As a student, more often than not, you solely depend on monthly allowance from your parents or guardians for survival in school. Except, you are from a well-to-do home, there is barely enough money left to be saved after expenses such as feeding, transportation and all other expenses have been deducted. Here is the thing, even with the little money you get as a student, there are certain tips you can employ to help you save money. This article contains all the tips you need.
DETERMINE YOUR INCOME
Knowing your income streams is the first step to saving money as a student. For some, their source of income may come from working part-time jobs, for others, it could be monthly allowances from their parents or guardians and for certain people, it could be both. Whatever category, you fall into, document how much money you get every month from all your sources of income.
TRACK YOUR EXPENSES
Tracking your expenses would help you save more money. Some of the major things students spend money on are food, clothes, data subscription, transportation among others. Look at the things you spend money on and look for ways to cut back on them so that you can save more. For example, you could cook your own meals as opposed to eating out, I know this is especially hard as student because cooking takes a lot of time. But, trust me, you would be absolutely shocked at how much of spending you would cut down on if you applied this tip.
CREATE A BUDGET
The importance of creating a budget can really not be overstated. A budget helps you to be in control of your finances and also monitor your expenses. It is not enough to just create a budget, it is important to stick to it. A rule that can help you stick to your budget is the ‘five-day rule’ which basically states that if you can go five days without buying something then it is a want and not a need. This rule would work to restrain you from buying things you do not need and help you stick to your budget.
BORROW TEXTSBOOKS OR GET HAND-ME DOWNS FROM YOUR SENIORS
This might be the most underrated means to saving money. Why spend money buying textbooks when you can borrow or even get them for free? You could borrow textbooks from your colleagues or request for textbooks from people who are a year or two ahead of you. That way, you can cut down on textbooks buying and have more money to save.
TAKE UP A PART TIME JOB
Another way to increase your savings as student, is to diversify your income sources. One of the ways to do this is getting an extra job. You can leverage on your skills to provide services for people and get paid in return. If you write really well, sign up on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr where you can offer your writing service to people. You could also apply for paid internships in organizations such as law firms, finance firms among others.
USE SAVING APPS
It is the digital age and thankfully, activities such as savings can now be done seamlessly on digital platforms like Zedcrest Wealth. Saving applications allow you to save and invest regardless how little the amount is. They also have features that can help improve your saving culture.
It is important for you to save, what better time to imbibe the saving culture than as a student. I dare say that imbibing money management skills at this stage is highly beneficial even in the future. This article has all the gems you need, follow them and thank me later. 😉