Throughout my student years (which are coming to an end very soon), I have learned a thing or two about handling and saving money when you don’t have very much of it.
In my first two years, I struggled A LOT. While every fish in the river rode the current of life with fins swaying with happiness, I felt like the one little fishy who couldn’t seem to ditch her upstream swimming ways (I don’t understand this metaphor either).
But last year (after a bit of a wake-up call), I finally started to take things WAY more seriously, and now, I consider myself a little bit of an expert (which I’m sure my Mum is currently laughing at).
Within the space of a year, I have not only gotten my spending under control and made ends meet- I have also quadrupled my savings and in doing so, have significantly reduced my general state of panic when it comes to my moolah and the dreaded anticipation of paying for a deposit on my first home (which probably won’t happen for 10 years, but I digress).
If you’re about to enter your first year of university and feel a little intimidated with all of the costs, I hope these tips help you to feel a little less spooked (but also give you a dose of reality).
And if you’re in your final year and can’t stop freaking out about your limited dosh, I hope these tips get you to swim in the right direction (I still don’t get this metaphor, but it’ll do).
1. ACTUALLY Budget
When you’re 17 and the school system failed to teach you how to handle your money, formulating a budget for yourself seems like an impossible task.
But the truth is, if you DON’T budget, you WON’T make ends meet, you WILL waste money, and you WILL NOT be able to keep any money for a rainy day. The truth hurts Lara Jean.
Now before you come at me with a “yeah Claire, but it’s easier said than done”- I thought that too. But I’m telling you right now- this simple method is the sole reason that my savings doubled in only 2 months.
This method is outlined in full in the ‘Barefoot Investor’ book, but to put it extremely simply, you’ll need to set up four bank accounts- one for your expenses, one for your long-term savings, one for your short-term savings, and one for your guilt-free spending.
Start by calculating how much your expenses will be for the month, and divide this by four so you know how much you need to deposit into this account each week.
Once this amount has been deposited, split the remainder of your income for the week in a ratio that makes the most sense for you. I personally like to put 40% into my long-term savings, 20% into my short-term savings, and give myself the remaining 40% to spend guilt-free for the week.
Even though this probably sounds a bit daunting and you feel like you won’t be able to stick to it, I promise that it is the easiest (and best) way to take that stress away and still be able to have fun with your friends while you study.
For a more in-depth description of this method and for additional tips, I highly recommend watching this video by Authentically Amy.
2. Don’t move out unless you absolutely have to
Unless you’re going to a university that is too far away to commute to or you are unable to live at home for any other reason, I highly recommend staying at home.
Even though it may not be as convenient, you won’t have your ‘own space’, and you’ll likely have to allocate a fair bit of money for travel, living at home eliminates all of the stress that comes with having to pay for rent (and do your own washing, because that shiz is both boring and hard).
It’s a huge privilege that I am able to stay at home, and I will be forever indebted to my parents for allowing me to do so. But I stand by the fact that if it is an option for you and your parents are ok with it, you should absolutely do it.
3. Opt for fewer longer days rather than more shorter days
When it comes to selecting your classes, my biggest tip is to cram as many of your classes into as few days as you possibly can.
This is something that I’ve always done, and over the years it has saved me thousands of dollars and a considerable amount of stress.
Even though your days at uni will be a bit tougher, spending only 1-3 days there per week means spending less money (on fuel, food etc), and it frees up more time for you to be working and making more of it. It’s a win-win situation really.
4. Don’t buy your supplies until uni actually starts
If you’re anything like me, the second you received your uni offer you wanted to run out to Officeworks to buy everything that they sell (especially those Sharpie highlighters that your Mum never let you have).
But to be honest, you really don’t need much where stationery is concerned.
My advice is to bring a single notebook and pen (or a laptop/iPad) for the first week so you can get a feel for the kind of work you’ll be doing in each class, and shop for your supplies accordingly.
Although your notes will be a little messy for the first week, it’ll save you from rushing out and buying things that will only collect dust (except the Sharpie highlighters because those things are actually bae).
5. Milk your discounts
Apart from the essentials, I do not buy anything that I ‘want’ unless I can get some kind of discount on it (within reason, of course).
Whether that means painstakingly waiting for the item to go on sale or whipping out my Unidays discount code with every chance I get, I WILL save money somehow- and if I can’t, I won’t buy it (some call it stingy, I call it savvy).
On top of this, I sign up for pretty much every single store membership program, because a lot of the time they end up sending you vouchers or freebies on your birthday and alert you whenever they have a sale.
On top of that, I also listened to all of the influencers who told me to install the Honey browser extension, and BOY has it changed the game. It automatically plugs in every single available discount code for basically every single online store at checkout, and it has saved me some serious coin.
In essence, uni budgeting is all about spending smarter- so don’t hate the player, hate the game.
6. Buy Preloved
Buying preowned items is the oldest trick in the book when it comes to student saving.
There’s a fair chance that there will be one or more textbook ‘buy, sell and swap’ Facebook group for students of your university, and nine times out of ten there will be someone out there selling the exact book you need for sometimes hundreds of dollars less than the retail price (and most of the time they’re in perfect condition since very few people actually read them).
If you’re moving out, it’s also a good idea to check out local facebook groups for furniture if you want to save some cash.
7. Compare Prices on EVERYTHING
In case you weren’t aware, different stores sell the same item for different prices.
Before you buy anything (within reason, of course), make sure you shop around to see who has the best price.
Granted, I do get a little lazy sometimes, but one thing that I ALWAYS do this with is fuel. If you live in Australia, I highly recommend downloading the ‘PetrolSpy’ app, which accurately shows you the prices at every single petrol station in your area, automatically highlights the cheapest option, and pinpoints its location on a map (and did I mention it’s FREE).
To some of you, this tip is probably pointless because you already do it, and I’m also sure many of you think that I’m taking this a little too far- but the thing is, every little saving adds up.
8. Be Reasonable
Even though these tips have saved me so much money over the years, I am definitely NOT a shining example of the perfect saver- and that’s perfectly ok.
The truth is, you’re a brand new adult at this point, so it’s inevitable that you are going to have a few financial fails- and again, that’s perfectly ok.
When it comes down to it, you really just have to be reasonable with your money.
When you have a Gucci taste on a Kmart budget, don’t blow all of your savings on Gucci- make some sacrifices and learn to love Kmart.
But at the same time, you have to be reasonable with yourself.
Don’t spend money that you don’t have, but allow room in your budget for treating yourself every now and then.
Uni can be the best time of your life- but it won’t be if you don’t let yourself live a little.
If you have any additional tips, feel free to leave them in the comments.
Best of luck, 😉
