Aside from cutting down on food purchases at work it’s important to save a decent percentage of each pay in order to save up enough money for rent, utilities, food and of course entertainment during the school year. Often on payday I take a percentage of my paycheck (usually over 50%) and put it directly in my high interest savings account.
I often don’t leave myself a ton of money other than to cover rent and utility expenses as well as a little money for emergency purchases and unexpected costs. By doing so you still live on your “student budget” but are saving a large percentage of your pay instead of spending most of your paycheck since “you know you have the money now”.
Another important step is to develop a budget for both the summer and during the school year to determine how much money you will need for tuition, groceries, bus passes, utilities (on average) etc. By doing so you can figure out how much you will actually be able to spend when you go out, if you will have any leftover money to make clothing purchases etc. The sooner you start saving, planning and budgeting this summer the more money you will have saved and the less you will have to rely on student loans, credit cards and even your parents.
There are a variety of websites that provide excel spreadsheets to allow you to develop a budget. Check these
out
Yearly Budget Worksheet
Get Smarter About Money – Student Survival Kit
Set up a budget for the school year AND the summer
- Make sure to breakdown costs for tuition, groceries, utilities (you can base this on your previous years costs, they should be similar)
- This will give you an idea on what you will need, how much you will need to save and if you need a part-time job etc.
Note this post is just an overview, later posts will go more in depth into these topics.
Does anyone have any saving tips and tricks that they use?
