6 Best Tips To Save Money As a University Student

22 Jan

Studying full-time or part-time with the current cost of living can be a challenge. Spending Monday to Friday in tutorials and lectures creates a long and sometimes stressful week. On top of these responsibilities, many students have to work to make ends meet.

Saving starts with healthy money behaviours. The first step is to understand where your money goes. Whether you live with your parents or out of home, these six tips will help you to save money as a uni student.

Overview

Create A Budget To Understand Your Finances
Which Bank Accounts To Have Open
Create Routine Saving Transactions
Set Yourself A Money Goal
Reduce Your Monthly Costs
Cooking At Home

1. Create A Budget To Understand Your Finances

The first step to start saving money is to understand where your funds are currently spent. In your budget, list down your monthly fixed costs, such as rent, grocery shopping, and monthly bills. Then list the non-essential spending, such as eating out, leisure activities or routine coffee purchases. Ideally, the total will be a little less than your monthly income.

Once you have this list, the cutbacks can begin. Is there room to reduce any of these bills? For example, you may opt to purchase a jar of instant coffee once every few weeks in your grocery shopping, rather than a daily (expensive!) barista-made coffee.

A budget like this can help you monitor your spending as it evolves and easily see where you can save.

2. Which Bank Accounts To Have Open

University students should consider savings account and transaction account options.

It’s also a good idea to set aside funds in separate accounts. For example, considering three separate accounts is a good idea to help you keep on top of your spending, saving and expenses.

You might like to consider structuring your accounts like this;

A debits account. Direct all of your regular debits through this and set aside the relevant amount needed to cover these each pay.
A living account. This needs to cover your groceries, fuel, entertainment and clothing needs
Designated saving accounts. It’s ok to have separate accounts to keep you on track i.e. Christmas, presents, house deposit, emergency fund, new laptop, holiday etc.

Transaction accounts should be used for your general day-to-day living expenses and any other expenditures in your budget so that you can track these expenses. Savings accounts are dedicated to holding money for the future (including for emergencies).

Savings accounts are a fantastic way to save more money. The balance grows each month as interest is credited to the account.

3. Create Routine Saving Transactions

Now that you have a budget and understand your finances, consider automating your savings and transactions.

To do this, you can organise transfers on your payday to automatically move a specific amount of money into your savings account. This will create and reinforce a regular saving habit.

The best way to set up this transaction is to automate it for the day after you get paid. For example, if you get paid on a Tuesday, set up the transfer for Wednesday. By doing this, the amount of money you need for regular, everyday expenses (based on your budget) is still in your transaction account and the surplus is saved for a treat or a rainy day.

4. Set Yourself A Money Goal

To save money as a university student, a money goal can help provide motivation to forgo those extra daily expenses that are ‘nice to have’ but not essential.

If you know how much money you can set aside for savings each week (using the budget you created above), you can use this to work out how much you can save per year. Use this number to set your savings goal. For example, if you can save $100 per week, you will have $5,200 at the end of the year.

Setting yourself these goals allows you to plan for life after university. Creating healthy money habits during university will help you save and graduate with excellent knowledge of how to manage money once you have a full-time job.

5. Reduce Your Monthly Costs

Monthly costs can build up and reduce how much spare money is available to save in your budget. Monthly costs, such as gym memberships, streaming subscriptions, groceries or mobile phone bills are all important, but can often be reduced without too much sacrifice.

Comparing service provider charges may save you money. Holding onto your older mobile phone and switching down to a prepaid mobile phone plan can save your monthly costs quite significantly.

Gym memberships are typically locked in contracts that last 12-24 months, consider whether you are using the membership and if you are not, cancel it.

University students are often eligible for discounts, like cheaper public transport or student subscriptions. Look into your subscriptions (think Spotify, Amazon Prime, and Apple) and search for student discounts to see if you can get a cheaper rate.

University study can be a full-time commitment, creeping into time for leisure activities. If you pay for multiple entertainment services, consider whether there are platforms you may not have time to use.

6. Cooking at Home

Eating out of home can be more expensive. To save money as a university student, start to prepare your meals at home and bring them with you.

Eating out can cost a lot more than eating at home. Preparing your meals at home can bring your food spending down (plus it might be much healthier!). If you go to university Monday-Friday and spend money to purchase lunch each day, these costs can add up quickly. Cooking in advance or bringing wraps or sandwiches is a fantastic way to reduce how much you are spending on eating out.

Save Money As A University Student With Broken Hill Bank

It’s never too soon to start building healthy money habits — even if you are studying at university. Start by opening a transaction and savings account where you can track your money journey. Set up a budget that aligns with your money goals and you and on your way to saving for a car, a holiday or even a house — all while studying at university.

At Broken Hill Bank we understand the pressures of managing money while you study. Broken Hill Bank is a customer-owned bank, dedicated to supporting you through every stage of life. To join Broken Hill Bank or learn more about our services, contact or call us today.

FAQ

How to survive financially as a university student

Saving money as a student is possible with the right habits. Map your spending habits in a budget to see where you can cut back and save. Take control of your future and ease some financial pressure while you study for the future.

Is it possible to save money as a student?

Saving money as a student is very possible. Prioritise essential spending and cut back on monthly costs to find extra savings. Compare prices on essentials like mobile phone plans or groceries to save more.

How long to save $10,000?

How long it takes to save $10,000 depends on how much money you can put away each month, after non-negotiable expenses. If you can save $350 per week, it will take approximately 28 weeks to reach $10,000.