By Amy, Adam, Alfie and Lauren
Student life can be stressful, especially when it comes to finance and budgeting. Now we all love a bit of luxury, but being a student we have to prioritise the important things in order to afford the essentials.
Here are some tips to help you save money while studying:
1. Making a weekly budget.
By making a weekly budget this can help you to afford the essentials through the week. (Food, Books etc..)
2. Supermarket sweep.
A way to save money on food would be to look at the clearance section and offers in the supermarkets and find the best products for a cheaper price. Also food vouchers can be a positive thing to save money getting a percentage off, saving on your next shop.
3. Cook your own food to last the week.
By budgeting your weekly allowance, this gives you the responsibility to think about what you are going to eat each day for the week and not going over that budget. By cooking your own food and taking a refillable water bottle to university saves you the costs of canteen prices and busy student life. Shop prices for sandwiches and cooked food is at high demand which means expensive prices for students.
Listen to what one student had to say about saving money at university:
Saving Money at University
4. Save a little extra.
Always save a little extra each week or month, this mounts up over time which means you always have a little extra put aside in case something unexpected comes up. Such as needing new exercise books, but you also have that flexibility to get yourself a much needed treat.
5. Don’t overpay for transport
Our fifth tip to help you save money while you’re at university is to make sure that you do not overpay for your transport. As students you will be traveling around quite a lot so this is an essential thing you make sure you get right. Many places offer schemes that can help their students save money while they are travelling. If you get a park and ride ticket then you are able to park your car for free. You can walk to university from there, which saves you a lot of money.
6. Part time job
The next tip that we have to help you out with your finances is to make sure that you get a part time job as soon as possible. This is because it will allow you to have a solid source of income while you work on your studies and you’ll be able to keep up with costs of living while you’re a student. However, be careful not to work too hard as you need to make sure you can keep up with your studies.
7. NUS Card
Our final tip to help you save money while you’re a student is to make sure that you use your NUS card. This is because the card allows for students to get discounts on a wide range of different things. This will hopefully allow you to save cash on many different aspects of your life and it will potentially make a huge impact on your finances.
