11th February 2010 | The Urbanest Team | Comments [0]
4 Ways for Students to Save Money
Unfortunately the cost of living for students is steadily increasing – university is getting more expensive and it seems like the price of books isn’t going down either! The best thing to do as a student is to make use of a budget and do your best to stick to it. Budgets for students not only help you save, but they help manage your incoming and outgoing cash-flow, so even if you’re not an accounting student you can have some play cash for outside your student accommodation.
1. The first and usually easiest way to save money is by re-organizing your finances. This means talking to your bank and asking if they’ve got student rates or student accounts whilst you’re studying at university. Most banks compete heavily for younger clients – so make sure you get the best possible deal on your banking. This might include a healthy interest rate on your savings, no account keeping fees or no fees associated on using an ATM.
2. To save money on food – make sure as a student you’re not spending money on it outside your student accommodation. As you’ve got a kitchen in your new student apartment, just do your own shopping and make an effort to cook your own meals. Obviously it’s fine for you to splurge once a week on a night out with your new student friends, but try to minimize your spending and keep it in line with your original budget.
3. For students looking to save money on transportation try to minimize the use of your car or motorbike and as much as possible, use public transport with a student discount or walk if you’re close to your university campus. Make sure you use your student discount and that it’s always valid for the current year. Your university can update these for you. Consider carpooling with a group of your student friends. It’s not only cheaper but environmentally friendly as well. If you’re paying for parking at your university, consider parking outside the campus and using a foldable bike or scooter to take you the remaining distance to class.
4. If you’re a student looking to save money on entertainment look into free or reduced cost shows going on in the community. Most aspiring arts groups will put on relatively cheap shows at community halls – so you might be able to pick up cheap tickets to your favourite musical. Many music artists do live performances at clubs and Returned Serviceman’s Leagues (RSLs) when they’re not on tour. These performances are usually subsidized to club members as are meals and sometimes drinks.
So, being a student doesn’t mean you have to miss out on entertainment of make major lifestyle changes – it just means being a little more clever with your money.
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