How To Manage Your Finances As A College Student

Heading out, shopping, hanging out with friends, going to cafes, tea stalls, coffee shops, and much more; college life is all about exploring. But it is also the time to understand finances and build habits that will help during the financial stages of life. A lot of our friends struggle with bad financial choices. If you want to play it right and graduate the college in good financial shape, follow these tips on how to manage your finances as a college student.

If you are prone to spending all your pocket money in the first week of the month, then these tips are just for you. Follow these tips so you don’t end up cribbing, crumbling, and asking for money from your friends.

Tips To Manage Finances During College Days

Set a budget

It might sound daunting or even boring but budgeting is the first and foremost thing one must undertake for good financial choices. Set your financial goals at the beginning itself. When you create a budget and have a lance at your financial habits, it gives you an insight into areas where you have to cut back. Start with the basic college expenses like:

• Tuition
• Room (or rent and utilities, if you’re living off-campus)
• Textbooks and class supplies
• Phone
• Transport
• Salon
• Food
• Outings

Track Budget

Once you are all set with your budget, it’s time to stick by it. Sticking to the budget can be more complicated. You may maintain an expense sheet on Pen and Paper or on Excel on your computer. You can even download apps on your mobile that will help you track your budget and ensure that you do not go off-limits.

Create an Emergency Fund

This is a must. When staying alone, managing your finances is akin to managing a full household. It is advisable to keep some money in hand just for emergency conditions. It could be something major or even something minor. But everyone should keep a chunk of money saved up when large variable expenses arise. You need not save everything you have but try and start saving some money every month.

Separate wants from Needs

There is a very thin line between what you want and what you need. You must be crystal clear in your head if a particular thing you are buying is actually beneficial to you or not. It could even be a pen, book, or even clothes. Try making the right decisions in your head and start saying no to unnecessary expenses.

Peer Pressure

A lot of people get influenced by peer pressure very easily. If you are short on a budget do not go to a cafe or buy a new dress just because your peers are doing it. Remember that you are different from them and you have a different budget as compared to them. Start by saying No or you can even go with them but do not spend money on anything that is not listed on your budget.

Remember that spending less than others doesn’t make you less, it just makes you wiser. Besides, your goal is to do well at studies and not about how much can you flaunt. If you study well then you will have a plenty more to spend.

Student Discounts

We don’t need to tell you this, but often students aren’t aware of discounts available to them at various places. Flight tickets, Bus tickets, Starbucks, Dominoes, etc offer an extra student discount on showing your icards. You can save even more money by using these discounts. Always keep your identity card handy and look for such discounts while shopping online as well as offline.

Remember to explore online or ask at just about any offline merchant for a student discount. Asking doesn’t cost you anything but if they have a discount then you may save anywhere between 10-25% on your spending.

Buy Used Books

When going for buying books, always go with used books as they cost cheaper as compared to the fresh ones. Another money-saving tactic is by buying books in bulk as you can save more money by doing that. There is no shame in using used books as you not only save money but you also contribute to environmental protection by re-using a book.

Bonus: Save for spending on special occassions

College life is fun and we are sure that you don’t want to miss all the fun just by saving money and not spending at all. Keep a separate kitty to spend on special occasions like your or your friend’s birthday, college outings, occasional movie or play etc. It is important to save money but it is also important to spend it on things that matter. So whenever you save some money, feel happy about it because now you can spend it just for the right cause.

Apart from providing quality education, the college also provides the ability to build money-saving skills so that you make smarter decisions in your life. These simple and easy tips will not only help you save money and develop financial discipline but also make you more confident.