Aah, college. Your days here are some of the best of your life, but don’t get us wrong, you pay for it. College can put you out a lot of cash, and there are few people who come out of the other side without a huge debt hanging over their heads. However, there are ways to minimize your debt, and it doesn’t mean that you have to have a boring college experience, either. Goodbye cash issues, hello financial stability (well, kinda) and coming out of your studies with a smaller black debt-cloud over your head.
We’ve noted down some simple finance tips here, for those money-savvy students.
Check out free socials
OK, there are a lot of opportunities for socializing at college, and going out for meals and drinks can seem like something that dominates the college scene. However, this can cost you a lot of cash, and you don’t want to be in the situation where you’re always splashing out for those expensive meals. If you don’t want your loan to be solely spent on socializing, then make sure you check out those free events, too. Lectures, meetings, picnics in the park; you know the score. You can head out to the pricey ones sometimes, but try your best not to make too much of a habit out of this.
Become an extreme couponer
Well, you don’t necessarily have to be like those guys on TV who spend hours scanning coupons, but don’t underestimate how much coupons and discount codes can help you out. Whether you look for grocery coupons, or you use discount codes for online shopping, there are plenty of deals out there for those students looking to save some cash. If you have a student card, this can be even more money efficient, so look out for those places that will offer you a bargain. Whilst you can feel like you’re a bit of a Grandma at the time, why spend the cash if you don’t have to do so, you know?
Settle any borrowing quickly
If you borrow from anybody, even your parents, make sure that you pay this off regularly. Whilst there are many ways to keep yourself above water in college – and this is one of them – you could find yourself getting really stressed if you’re owing money to people all over the place. If you need some help with this, then don’t be afraid to contact the relevant people in your college, who help students with financial issues. If anything has put you into debt, like an injury, then make sure to contact a personal injury lawyer, as you may be able to get some cash back, which will help you to settle those debts.
So, if you want to stay on top of your college finances, then make sure that you remember these simple things! From checking out some free socials, to using coupons and settling that borrowing, be sure that you’ve done all that you can to lessen your debt. Of course, you can treat yourself sometimes, otherwise your life would be pretty dull, just try not to make too much of a habit of splashing out all of the time!