10 Best Money Saving Tips for Students

Irrespective of your family status, you have to manage what you have!

Either rich or poor, as a reasonable student, it should be one of your priorities.

Indeed, it can be challenging to save money and manage what you have as a student.

I was there, so I know how it feels.

But trust me, it is obtainable. 

Well, with no delay, below are the best money saving tips for students. They will make you enjoy your semester in the best way.

The 10 Best Money Saving Tips for Students Around the Globe

1. Design a Realistic Budget

Having a budget as a student is one of the best money saving tips for students. 

It helps you understand exactly where your expenses are going and what those expenses are. 

Making it accurate is vital. How would you accomplish that?

Tips

• First, identify all sources of income.
• Then sum the amount you get either every month, weekly basis, or based on semesters.
• Make a list of all you spend
• Add asterisks to the ones that are important – expenses like transportation, food, utilities, and medicals are essential and must be added.
• Strikeout the unimportant ones
• Then write the new essential list in a new sheet.
• If you get funds elsewhere, add it.
• Then add other expenses on miscellaneous.

Of course, your budget should not extend beyond what you get each semester. 

So after honestly designing a realistic budget, what’s next?

You have to work with the budget, but what will help you?. 

The next nine best money saving tips for students will explain further.

Students are usually exposed to the latest gadgets, latest snacks, and the latest wears.

2. Buy Only What You Need

This might tempt you to purchase things that weren’t featured in your budget. 

That means, as soon as you get to school, do these:

Tips

• Buy first; things featured on your budget
• When heading to make the purchase, go with your list
• Resist the urge to purchase items that weren’t on your list unless the price is insignificant

With this last point, what will make you make a sound judgment?

That leads us to the next tip.

Also Read on Online Shopping Hacks to Save Money: Remarkable Tips

3. Be Realistic With Your Miscellaneous 

Your miscellaneous should cover expenses that aren’t specific.

But they are so essential that you can’t do without them.

Tips

• Fix a price range that’s not too small nor too big
• Before you buy anything that’s not in your budget, be sure that it doesn’t take beyond ⅖ of the price fixed for miscellaneous.
• Be sure that the urge to buy isn’t from peers; if that is it, don’t do it.
• During an occasional outing, don’t leave home with any fee that’s budgeted, only hold little, and for good reasons, keep your ATM card at home.

4. Stay Alert For Offers

Contrary to what some might hold, offers for students are an excellent way to manage money. 

Don’t needlessly feel on top of the world and think you don’t need them. 

The beauty of this is that you might use the money saved from offers to purchase some other valuable items or save it. 

But what suggestions can you watch out for and how should you do it?

Tips 

• Read thoroughly before you opt-in for any offer.
• Make Use of Restaurants Coupon
• Attend events that are only free of charge for students.
• Stay relevant in the school websites, forums, or popular forums in your locality for free shows.
• Before shopping online or offline, check for coupons
• Check for ride offers and take advantage of them.
• Use Local Libraries to get free access to the internet, expensive books, and other materials.
• Always walk with your ID card and watch for shops that offer discounts to students.

5. Prepare Your Food

You would agree that preparing one’s meal saves money than eating out.

Also, it helps you maintain good health. 

But in the face of plenty of tasks in school, it might not be easy to keep up. 

Try these out:

Tips

• Keep a moderate daily to-do-list that includes cooking.
• Buy enough foodstuff
• Design Your Meal Schedule
• If you don’t like waking up early, prepare it a night before
• Use leftovers from dinner to cover up for money meal
• Prepare in large quantity any day you had a clue that you’d not be able to cook throughout the day
• Have an excellent flask to keep food warm for lunch or dinner
• Learn new cooking skills.

You Can Also Check: Personal hygiene tips for students

6. Master a Strong Bargaining Power 

Unlike online goods with their fixed price, some offline products don’t come with a fixed price. 

It is within the seller’s jurisdiction to sell at a price they believe will be profitable. 

A buyer needs to have a strong bargaining power so that he or she won’t be cheated.

But how do you earn this?

Tips

• Before you head out for purchase, Google up the item to have an idea of the price range.
• Ask a friend what the price range could be?
• When you get to the market, using the information you gathered, tell your price after the seller must have told you one.
• If he or she insists, offer to walk away politely and look for another seller and repeat the same step.
• Check the difference. If it’s cheaper, buy it. If it’s higher, you could try another seller or return to the first seller.

7. Walk Small Distances 

I’ve tried this a few times, and it has worked wonders.

That’s why it’s part of the best money saving tips for students. 

Yes, you don’t need to be a muscular person before you can try that out.

These are all you need:

Quick Suggestions

• Rent an apartment closer to the campus if you weren’t offered accommodation in the college 
• Any distance that could be completed between 5-7 minutes walk it
• Be time conscious so you won’t have to leave home late. 
• If you are going with friends, suggest you walk in a group
• If you have the strength, do it at least 3-4 times a week.

Also Read on Healthy Living: 6 Tips for Good Health and Fitness

8. Use the Internet Decently

This point is especially needed in regions where data access is limited. 

Have you experienced that if you stay glued to the internet all day, you will indeed find reasons to keep surfing? 

What does that mean?

There is no boundary to the number of things you can explore on the internet! 

Thus, manage your time and data.

The more you manage your data, the more you manage your money.

Tips

• Make sure your expenses on internet subscription is added to your budget
• Set the realistic time you will need to visit the internet
• Set your media download option to when needed and not automatically
• Be selective in the videos you watch or stream on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks.
• Before you download videos, music, and others, ask friends if they have it.
• Set Data limits so you can keep watch on data consumption
• Then, if need be, restrict some apps that consume a lot of data.

9. Purchase Only Quality Materials

When we have little, we are often tempted to go for quantity over quality. 

But in the real sense, the reverse should be the case.

Invest in quality shoes, clothes, and wristwatches.

Tips

• Don’t go for overpriced designers or products.
• Ask from trusted friends where you can get quality materials at fair prices.
• Maintain them, clean when appropriate, and follow manufacturers’ guidelines.

10. Save Money if Possible

As a student, I know that one of the least things that will come to your mind is “savings.”

But many folks are doing that. 

At least, when I was still in school, I saved money and bought my first smartphone. 

What helped and what other things can you do?

Tips

• Think of a side income that wouldn’t interfere with your academics.
• Split money coming from these into two, one goes to your piggy bank, and the other augments your expenses, like gifting others and buying gadgets.
• Send money you saved during free offers to piggy banks
• Sell unused items and keep the money for something else.

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, we don’t always take note of our expenses until it dawns on us. 

Nevertheless, with these best money saving tips for students, you are now able to manage your money the right way. 

You can begin to apply these suggestions. What will be the result?

People will be stunned at how financially disciplined you are. 

And above all, you will be happy at yourself that even with little, you are doing quite well.