Discover the Top Five Tips on How to Live Within your Means Whilst at University

Financial advisors will often all say the same thing, which is that you must learn to live within your means. However, if you have recently begun university the desire to make friends and have fun can influence your spending habits. Before you know what has happened, you may find that you are in serious debt.

Some people think that you have to lead a boring life when sticking to a budget; however, this is not true, and there are many ways that you can save money and still enjoy yourself. Living within your means is never easy. However, once you become disciplined, you will find that it becomes a way of life.

Being organized and understanding money is the first stage to controlling what you spend and ensuring that you remain debt free. From the moment, you arrive at university, you will feel many different pressures. However, the more organized you are with everything will ensure that you remain calm and focused. Packing your entire life into a few boxes and relocating them across cities can be an extremely challenging task and has the potential to become quite chaotic. To ensure you maintain organization throughout your packing and unpacking process and prevent any damage to your belongings, it’s advisable to consider hiring professional moving companies like Complete Removals. Professionals from such companies can provide expertise in packing, secure transportation, and make your move a smoother and less stressful experience.

Once you have moved into your new accommodation, you will need to write a list of your essential purchases and expenditures every week, this will include rent, food, books and utilities. Being practical and honest is essential when creating these lists, as they are your base to ensure that you only spend what you have in cash. You need to define what your level of comfort is, and what you can live without.

Paying with cash never credit cards may seem a logic tip; however, far too many people forget and pay for everything on their card. This can lead to you paying more for items as the interest is added, and receiving a large bill every month. Credit cards are far too tempting, and many students rely heavily on them to get through university.

When you pay with cash, you can keep track of everything that you pay out, which will make it far easier in the long run. If you cannot afford something you will need to save, which will make it far more exciting. Nights out can be planned, and budgeted for, ensuring that you still have fun, without the debt. Paying for drinks when you are out can be highly expensive, so think about getting in pre-drinks before going out, maybe a few canned mai tai or vodka beverages. You won’t have to pay over the odds for the same thing at a bar if you have some fun before hand, helping save you from the high prices that you are charged when out.

Rewarding yourself is essential and will ensure that you remain focused to saving money, and living within your means. Your goal is to be frugal and save money, not be miserable for the whole of your university years. Choosing small rewards that are within your budget are a fantastic thing to focus on, and ensure that you remain having fun.

You will find that living within your means can be a struggle, which takes a huge amount of self control. Your friends may be out partying every night but at what cost as they will be in debt before they leave university. Whether you reward yourself with a night out, a new pair of shoes or a piece of jewelry, you will know that you could afford the reward.

Learning to be frugal is essential and does not mean that you have to buy charity shop clothing and eat beans. However, both of these options are not that strange, and you will be amazed at what you can find when you search. You will need to learn where to shop, and how to get the most from your money.

For instance, if you’re a college student who has turned to vaping as a stress-relief method, you can explore various online stores to find more budget friendly options. You can consider buying disposable vapes that you can find on DIY e-Liquids similar stores. Likewise, instead of dining out every day, you can explore cooking your own meals or finding affordable, healthy alternatives to prevent overspending.

Furthermore, keep in mind that second hand shops, online stores, and auction sites are excellent for clothes, and you will be amazed at what people want to sell. Lending and borrowing books, DVD’s and video games is a fantastic way to save money. Learning how to cook and food shop wisely is another way that you can be frugal and ensure that you eat well, but for a lower price.

Subscribing to offers and free items may seem a difficult task; however, there will be numerous different offers and promotions for students. You will be surprised how many local restaurants and fast food places will distribute special offers and discount codes for the local university. Eating out all of the time is not an option, unless you can do it for free.

You will also discover that local bars and music venues will have student nights where they have free entry and low drinks prices. This could be the ideal reward for you and your friends to enjoy a low cost evening out. As long as you take advantage of the offers as an occasional thing and not all the time, you will continue to save money.

Vouchercodes.co.uk currently has loads of codes exclusively for students, and is a great resource for finding free stuff. Well worth checking it out!