The rising tuition fees have made attending university a very daunting prospect for many students. When this sharp increase in fees is combined with a high cost of living, it means that managing your finances and ensuring that you can live comfortably can be difficult. Fortunately, today’s students have found a few fantastic way to manage their finances each month and ensure that it does not impact their studies and lifestyle.
- Budgeting
The most important tip is to create a budget and stick to it for each week. To establish a budget, you first need to add up your total income. This could include student loan, savings, income from a job, grants or bursaries and money from parents/guardians. Next, you subtract essential outgoings. These include tuition fees, rent, household bills, insurance, phone bill, travel and food. The figure you are left with is what you can then spend on other items such as socialising, household supplies, books for your course and clothes. There are many great online tools or apps that can help with sticking to your budget.
- Part-Time Work
Another way that students have combated the increase in tuition fees is to take on part-time work. This can give a great boost to your income and give you cash to use on yourself, plus it will it may also give you transferable skills and experience that will help in the future. However, it is crucial that this work does not interfere with your studies, so you must be ruthless at organising your time. Ideally, the work will be flexible and you can communicate openly with your employer about your studies.
- Short-Term Loans
If you find yourself in need of some fast cash to cover part of your income, you should consider a short-term loan which is what many students are now doing. There are companies that are created solely to help students, including Smart Pig. Companies like this provide same day loans of up to around £350 until your next student finance payment. Student payday loan businesses typically have improved pricing, loan terms and procedures than regular payday loan companies.
These three methods are all great ways for students to manage their finances and handle the rise of tuition fees. With careful planning and regularly checking your finances each week, you should be able to stay on top of your bills and not have your studies or social life impacted by fees and cost of living.
