10 Tips to Manage Your Expenses as a College Student

Britain might be the best country to study in, but it is also fairly expensive. The tuition fees charged by universities in cities like Liverpool, London, and Manchester are not easily affordable. In addition, it isn’t easy to handle stationery, accommodation, and transportation expenses. Also, due to inflation, websites now offer extremely costly dissertation help London.

However, if you manage your expenses properly and make intelligent decisions, you will never suffer from financial issues during college. In this post, we’ll discuss some tips to help you manage your finances better.

10 Tips to Manage Your Expenses

Here are some ways for you to protect yourself from a financial mess:

1. Avoid Buying New Textbooks

Hardback textbooks can cost you hundreds of pounds. As a student, buying new books for every course is an extremely unnecessary expenditure—but one that you can avoid. For instance, if you only want to use a hardback textbook, you can borrow it from your college’s library. However, make sure you return that book and re-borrow it when the due date arrives. If you have no issues reading ebooks, you can buy or rent the digital format of your textbook from websites like Amazon and Chegg. If you are looking for cheaper ebooks, you can try out sites like Thriftbooks.com, bookrenter.com, and campusbookrentals.com.

2. Have an Affordable Lifestyle

Students from affluent families can afford extravagant lifestyles. Most of them can’t, so you need to plan your expenditures very smartly. Students who are financially stable enough may be able to eat out every day. They can also use their money to buy expensive phones, watches, clothes, and other accessories. However, a lavish lifestyle isn’t necessarily in the cards for everyone. So, if you don’t get that kind of financial support from your parents, staying away from students who do is better. Peer pressure is actually a very real thing and could be why you get forced to live a similar lifestyle despite being unable to afford it. Going out for drinks every night, dining at expensive restaurants, and buying the latest gadgets may sound good. But can you really afford to do that?

3. Apply For Scholarships

The biggest expense students have to deal with during college is their tuition fees. Most universities in the UK are quite expensive. But, if you have a good academic record or have done well in sports or social service, you can apply for a scholarship. Depending upon the criteria, you could get a certain percentage of the fee waived because of such a scholarship. If your academic record is extraordinarily good, you might get a 100% scholarship. In that case, you must maintain your academic performance to remain eligible for the scholarship.

Many universities also offer financial aid to students where the tuition fee is reduced or divided into several instalments. Check if yours does too.

4. Be Careful With Your Student Loan

Many students without proper financial backing opt for a student loan to manage their tuition fees and other educational expenses. While this is not a bad option, students are often careless with the money they receive. Moreover, they also forget to factor in the interest rate part of these loans.

Remember, the more you have borrowed, the more you’ll have to pay back! Student loans must be paid back as soon as you start earning after college. If you don’t want to end up in a financial mess after college, you shouldn’t borrow more money than what you expect to earn in the first year of your job.

5. Keep Your Student ID card With You

Your student ID is not only necessary to get you inside the gates of your college, but it also has many amazing benefits. For example, there are many restaurants, attractions, and theatres where you can get discounts on your student card. So, get in the habit of having it on you.

Also, companies like Apple, Samsung, Dell, HP, and Lenovo offer discounts for students on electric gadgets like laptops and phones. Therefore, get as much use of your student ID card as possible!

6. Go For Used Products

Buying new stuff in the UK, especially electronic gadgets can be costly. For example, if you want to buy a powerful laptop with great battery life, it will cost you at least £1000. Similarly, the new MacBook Air starts at around £1200. So, these gadgets are not affordable for most of you. But, you shouldn’t buy new laptops with weak specifications just because you don’t have the budget.

Why do we say that? Because a less-than-optimal machine may end up costing you more in the long run. For instance, you might keep having to pay to install extra memory. Therefore, opt for a used or refurbished laptop that provides great performance at an affordable price.

7. Carpool to Cut Travelling Cost

Fuel prices are at an all-time high. Getting around the city using a taxi can cost you a fortune. Even if you own a car, travelling alone will be quite expensive. Therefore, we recommend you to opt for carpooling instead. You can create a group of students who live near your residence and pick them up on your way to college. In the end, all the passengers will split the fuel cost equally. If you don’t have a car but still want to carpool, you can opt for services like carpoolconnect.com and zimride.com. You can travel with people going on a similar route and split the fare equally. Carpooling is not only good for your budget, but it’s also a very environment-friendly travelling method.

8. Get a Job

You should get a part-time job if you have at least 6 hours to spare after college. Wages help you handle your finances better—and ensure you’ll have more money. You can’t survive on your parents’ financial support, especially with the inflation increasing daily. You can do different jobs to earn around £15-£30 per hour.

Opt for freelancing if you don’t want to go for an outdoor job and want to do something online where you can earn in your pyjamas. If you have a skill that can help you make a considerable income, you can offer your services on freelancing websites like Upwork, Fiverr, and Freelancer.

9. Use Cash Instead of Cards

Don’t even think about credit or debit cards while still studying! When you use one of these, you tend to spend a lot of money unnecessarily. At times, you do it to receive cashback, while in other instances, you do it to score more card points. You’ll only be sinking deeper into debt regardless of the reason.

You should buy using cash instead of cards because it’s limited. So, you won’t be able to spend it on things you don’t need. According to multiple studies, people spend 100% lesser when they use cash instead of a card. That’s because shelling out cash creates a sense of loss. On the other hand, cards can make you feel you have unlimited money.

10. Take Online Classes to Graduate on Time

An extra year of college can cost more than £20,000. Students who graduate late must bear a lot of losses. So, even if you cannot pass a few courses, opt for extra classes to complete your remaining courses as soon as possible so that you graduate with your original batch. This will also help your chances of getting a job right after graduation. You can also take online classes to complete degree programmes before your classmates.

Verdict

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