check out websites like UniDays, for example, to see what kind of discounts are available to you and definitely use this perk of being a student!
2. Use budgeting apps
The age of technology has made it so much easier for you to save money that you don’t even have to bother! Use apps that can help you put money aside for savings monthly, such as Emma that helps you put a savings target and politely remind you that you can’t afford an iced latte right now, or Cleo, the chatbot assistant which can instantly answer your questions about spending your own money.
There are so many budgeting apps out there that you just have to find the one for you and let it work its magic.
3. Limit the take out
Take out is probably the number one reason students over-spend money on. There is nothing more tempting than ordering food after you’ve just returned from a busy day of uni and definitely can’t be bothered to cook and we get that! What you can do about saving money from take-out is meal prepping one day for the whole week ahead, as there are so many easy recipes out there that you can do, and if you can’t entirely cut it off from your habits, decide on one to two times a week where you will allow yourself to order in!
It sounds harder than it is, all you have to do is be determined that you want to actually save money. Limiting the food orders will definitely help you do that and it will also help you stay away from the food that’s bad for you, so it’s a win-win!
4. Make your own coffee or bring own cup
If you’re like me and you visit the campus coffee shop at least once a day, you know how expensive buying coffee is once you start doing it regularly. In order to save on all of the caffeinated drinks you can either invest in a coffee maker and do your own coffee at home (which is actually a really fun thing to do and it’s so satisfying!) or you can bring your own cup to coffee shops which saves you money, as most places offer discounts when you do so, and you will also be helping the environment by not using a single-use coffee cup!
So, even though unusual, this tip can be really useful for you, especially if you’re a coffee addict like every other student!
5. Look at places like Save The Student
There are tons of places out there that offer tips and upload on all the latest Student Discounts there are! Save The Student is one example of this, as they do weekly newsletters where they inform you of all the available freebies and discounts happening that you can take advantage of! They can also update you through WhatsApp messages or their Facebook group!
Make sure you check them out so you don’t miss an opportunity to get some free food, beauty products, snacks and many many more!
6. Do a ‘no-spend day’ once a week
This tip may seem a bit random at first but if you do it consistently you can actually save up a good amount of money! Doing a ‘no-spend day’ means that during that one day of the week you’ll have to… well, not spend anything. Although seemingly difficult it’s actually not that hard once you’ve prepared yourself for the day by doing your meals and snacks for the day at home, bringing your own water bottle to fill up on campus, figuring out an alternative to your bus commute if you have one (like perhaps walking or cycling) and not impulse buying things when you’re out!
Figure out how much you spend on average daily and put aside that sum of money for the day and soon you will have saved enough to buy yourself something nice, or who knows maybe save up to go on holiday?
7. Invest in a 16-25 railcard
This tip can actually apply to people who are not students as well but it’s worth mentioning as well because, believe it or not, some people still haven’t invested in a railcard! The reason you should do it if you have not yet done so, is because you save up a third of your actual train ticket, which is actually a really good deal, and missing out on it is just wasteful, dare we say. So, for the amount of money you spend on the railcard, you will quickly make use of it and you will be ensured that it’s a great investment!
