MONEY MANAGEMENT 101: STUDENTS EDITION

Hi guys!

Today I just want to talk about few saving/ money management tips that have been really useful for me in this student life of mine.

Let’s not lie, it can be difficult living within budget as a student because there’s always one book to buy, one dress or shoe to buy because there’s one party to attend, one restaurant to try, fun ( and expensive) places to visit because #YOLO, and the list goes on and on but as someone rightly said, we can’t have all we want and I definitely agree! but:

-Sort out your important bills first

So by important bills I mean rent, electricity, water, internet, gas, utility and the rest so to be on the safe side, get an estimate/ ball park figure ( because some of these things might vary on a monthly basis ), take it out first before you get tempted to spend part of it.

-Budget Budget Budget

Photo credit; igrad.com

I’m not exactly sure how to expand this point because it’s self explanatory so budget budget budget.

Budgeting is the process of creating a plan to spend your money. Creating this spending plan allows you to determine in advance whether you’ll have enough money to do the things you need or will like to do

-There is rice at home!

If you’ve not heard this phrase before there’s something wrong somewhere, check yourself ( just kidding ). Basically it means you should cook more and eat out less. This one is definitely important if you are trying to manage because let’s be honest, cooking is cheaper than buying food every single day! In my case, because of my schedule, I mostly cook in large quantities during the weekend and put it in the fridge so it’s basically like a meal prep and it really keeps me in check! so ladies and gentlemen, if you don’t know how to cook, you should learn. Packing your lunch to school is also a great way to save cost, it’s way way way cheaper than buying school lunch all the time.

-Make a grocery list

One of my YouTube friends ( well we are not friends, I’m just obsessed with her vlogs so she’s my friend in my head) recently said she can’t go grocery shopping without a list and I think we should all be like her lol. I’ve done both – with and without and shopping without a grocery list is just full of buying unnecessary ‘two for the price of one’ and ‘buy one get one free’ things or buying ‘new things’ to try which is ordinarily not a bad thing but bad for your pocket if you are on a budget.

-Get a piggy bank AKA ‘kolo’

Well if you need to save for something important or if you just want to cultivate a saving habit, this one is for you. I had two of them in the space of 6 months and broke both LOL so that didn’t work out so well but it doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea #brokestudentlife

-Say ‘NO’ more often

Let’s face it, you can’t possibly go to EVERY single event you are invited to because apart from the fact that it can be stressful ( yes I actually consider going out stressful because I’m lazy like that ), going out cost money, it’s expensive. If you are going to have to convert your tooth to money, just don’t go. You can always Netflix and chill by yourself at home anyway.

-Ask questions about student discount or shopping discount cards

Lets just say there are actually shops that give shopping discounts just because you are a student and there are also some that have discount cards as well, student or not. Just ask.

-Buy used books or rent or borrow from the library

When I look at some of my books I get upset because I’ll never use someone of them again and they were really pricey! If I could go back, I’d just borrow from the library and spend my money on food.

-Living with others to share bills

I live with my girls and one of the numerous perks is sharing the bills. It’s a funny sight when we start all our calculations but it’s quite nice knowing you have people to share it with.

I hopethese will be helpful to at least one person. Is there any extra tip you think I should have added? Leave it in the comments

Ps: don’t forget to like, comment, share and subscribe.

Tola..xx

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