Do you think that only those who have a salary of at least a hundred thousand dollars can save money? And students with a stipend and a small wage can’t keep? No, that’s not true. Let’s consider tips on financial literacy for students.
Saving means not increasing your income but being able to plan and distribute the money you already have. For example, at the beginning of the month, think about how much you can spend per day so that at the end, your wallet is not empty. Even if you manage to save quite a bit in this way, the skill itself and the habit of controlling your finances are essential – they will help you save money in the future.
Where to Budget
To understand how to save money effectively, you need to keep track of all income and expenses. Then, it’s easier to understand what extra money goes to and where you can save.
Traditional ways of accounting – a diary or a banking app – are not always convenient. For example, you can forget or be too lazy to write down the next purchase, and banking applications do not keep track of cash spent.
Special applications for controlling finances come to the rescue. Among them are Money Lover, CoinKeeper, Monefy, and Splitwise.
In them, you can mark and sort your daily spending by category, keep track of debts, and make financial plans for the month. Some also help you keep track of joint spending when you’re traveling or going to coffee shops.
Also read: Essential Things Students Should Know About Budget Management
What to save money on
Statistics show that the most money is spent on food, clothing, and entertainment, which are the items that are easiest for a student to save money on.
Food
Money goes unnoticed every day: coffee between classes, lunch in the cafeteria, meeting with friends in a cafe.
It is impossible to refuse food, but you can start by reducing the number of purchases. Just take a container of cooked food and a thermos with coffee from home.
However, you can save money by eating out as well. In some restaurants, you can pay much less for lunch by showing your student card.
Clothing
When we talk about saving money when buying clothes, the first things that come to mind are sales. Indeed, this is an excellent way to keep finances by buying things at discounted times rather than when you feel like it. However, it is vital to buy precisely the right things (which you have chosen in advance) and not buy up everything at once.
Discount centers can be an alternative to sales in regular stores – they are rarely “on the way,” but they always have good discounts.
The same environmental issues have inspired society to swap parties, where people can exchange unwanted clothes for what they like.
If you want to take care of the environment, but also prefer to choose only new clothes. For example, there are shops, H & M and Rendez-Vous, where a discount voucher is given to delivering unnecessary things to buy new ones.
Entertainment
Museums, galleries, cinema, … there are so many places you can go to get away from your studies, and they can hit a student’s wallet so hard.
Meanwhile, many museums on certain days of the month or even allow students to have a free cultural holiday. If a complimentary ticket is not provided to the student, a preferential one, which costs several times less, is mandatory.
The same rule applies to cinemas – you need to find out in advance if you can get a discount and bring your student ticket.
Even listening to music or reading paper books can be made saving: in music services, you should choose the student fare, and books can be bought only in electronic stores, thereby saving up to half of the cost.
Sometimes, students spend on various educational programs and services. Here, too, there is an option to save money – turn to a cheap writing service. For a modest fee, you will get quality papers from experienced authors. In addition, specialists will tell you how to prepare a high school entrance essay. Use their help to increase your chances of getting into the school of your dreams!
Also read: 20 Tips & Money Hacks to Improve Your Finances
Where to save money
Money set aside at the beginning of the end of the month should not be left, mixed with finances for the next month. In this way, it isn’t easy to see progress in savings and, in addition, you can succumb to the desire to spend accumulated.
The most obvious way – to put away money in a separate envelope – is suitable only for those who have strong willpower and will not go shopping early with accumulated capital.
It is much easier and safer to save money with a bank deposit. Now there are many options for deposits that allow you to choose the period of accumulation and the size of the monthly installments.
The best option is to choose one that does not allow you to withdraw your money before the end of the specified period. The peculiarity of such savings is the possibility not only to save money but also to receive interest. Even if, at first, these amounts are small, you will still be in the black.
Look for sources of extra income – business, part-time work, etc.
One of the disadvantages and at the same time advantages of being a student is the irregular working hours. It is often quite possible to combine study and work. However, don’t stop at a part-time job. Look for extra part-time jobs and businesses. Be sure that you will need substantial funds (for rent, travel, and other things). Don’t give up your parents’ help until you’re firmly on your feet.
By the way, now is a great time to get valuable connections that will be useful to you in life and business. Join business incubators at different universities, attend their events and various case championships, and be open to new people. You don’t even have to be pushy and try to get to know someone – everything will happen by itself.
Summing Up
So every student can save, regardless of their income and expenses, because it’s not so much the amount of money that counts, but rather the habit and conscious planning!
Leave a comment