Reading time: 5 minutes
Let’s start this off with a question:
Have you ever lived on your own?
If you have, you’ll know how tedious and difficult it can get to keep track of your finances.
Everything just comes off as a challenge, but it doesn’t have to.
Yes, SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
Being a student and being completely clueless about managing your finances doesn’t have to go hand in hand. Also, no, you don’t need to take a comprehensive course or fill out spreadsheets to get a hold of your finances, you just need to read this blog.
The next 5 minutes will help you know:
1.What to do to SAVE money regularly
2.What NOT to do so you can save MORE money
3.What to do to earn EVEN MORE money
Sounds interesting? Let’s get started 🚀
Managing Money So That You SAVE Regularly
No, we are not going to tell you that you can’t have your morning latte. Instead, we’ll give you tips that are easy to implement and will fetch noticeable results.
- Leverage Your Student Discounts
From bus rides to roller coaster rides, you can literally save on everything by using your student discounts. It’s time to leverage as much as you can.
Not sure where to start? Here’s a list of some student discounts and deals you can use in 2023. - Get Used Textbooks Instead Of Buying New Ones
Some might think that it doesn’t make any considerable difference. However, buying used books will help you save more than 50% of what you’d originally spend on getting them.
- Track Your Finances – Every Day!
Yes, EVERY DAY! Why? Because when you track your expenses daily, you realise the various pockets of money where you can cut back regularly. This small chunk can multiply and become a significant part of your monthly savings.
Other than these three tips, you can save money by shopping from thrift stores rather than fast fashion brands, and by avoiding other unnecessary expenses in general (you know what we mean by unnecessary experiences).
- Sort Out Your Daily Commute
Build this as a part of your daily habits. If a train can take you from one place to another for $2 while a cab ride costs $10, it obviously makes more sense to take the first option and save up money.
Public transportation can turn into your cheat code for accumulating additional savings. Chart out your most accessible route and stick to it to amplify your savings.
What NOT To Do To Save Money
Everywhere you go you can receive advice on the different things you can do to save more. We’re pretty sure that you are tired of all that non-executable advice, so we’re going to tell you shouldn’t do.
- Pinching On Pennies and Going All Out On Dollars
What do we mean by this? We mean that you don’t have to try and save money by eating cheap food, settling for subpar education, or resorting to average financial institutions just because they cost less.
Why? Because the opportunity cost of these things backfiring will be worth way more than the money you save on these items.
For example, getting food poisoning because of eating cheap and unhygienic food will cost you way more than the few dollars you saved on your meal.
- Opting For Too Much Living Space
According to a report, home prices have shot up by more than 106% in the last two years. It’s important to realise that renting an exuberant apartment is not an asset, but a liability, it’ll just lead to more living costs.
So, we strongly advise you to find just the right size of apartment for yourself and save up on rent and other expenses.
- Only trying to save and not to earn more money
Everyone makes the resolution to save more, but very rarely do people talk about the possibility of earning more. But, here’s the catch: decreasing your expenses is limited, but increasing your income can be unlimited.
So, while it’s a great habit to intentionally save as much as possible, you should always have an eye on how to amplify your income.
How to earn more? Don’t worry, we’ve got that covered too, just keep reading.
Other than these three mistakes, you should never loan money to friends, and never make big purchases (like buying a car) on mere emotions.
Think your money through, and you shall be fine 👍
Ways To Earn More Money As A Student
Let’s face it, everyone likes to have extra cash that allows them to splurge occasionally. Since you’ve made it till here, we would like to tell you how you can earn some extra money.
- Get a Part Time Job or Internship
You need to break free from your “I’m just a student” personality and start taking charge of your life AND EXPENSES.
This will allow you to break free from the conventional student curriculum and explore opportunities outside your college campus. You can opt for jobs that start after college hours, or even look for some weekend jobs or internships that’ll help you earn extra money on the side.
- Apply For Assistantships
Want to learn and get paid for it? An assistantship is what you should seek.
This is a form of financial assistance provided to graduate students through part-time academic employment.
You can apply for assistantships online and earn to learn.
- Look For Fellowships
What’s a fellowship?
It’s a program where a group of learned people work together as peers in the pursuit of mutual knowledge or practice. It not only reflects well on your portfolio, but also allows you to earn money and gain some useful knowledge.
Other than looking for jobs and internships, you should ensure that you invest your savings in the right assets. Don’t worry, we shall cover the investing breakdown in detail in the upcoming weeks.
Wrapping It Up
Here, all it took for you to get a framework for managing your finances was 5 minutes 😉
We hope this was helpful, if you have any questions regarding this blog, our community group is always open for discussion.Until then,
Goodbye and stay tuned for more…
