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How to handle your finances as a uni student

I may no longer be a student, but I know hoe financially stressful university can be because there are so many expenses yet not enough money especially since the economy is just not working with us.

So, if you’re a university student and you’ve tried all you can to budget properly but things just aren’t coming together, by the end of this article you should feel like you can navigate your finances better!

Note down the total amount of money you have

This may sound obvious but in order to understand how to use your money more effectively, you first have to have an understanding of how much you get every month.

Once you have a solid idea of the amount of money you have every month, you can gauge what you’re working with and it’s easier to understand which expenses will use most of it and which ones won’t.

List all your necessities

After noting how much money you get, make a list of all your monthly necessities. These are things that you need to buy monthly like food and toiletries, maybe also maintenance.

Set up a budget where you deduct these necessities from your monthly allowance. Sometimes you may need to compromise in order to make things work.

Buy things on special

Thirdly, keep an eye out for sales and specials from different stores, compare prices to understand which stores are running sales and also, sign up for mailing lists to get notified when stores have sales.

I know it can be annoying to get unnecessary emails but it’s very helpful when it comes to taking advantage of sales and saving money.

Prioritise

When it comes to making good financial decisions, the best thing you can do is to prioritise the things that are important to you. So, let’s say you really want to get clothes this month, compromise on food and dedicate more money to clothes.

This is not to say you must starve but rather, if you really want something make the means to get it by compromising on something else.

Find a side hustle

Finally, find a side hustle! Sometimes you can budget all you want, and the economy still doesn’t allow for your budget to cover all your expenses, so the only solution is to find a way of making more money.

Luckily for you, we have a video that goes into detail about the best jobs you can get as a student. And if a job is not suitable for you, you can start a business.

This is especially easy if you stay at a res and you sell something like snacks, you just have to have capital to start your business. Your target market is already within reach, and you can just advertise in your res group chat.

Now that you’ve read this article, go out there and make good financial decisions.