Student life is rough enough, exams, studying, partying, socializing, extra-circular clubs, part-time jobs etc. The most challenging aspect that many students face is their finances, or more specifically, how to save money. Uni is expensive, and so it’s important to know how be smart with your money, and make sure you’re saving for a rainy day. These 5 Tips On Saving Money For The Broke Student are perfect for anyone who wants to see a little more in their accounts than they usually do.
Make your money stretch even further by creating a monthly budget for ALL your expenses. This includes food, rent and bills(if you don’t like at home that is), phone payments, clothes, entertainment – anything you spend money on. When planning out your budget, try cut back on those ‘unnecessary’ things, such as clothing and entertainment. Sure, you wanna have fun, but if you want to save money you have to think of things to do that don’t cost a lot. Be sensible, be smart, and STICK TO IT.
When creating your monthly budget, a category to add to your budget is a savings fund – or a savings account. As well as setting aside a certain amount of money for savings, it’s also a good idea deposit any spare money you have at the end of the month into your savings account. Of course, it’s only worth saving money if you’re not going to dip into it for unnecessary purchases, and so a great tip to avoid the temptation of dipping into your savings is to not link your savings account to your bank card. This way, you will have to physically go into your banking branch for you to have access to it.
Keeping track of your spending is hard – especially in this day and age where most payments are either online or through a bank card. You can’t actually see the physical money that you are spending. Using Cash for as many payments as possible is a great way of limiting the amount of money you spend, because seeing the physical money that leaves your purse may prompt you to want to spend less – as with a bank card you don’t see any ‘real’ money, you just see a number. Also, using cash only means you can withdraw a certain amount every month and just live off that amount, ensuring you don’t overspend. Of course there are payments/bills that need to be paid online via card etc. but try to make the switch to cash only for as many purchases as possible.
One thing that just eats away at our bank account, without us even realizing, is food. More specially, fast food. Being too lazy to pack a lunch, or not having any meals ready to prepared for the dinner means we are turning to fast food/convenience food more often than we should. Not only is this unhealthy for us, it’s a hindrance in saving money. One of the most effective ways to save money, without really sacrificing too much, is to meal prep one a week your meals. If prepping every meal for the week sounds a little daunting (as that’s a lot of meals to plan), start off with packing your lunches for the week, as lunch time is one of the most common times of the day where people turn to fast food for a cheap, satisfying meal after a hard morning’s work. The amount of money you’ll save by not buying food out is astounding!
Saving money means making the little amount you have go further. With hundreds of websites at our finger tips, it’s super easy to shop for the best deals, whether it’s in-store or online. Thrifting shopping doesn’t just extend to clothes from a thrift store (although this is a GREAT way of saving money), it can extend to every part of your life, to your phone providers your internet provides, your regular grocery store and even your car/home insurance companies. Shop around for the best deals, and don’t be afraid to ask, sales assistants for process/quotes, or for the most inexpensive items their store holds etc. This is your hard-earned money, and it’s only right you get the money out of it!
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