Top tips- budgeting

Learning to budget may not be the most exciting thing you do at uni, but it will save you a lot of time and stress in the long-run.

Taking the time to draw up a budget and find ways to save money will help you avoid running into financial difficulties, allowing you to spend more time on the fun stuff.

If you want to save cash for the things that matter most, take a look at the tried and tested student budget tips below:

Transport

• Look for special deals, travel off peak or get a student railcard. It’s really worth it.
• If you are in London, you can get a third off public transport costs with the Student Oyster card scheme.
• If you have to attend a placement, don’t forget to factor travel costs into your budget.

Eating

• Shop and cook together in bulk. Freeze what you don’t eat. It’ll cut bills.
• Get a part-time job where food is included
• Food in big supermarkets is cheaper than from small corner shops
• Fresh fruit and vegetables are often cheapest in local markets
• Supermarkets sometimes cut the price of any unsold food at the end of the day. Watch out for bargains
• Freeze food if you have some left over
• If you live in halls, why not cook with friends. You learn tips, save money and it’s more fun

Socialising

• Look out for student discounts at the cinema or gyms.
• If you like going clubbing, find out when clubs have student nights with lower/free entry and cheaper drinks.
• Set yourself a limit, leave the rest at home. You can’t spend what you don’t have with you.
• Mobile phone bills can be high when you’re away from home. Shop around for the best deal; some phones have a monthly fee, others are pay as you go.

Study expenses

• Think twice before you spend hundreds on books and equipment – Find out from your uni and older students what’s essential.
• You will get some ‘Recommended Texts’ but you may not need all of them straight away. Contact students in higher years to see what they bought.
• You could share books with friends or get second hand copies from fairs or online.
• If you don’t need the whole book, get it out of the library instead – find out the library renewal policy as books will go fast.

Posted by FinanceAZ on Mar 12 2010. Filed under Budgeting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry