Cost of Living at Kingston- plan your budget as a student

For those of you in first year or those of you heading to uni in September, one thing you may be worried about is budgeting. Although managing your money is super important, it’s definitely not something to worry about! I thought it could be helpful to list a couple of tips that keep my uni budgeting stress free!

This first tip may seem boring but honestly, it’s so worth it! Creating yourself an excel spreadsheet is super handy not only for making a budget plan but also keeping track of what you’re spending. I created mine in first year and keep one for every month so that I can see where my moneys going and where i can cut down to make my money stretch a little bit further!

My next tip might sound obvious but honestly a lot of people aren’t realistic when budgeting for uni. Trying to stretch your money too far and keeping your spending mega low might seem like a great idea but if you’re not giving yourself enough room then you can end up defeating the purpose of a budget. Balance is everything and being realistic means you can spend money but still enjoy yourself! You are only young and a student once so you should try and enjoy this as uni goes super fast.

Finally if you can then definitely try and utilise time out of uni to make some money and give you a bit of breathing space! Whether you’re a first year heading home this summer or you’re looking to head to uni in September, building up a bit of cash is definitely a great way to keep your budget running smoothly. Moving out of home is expensive anywhere you go but it can be sorted with a great budget! The university can help you with this, by offering a number of student ambassador jobs a year that pay £13.90 an hour for a variety of jobs such as graduations or open days. You could also get a retail job in London or the Kingston area as there are lots of shops which are constantly hiring.

For current university students what are your best budgeting tips ?

-Yasmin (Kingston rep)