Your university days can be some of the best times you have. Meeting new people, joining clubs, studying courses you have a real passion for and becoming independent for one of the first times in your life.
And with that independence and comes learning how to manage your money in the best way possible.
To help you out here are some great tips on how best to manage your money during these exciting years of your life!
Student bank accounts
The main thing you should look for in a student account is if it has a big 0% overdraft. This will ensure that you don’t pay any interest on money you’ve overdrawn (up to a certain amount).
Many banks offer additional perks as well as an 0% overdraft. Santander offer a four-year railcard freebie if you open up a student bank account with them. Another bank that offers perks is HSBC, who on top of having a decent overdraft limit, will give you a £60 Amazon voucher for banking with them. However one of the best student bank accounts is Nationwide who offer a 0% overdraft with a limit of up to £500 in your first term and then £2000 in the years following. They also offer 1/3 off coach travel with National Express that could help with those long journeys to see your high school friends in other universities.
The best thing to do is do some research into student bank accounts to find out which offers the best perks for you. Check out MoneySavingExpert which will give you all the up-to-date offers.
Budgeting
Budgeting can be hard in university when you want to go out and enjoy yourself but here’s a simple three step guide to budgeting that may be helpful in managing your money while at uni.
Step 1: Add up your income
This includes student loans, and grants or bursaries, money you get for your parents or guardian and any income you get from a job.
Step 2: Take off your essential outgoings
This includes any tuition fees, rent and house bills, travel costs, phone bill and food. Basically, anything you need to spend money on. Sadly that does not include nights out on the town.
Step 3: Spend whatever is left on other things (don’t go crazy though!)
This extra money you have left can go towards anything you like! Just make sure you always have that little bit spare to spend on necessities and emergencies.
Another great tip is to do some research into what you can get for free or discounted because you’re a student. There are many student cards such as NUS Extra and Unidays which offer great discounts on things ranging from travel to high street shops to eating out – all the essentials!
Balancing work and studies
While working whenever you’re not in lectures is very tempting, it’s important to balance your work and studies. Try avoid working too many hours – universities recommend only working 15 hours per week.
Many universities offer on campus jobs such as library work, and having a job on campus means they’re more likely to be flexible with time off when you have deadlines approaching.
If working on campus isn’t for you, there are student job sites such as e4s and Student Job who offer jobs especially to students.
Managing your debt
Hopefully you won’t have any debts but if you do managing them is very important whilst in uni. To ensure you do this it’s important to have a realistic payment plan that will take into account how much money you having coming in every month.
Another great tip on managing debt is to spend your money wisely. This means researching into where you could save money. Maybe buy more home brand compared to finest products. Also be sensible about where you spend your money, say Lidl rather than Morrisons. And before buying think carefully about whether items are necessary – want rather than need 🙂
For more great tips on how to manage money in university, visit UCAS.
Related:
http://thesprout.co.uk/blog/40-things-you-might-not-think-to-take-with-you-to-freshers-week/
http://thesprout.co.uk/blog/cleaning-101-how-to-do-laundry-right/
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