Saving while you study: 5 tips to reduce your expenses

When you enter university, it can often seem difficult to save money. As it is common to have little income, especially if you only receive financial support from your parents. Because it is generally only enough to cover the costs of study and residence fees. However, it is possible saving while you study if you follow the 5 tips below to reduce your expenses and build a financial base for your future.

Set yourself a weekly budget

With the financial support you receive, to start saving while you study you should make your purchases according to a budget that you set for your weekly consumption.

This means that the first thing you need to do is to set a weekly budget. We recommend that you designate a specific amount to spend, and adjust the amount of food you buy accordingly.

When the period for which you are buying is very long, you tend to overbuy and in many occasions you do not consume the totality of the products and therefore you accumulate them. With this action you avoid buying too much and having to throw away your food because it has expired and you can no longer consume it.

Get your university student card

To support yourself with a little more money, get your university student card. Which will help you to be able to pay for what you buy with discounts or even in instalments to make it more bearable.

We recommend that you make good use of it and don’t overindulge in luxury or entertainment expenses. As this will help you avoid getting into debt for something that won’t benefit you in the future.

See if you can get what you need second hand

If your needs go beyond buying food, see if you can get what you need second-hand. Such as computers, clothes or other items you need for everyday life. Similarly, there will be many things you can buy with your university student card, and you may be eligible for discounts or other benefits for young people.

Share services with friends and classmates

When you are studying at university, you should ideally stay in a hall of residence, ideally in a shared room, especially if you are starting saving while you study.

Try to find a responsible roommate with whom you can split the costs. This way you can save a little extra money on groceries and rent.

By reducing these expenses, savings are becoming a possibility, especially if you both become aware of not making unnecessary expenses.

We also recommend that you try to share only those expenses that involve the purchase of immediate consumer goods. We do not recommend goods that are difficult to decide who is going to keep when you separate, such as a television or a laptop.

Don’t rely on misleading offers and discounts

It is common to be impressed by offers you find in supermarkets or electronics shops.

Generally the offers and discounts are related to the proximity of expiry dates or a factory defect that was only corrected in order to sell the equipment.

If you are one of those who shop at sales, you should be careful to check well what you are going to buy. Certainly there are times when you are only looking to renew the inventory and the merchandise you are going to replace is discounted. In these cases you can find products in perfect condition.