Posted 4 years ago
Mon 26 Oct, 2020 12:10 PM
Learning to budget is a skill that we all have to learn. To help save you some costly mistakes, we have some ways you can manage your spending habits and make your budget go as far as it can.
You've just moved into Halls and your first student loan just hit your bank account. Don't let the excitement of your first instalment get the better of you, since it's there to last you the semester.
Here's a step-by-step to make your first student budget:
1. Set aside just half an hour to make a budget
Half an hour of planning could save you lots of time and money in the future. It's ok to draw up a first draft of your budget, sometimes you can overcompensate or undercompensate so it's ok to be flexible with how your budget will work. As the year goes on, you'll learn more about how much things cost and what you need to consider.
2. Figure out what length of time your budget is going to cover
Often you'll be working around when you'll receive your student loan as well as when you might be paid for any part time work you do at university. Your maintenance loan will come in October, January and April. Your part time work, however, may pay you weekly, fortnightly, monthly. Try to start with a 'monthly' budget and then work out from there what you can afford to spend each week.
3. Write out your income and your expenses
If you’re keeping a weekly budget, write down how much you have to spend that week as well as what expenses you have e.g. grocery shopping, hair cut, books, train tickets, birthday meal out. The University's Money Advice and Guidance team have advice on how to set your budget and taking control of your money here.
If you are looking for financial advice or want to find out what support is available in the university, do get in touch with the Money Advice and Guidance team and they'll be happy to help.
4. Compare your income and your expenses to find out if your budget balances
If your total expenses are equal to your total income, then your budget is balanced. If your income is higher than your expenses, you’re in surplus — but if your expenses are higher than your income, you have a deficit. If you have a deficit, you might need to find ways to reduce your spending, like eliminating unnecessary expenses, identifying cheaper alternatives, or looking into ways to increase your income. If that still doesn’t help, you might need to look into what kind of assistance is available here.
There are a lot of different ways to keep a budget, like the envelope method, the 50/30/20 budget, and others. Your style of budgeting might look different to your friends and that's fine. It's also ok to share tips, hacks and advice that you've found helpful. Save the Student have a handy student budget calculator here.
