Although the prospect of a healthy dose of student loan being dumped into your account every few months can be an attractive proposition, it can be tempting to simply blow it all at once, especially in the first few weeks of starting student life.
In order to avoid this, it’s important to run through some simple budgeting techniques and tips, to make sure that you don’t end up flushing your student loan down the drain, because that can really suck!
It’s really important to realise that although you might feel loaded when that loan rolls in, it’s not fake money and it does have the tendency to disappear rather quickly.
To avoid this, it’s ideal to budget.
It’s best to start a spread sheet for all of this, and to make sure that you update it regularly. Excel spreadsheets may seem a little over the top, but come in very handy as a way to keep on track of your finances.
Factor in out-goings and in-comings, before setting aside money for food shops, free time, night’s out, transport and saving. It’s also handy to measure how long your loan will have to pay for all of these things before the next installment.
By taking into consideration all your outgoings and incomings, you’ll have a better idea of whether or not you’ll need a part time job, and sorting all this early will mean that you can grab one during the start of the academic year when the most vacancies are available.
When budgeting, it’s always better to be realistic and to realise what you’re probably going to spend more money on.
If you’re certain that you’re probably going to spend much more at the weekends than in the week, then factor all this in- by saving a little bit each day, this will hopefully add up for the weekend!
In terms of heading on night’s out, there are many methods you can take to save some cash, from buying and drinking alcohol before heading to the club, scouting out two for one drink deals and even heading to the club before entry is charged.
All of these tips can make a massive difference when it comes to having a night out, and they don’t tend to impact too much on proceedings- with many students claiming that they prefer the pre-drinks more than the club!
Making small changes like this during the first few months of freshers can help you to avoid blowing your loan on nights out whilst budgeting is the perfect way to monitor your finances.
Skim your loan!
Once you’ve sorted out your finances, take a chunk of your loan during fresher’s week and place it into savings. This way you can only dip into it when you need it and it will also be away from your prying grasp- which is always a positive!
By choosing saving’s accounts such as ISAs, you can also grab a bit of interest as well which is always a positive.
Review your spending every few months, this can be a great way to pick up on certain expenses that may seem small at the time, but add up considerably as the month goes by.
Pinpoint these expenditures and stop them in their tracks.
Another great way to save some money, budget and get your hands on some in the meantime is to start up a student bank account.
Not only do they come with plenty of perks and free stuff, but they also offer rather large over drafts which are also interest free!
Although overdrafts should not really be treated as free money, they are great for a little reassurance during your time as a student.
The only thing to bear in mind is that the interest does come back after graduation, although your bank should notify you when it does so you can work towards paying the loan off before then.
To check out our ultimate guide to Student Bank Accounts click here
Don’t blow your loan on transport
When it comes to student finance and transport, although it might seem daunting, it’s actually cheaper to buy a one year long pass to avoid paying individually for each trip.
If your student finance installment can’t take this strain, then it might be worth trying to arrange a loan repayment scheme with your parents, taking a bit off your loan each month to hand back to them.
Failing all of this, you could maybe use a bit of your student loan installment to buy yourself a bike or a scooter to simply travel to university that way.
If you are finding that you are spending more than you are saving at university then here are some final options to consider if budgeting simply doesn’t work- or if that loan simply doesn’t cover everything:
· You could contact a money adviser through your university, this service is usually available at the majority of higher education institutions.
· Reduce your expenses by looking through last months’ outgoings, as previously discussed, and working on what to cut back on.
· Increase your income- if you are struggling with your finances then hunting for a student job might be the best bet. Word of mouth and social media tend to be best for this and job sites such as Indeed, Jobsite and Reed are also great.
· Consider borrowing. If you truly are struggling with budgeting your finances, or, similar to many other students, your loan is simply not covering your maintenance costs, you could consider borrowing from friends of family. Loans are a very generous act of course, yet setting up regular payments back to the loved one paying you can ensure that you pay them back in full.
