September is just around the corner and that means many people will be leaving home for the first time and heading off to college. This new independence is fantastic to give young people a sense of responsibility, but this also means that you will need to become responsible with managing your own money. Here, we are taking you through our top tips that we think you should follow to manage your money as a student.
Make a Budget
The first thing that you need to do to successfully manage your money as a student is to make a budget. This is important as it will detail all of your monthly outgoings including rent, groceries and entertainment. This does not have to be an exact budget, but it should at least be a rough guide to see how much you have to play with each month.
Want or Need?
As a student, you will be on a tight budget and won’t have the luxury of buying every want. So, it is important that you separate wants from needs and set your budget accordingly. This becomes easier over time as you distinguish how much your needs really cost.
Set Up a Student Bank Account
Did you know that you can get extra perks with banks simply for being a student? You can save money on fees, withdrawals and fund transfers simply by opening up a dedicated student bank account. This will help you to keep your monthly expenses in one place and you can keep better track of your financial situation.
Loans and Financial Aid
Wages are declining and loan payments are rising, which is a recipe for disaster for many students and graduates. Before starting a course, you should know exactly what size of student loan debt you are going to be left with upon graduating and the first thing you need to do is plan how you are going to pay this back. This can be a huge debt to pay and so it is vital that you take full advantage of any financial aid that you are entitled to. This could be aid for the specific course that you are studying or it could even be for a hobby that you have. Look at all options available to you as this could significantly reduce the size of your student loan debt.
Buy Textbooks Cheaper
As a new student, it can be a bit of a shock when you get your reading list and find out the prices of the list of books that you need to buy. This is one of the biggest college expenses that you will have and one book can even cost you up to hundreds of dollars. To better manage your money as a student, instead look at downloading books onto a tablet instead or buying them second hand online as this can work out to be significantly cheaper.
