Budgeting tips from a third year international student!

Living at university comes with quite a few challenges but one of the biggest ones has to be money management and the apparent inability to do that, especially in the times of rising cost of living. In the past two years, I’ve learnt that while there are some unavoidable expenses in our student lives, the rest of them can easily be controlled in order to ensure that one isn’t broke at the end of the month.

So let’s get into it a little more:

1. Two bank accounts

This one has to be the easiest to-do on my list. Hear me out, if you have two bank accounts, it becomes easier for you to not only keep track of how much you are spending in relation to how much you are earning but it also helps you to control your spending. I would advise all students to set up a principal account that has the major chunk of their allowance/ loan. Alongside that, you should have another ‘active’ account wherein you transfer the predetermined amount of money at the start of each week. This way, you’ll be prevented from overspending and will have an in-depth and mindful track of where you are spending. Doing this before particularly spendy events like shopping sprees and night outs can make all the difference!

2. Identify where you consistently overspend

This step might have taken me a while as well but in the end, it was the one that made ALL the difference. Over the first few weeks, I’d recommend identifying where you spend the most amount of money (unnecessarily) and then targeting that particular urge. Thanks to banking apps, I was alerted to the fact that I was spending more and more on eating out and take out as weeks passed. In response, I increased my grocery shopping budget by 5 pounds per week and noticed an immediate dip in my Uber eats and restaurant charges. I also ensured that when I went out with friends, I took my active spending card and not my principal account card so I knew that I had only a certain amount left for that week.

3. Don’t look down on sales and discounts!

When I say that UK has some of the biggest sales/discounts that I’ve ever seen, I absolutely mean it. As a student, I feel like shopping during flash sales and discount periods can make a huge difference. In these periods, which are quite frequent, you can pick up items that are needed but not absolutely essential, such as bedroom or kitchen accessories without feeling the guilt of overspending. You can also upgrade your wardrobe and other items during these sales.

Moreover, apps such as UniDays and Totum are great and should be used, mainly as starting off points as they help you to identify the brands that offer a student discount. As a lot of outlets in the UK have a student discount, don’t be afraid to ask for it and avail it wherever possible by simply showing your University ID card!