When anyone considers student life, two ideas usually come to mind: a student’s social life, and a student’s impending debt. With the latter comes an undeniable need to save money wherever you can, and to have a better grip on your finances when you plan to continue your education. Here’s how:
You Always Have the Option to Live at Home
A lot of students see further education as a way to move out and experience the student lifestyle, but you can still experience the student lifestyle while living at home and commuting every day. If you don’t mind doing this, it can save you a significant sum on student accommodation costs.
Cook Meals With Roommates
If you’re sharing student accommodation with other roommates, you can save a lot of money on groceries if you share meals. You can therefore make large batches of quick and easy recipes and all have a portion, rather than spending your own individual money on all ingredients for your own meal.
Apply for a Scholarship
You may qualify for a financial reward in the form of a scholarship, which means you can continue your education whilst avoiding large amounts of student debt or having to pay for your further education. Scholarships are available for a variety of subjects, like checking out ASM Scholarships for sporting opportunities.
Plan a Serious Budget
Budgeting is going to help you immensely when it comes to money management, and will help avoid overspending and getting into more debt. Your budget should allow for all your required expenditures and will help you better understand how much money you have spare for socializing and treating yourself.
Be sure to pay all your bills and necessary outgoings first, and then use what’s left to treat yourself, rather than the other way around!
Make the Most of What You Can Do at Home
You can save a lot of money by embracing activities at home, and by thinking more wisely about what you can accomplish. This could include:
- Pre-drinking at home before a night out, so that you can save money on expensive drinks in bars
- Eating a takeaway at home instead of going out for a meal
- Cooking your own meal at home with what you already have instead of eating out
- Having a night in for drinking and games instead of a night out
- Having friends round to socialize instead of going out or spending any money on drinks
- Studying at home instead of paying for transport to go and study in public places, such as libraries or cafés
Use Student Discounts
Be sure to always check which discounts are available to you. A high number of retail stores will offer constant discounts for students, so you can always save money when you’re out shopping. You may also be able to receive student discounts on public transport, too.
Don’t Be So Quick to Buy Textbooks
Brand new textbooks can cost a lot of money when you’re a student, but there might be another way. You may be able to find discounted, second-hand textbook suppliers, or maybe through local forums or social media, you can find students who are selling off their old textbooks for cheap.
