7 Most Sensible and Easy Budgeting Tips for College Students

You already know that colleges and universities offer many free or discounted services to students. You know that you can enjoy free food during school events and borrow books and movies for free from the library. Even your city or state may be offering attractive student discounts on public transport services, museums, and tourist hot spots. But there are other ways to save money as a student.

Here are some of them:

1. Handle student loans wisely

Nikki Kukreja is pursuing an engineering from Australia. She says, “If you are financing your education through student loans, make sure to use the loan amount for study-related expenses. I made sure that I spent my education loan on fees and books. I recently had to spend some on an assignment help Sydney services because I was feeling stuck. Otherwise, I never spend my loan amount on parties or fashion or unnecessary stuff.”

She also suggests that if you have more than one student loan, consider consolidating them into a single account. This way, you only need to pay one rate of interest which makes it easier for you to pay your debts.

2. Maintain a good credit history

Good habits are formed early. A solid credit history not only helps you get better deals on car loans or personal loans later but also increases your chances of finding a good job. Some of the top companies run pre-employment credit checks to screen potential candidates for financial distress as it might indicate a risk of theft or fraud.

You may build a credit history in college by applying for a student credit card and using it with great discipline. Use your credit card only for important expenses. For unplanned expenditures, you may pay in cash. Also, make sure that you pay your credit card bill in full and on time.

3. Schedule your shopping for grand discount sales and use discount coupons

Assignment writing expert Margot D’Silva shares, “Most e-commerce sites offer grand sales where you can get up to 90% discounts. You can check for ongoing digital coupons, deals, and discounts before ordering anything online or offline. Many sites announce ‘sale’ dates much earlier. You may mark them on your calendar and do your shopping during that time.”

4. Never take your credit card to night-outs or parties

Mark Wallie is studying as well as working part-time as an online essay help expert. He says, “We all know how we are when we are with friends. We want to impress our love interest or just show off – and we end up spending more than what’s affordable for us. The best way to resist that temptation is to lock your credit card in your room and carry only enough money you plan to spend in your wallet.”

If you feel you moving around with rich friends and feel the need to splurge, change your company before you go broke.

5. Buy what you need, not what you want

Going on a shopping spree is not a wise choice of stress-busters for students on a budget. Never buy jeans because they have a 50% discount on them or you love the color.  Only buy one if you need it. I always advise students to make a list of things they want to buy and stick to it while shopping online or offline.

6. Lose weight on a budget

Alexa McKinney, who is pursuing a Business course in Melbourne, says “Students often get caught up in classes, assignments, and part-time work and so on and find little time to exercise. Food-wise, they grab whatever they can find from fast-food joints when they feel very hungry. Naturally, this leads to an unhealthy increase in weight. I went up from 180 pounds to 265 pounds in a year and was spiraling into depression because of all this weight gain and workload.

So, I took some measures. I found some cheap assignment writers online to shave off some of my workload. I used that extra time to make the much-needed lifestyle changes. I used free step-counter apps to walk 10,000 steps a day and go on a swimming spree on most weekends in a pool near my college which offers a student discount.

I also started buying cheap ingredients like brown rice, veggies, pasta, eggs, canned fish, canned beans, chicken, wraps, and yogurts handy; and preparing easy-to-cook and low-calorie meals like vegetable sticks, veggie sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, vegetable, avocado, and hummus wraps in evenings. I still make 100-calorie snack bags of apples, bananas, rice crackers, and yogurts and carry my lunch to college. You don’t have to break your bank to keep yourself healthy. It’s only about the mindset.”

7. Do not forget that your college education matters more than saving money

Research paper expert Liora Seitelman warns, “One big mistake college students make is that they become so geared towards saving money that they fail to use various opportunities in college to learn new skills, gain new knowledge, or develop their power network. While it is good to cook on your own and buy only essentials, you must learn to spend wisely on courses that can give you leverage in your future career.

If you are stuck with assignments or need help with writing a thesis, approach academic support services proactively. If you need more books and you cannot find them in the library, buy them online. Subscribe to online academic libraries using your student status.”

She says that while you are in college; do not lose opportunities to grow because you are trying to save money. This is one area where you should try to find cheaper alternatives if necessary but do equip yourself with the best tools and knowledge areas.