As a student you’ve got two main aims – first, to get a degree in something useful to set you on your way towards a successful career; and second, to have the best three years of your life, (you choose which way around they are in terms of priority!)
But there is one thing that you’ll find hounds you throughout your time at University, aside from your parents checking you’re eating enough and meeting your deadlines, and that is your bank account. While it’s true that you can sign up to receive a student loan from the government, this is never really enough to live on if you want to go to Uni, have a social life and, well, live!
With rent to pay and food to buy, as well as essential course materials such as textbooks and stationary, it can be very difficult to make your loan last – but it is possible. You find out before the first semester how much you’ll be receiving in loan instalments – usually divided into three – and therefore a bit of careful budgeting can help you to make it last, avoiding the disastrous scenario of turning down nights out with your house or course mates. Knowledge of mathematics will help you not only in your studies but also help you correctly calculate your budget and expenses. Therefore, you can refer to https://domyhomework123.com/math to get help in this difficult subject.
But how do you go about doing this without making sacrifices? You’re there to have fun, not worry about money, that’s a grown up thing to be doing and you’re a student right? Unfortunately not I’m afraid, you do need to seriously consider your finances to avoid the disastrous phone call to the bank of mum and dad asking for a loan! To do this, here are five top tips for making your loan last, providing you with a surplus of cash to take into the next semester or the summer, and allowing you to have the fun you want away from the lecture theatre.
Shop with house mates. The chances are that you live with a number of other students, and you’re probably all buying your own milk, bread and other daily essentials. A very logical, and money-saving idea is to take it in turns to buy these everyday items, allowing you all to share them and reduce the amount you’re paying each week on your food shop.
Buy own brand products. On a related note, you don’t necessarily need to go buying luxury or brand named items. In a lot of instances, the supermarket’s own brand alternatives are significantly cheaper than the branded options and taste just the same. It might only seem like a small saving at times, a matter of pounds off the final total, but these few pounds could make the difference between being able to go out on Friday night to the Pirate Party, and staying in watching the telly on your own.
Avoid late fees. When borrowing books from that strange building on the campus called the ‘library’, you do have to ensure that you return them for other people to use. When you take a book out, you’ll be given a deadline to return it and if you miss that date you will be charged – possibly on a daily basis. This is a really unnecessary expense and one that is easily avoided, just by returning it on time, extending the loan period or buying the book yourself if you think you’re likely to need it on more than one occasion in the future.
Shop online. We all love using the Internet – otherwise you wouldn’t be here now – and more and more of us are turning to online shopping as opposed to walking down the high street. With 24-hour opening, items that are always in stock and best of all, offers, it’s no surprise why. A lot of retailers use online-only deals such as free delivery, 20% off the final bill or buy-one-get-one-half-price packages that encourage us to spend there as opposed to going into town between or after lectures. Searching around for these promotional codes can help make significant savings that we wouldn’t make on the high street, so they make great sense – especially when doing your food shopping or buying birthday or Christmas presents.
Part-time employment. Now none of us want to be using our spare time to work, but if it brings in a bit more cash to help fund your night out next week, it’s all worth it. With a regular source of income to keep topping up the bank balance, and plenty of opportunities in town if you look for them, you’re likely to be far better off than you would be without the assistance of the bank of ma and pa. Bars, clubs, restaurants and retail outlets are great places to start your job search, and the on-campus job centre can also help.
Have a plan for repaying your student loans. Don’t wait until you graduate to start thinking about how you’re going to repay your student loans. If you’re planning to go to graduate school, law school, or medical school, this is crucial, as you’ll likely keep adding on more debt before you ever start working a full-time job. Do your best to save some income from a part-time job to pay back your loans when they’re due. If your payments are heftier than you can afford each month, look into ways to refinance medical student loans and other graduate school loans to bring your monthly payments down.
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