Effective budgeting at university

Hello everyone

As students we do not have unlimited earning opportunities. That is why the rational management of money is so helpful. I would like to share with you my trusty budgeting tips, but at the same time, I ask you to join the discussion and share your tips.

1. Create an income and expenses table

Put any fixed income you receive during a month in one column. Then, divide expenses into fixed and additional expenses. In this way, you will see if income and expenses are balanced. It is the best way to keep track of your money and spending. You can also easily search for expenses on which you can save some money. For example, by reducing the amount of money for eating out.

2. Open a saving account

If you have some occasional income or are able to secure some money each month, open a saving account straight away. You can set up a standing order or transfer any additional money there. It is good to find a saving goal or just save money for the future.

3. If you want to eat out, order from the ‘Too Good To Go’ app

I am literally obsessed with ‘Too Good To Go’. It is an extremely simple app for food lovers. Basically, restaurants, bakeries, fast food, groceries and coffee shops sell for a symbolic amount of money food that is left at the end of a day or shift. Therefore, if you love eating out, stop paying a fortune and order with ‘Too Good To Go’!

4. Buy things during occasional sales

Instead of paying a regular price, wait a moment for winter, Black Friday, or summer sales and buy anything you need nicely discounted.

5. Download student discount apps

Lots of free apps, like Unidays and Student Beans, have numerous student discounts on a spectrum of shops. Whenever you need to buy something, check first whether there is a coupon available on one of them.

6. Do your grocery shopping in Aldi or Lidl and always plan it in advance

Aldi and Lidl are the cheapest in the United Kingdom, so there is no point in paying much more in other grocery shops. Furthermore, do not go shopping unprepared because you will end up buying everything and having nothing. Always think about what you want to eat and what product you need and make a shopping list. Do not buy things that you think might be useful. You will end up discarding them.

7. Use cashback apps

There are cashback apps or even cashback bank offers (check out your bank app). It is simply doing shopping via their link and then receiving a certain cashback, varying from 1 to 10 % and depending on the shop. You can transfer the earned cashback to your bank account and enjoy saving money.

I hope that the post was helpful. Do not forget to share your budgeting tips! If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask them. You can also chat with me and other student ambassadors on The Ambassador Platform here.

Take care,

Julia

Thanks Julia, this is really useful. 🎉
Love the advice about shopping list, as I always impulse buy.

For sharing more tips, I saw this video which has more tips about money management during cost of living crisis: https://youtu.be/3-BK4G6pGYg

Talks about bank accounts, meal prep, UniDays, Transport and more which others may find useful too.

Has helped me ALLLLOTTTTT!

Hello everyone

As students we do not have unlimited earning opportunities. That is why the rational management of money is so helpful. I would like to share with you my trusty budgeting tips, but at the same time, I ask you to join the discussion and share your tips.

1. Create an income and expenses table

Put any fixed income you receive during a month in one column. Then, divide expenses into fixed and additional expenses. In this way, you will see if income and expenses are balanced. It is the best way to keep track of your money and spending. You can also easily search for expenses on which you can save some money. For example, by reducing the amount of money for eating out.

2. Open a saving account

If you have some occasional income or are able to secure some money each month, open a saving account straight away. You can set up a standing order or transfer any additional money there. It is good to find a saving goal or just save money for the future.

3. If you want to eat out, order from the ‘Too Good To Go’ app

I am literally obsessed with ‘Too Good To Go’. It is an extremely simple app for food lovers. Basically, restaurants, bakeries, fast food, groceries and coffee shops sell for a symbolic amount of money food that is left at the end of a day or shift. Therefore, if you love eating out, stop paying a fortune and order with ‘Too Good To Go’!

4. Buy things during occasional sales

Instead of paying a regular price, wait a moment for winter, Black Friday, or summer sales and buy anything you need nicely discounted.

5. Download student discount apps

Lots of free apps, like Unidays and Student Beans, have numerous student discounts on a spectrum of shops. Whenever you need to buy something, check first whether there is a coupon available on one of them.

6. Do your grocery shopping in Aldi or Lidl and always plan it in advance

Aldi and Lidl are the cheapest in the United Kingdom, so there is no point in paying much more in other grocery shops. Furthermore, do not go shopping unprepared because you will end up buying everything and having nothing. Always think about what you want to eat and what product you need and make a shopping list. Do not buy things that you think might be useful. You will end up discarding them.

7. Use cashback apps

There are cashback apps or even cashback bank offers (check out your bank app). It is simply doing shopping via their link and then receiving a certain cashback, varying from 1 to 10 % and depending on the shop. You can transfer the earned cashback to your bank account and enjoy saving money.

I hope that the post was helpful. Do not forget to share your budgeting tips! If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask them. You can also chat with me and other student ambassadors on The Ambassador Platform here.

Take care,

Julia

Hey there! These are great tips! I wish I made use of an income and expense table when I was at university as budgeting can be so difficult.

I found that batch cooking meals really helped me while at university. I would make a big batch of meals, for example bolognese and then put it in Tupperware to keep in the freezer. Not only is this a lot cheaper, but it also saved me so much time and it meant that I always had food in my freezer for when I was in a rush. This would mean that I wouldn't need to go out to the shops or get a takeaway when I'm feeling too lazy to cook. In the long run I think this must have saved me so much money.

I also liked to cook meals with my flatmates. This was both a nice evening activity and cheaper too as it meant that there was no wasted food and ingredients. If you do decide to do this, make sure your splitting the costs between you. Me and my friends all had our own 'Monzo' bank accounts. This account is perfect for uni students as it helps with budgeting and it also has a 'split the bill' feature, where you can request money from each other really easily. So I definitely recommend getting yourself a Monzo account for this reason.

These are just a few extra tips I can think of, I hope this helps someone!

Scarlet - Sheffield Hallam Student Ambassador