Money-saving tricks for students

I do not want to get too excited, but I feel that Spring is coming. That means we’ll finally abandon our heavy coats and we’ll be able to spend the afternoon reading on the lawn of the Meadows. The days get longer, and we all start thinking about all the places we want to visit during the summer.

But, before the selection of our holiday destination, we must overcome a small difficulty: we do not have enough money!

If you have not been saving since, at least, the beginning of the year, chances are it is going to be more challenging to do it now. But fear nothing! I share my money saving tricks here:

1.Set a realistic budget

The first mistake that many make when we want to save money is to establish a very restrictive budget so that after fifteen days we no longer have a single penny, but we still have half a month to go. A good idea is to establish a generous monthly budget, for example, 250 pounds (excluding rent), recognize fixed expenses -such as groceries, laundry, cell phone bill, subscriptions, etc.- and from what we have left set 20% to transfer directly to your savings account.

If you think of that 20% like any other account to pay, it will be easier for you to separate the money each month. And doing it the first day will avoid the temptation not to do it!

2. Use the “round up change” option from your bank

Many banks offer the round-up change service through their debit card. The system is secure and automatic, so you do not even have to worry. It works in the following way: suppose that every morning you are spending 1.80 on your Americano (really? You know you can make an Americano at home, right?) If you give your approval, the bank will round up the change and save the difference. That is, for every 1.80 coffee you spend, they will transfer 0.20 to the account of your preference.

Simple and without complications! I bet you will not even realize how much you can save with this little trick.

3. Understand how food labels work

The difference between “use by” and “best before” is straightforward. The “Use by” date is about safety; therefore you should not consume food after that date because the risk is that you will get ill. In the other hand, the “best before” date is about quality and freshness, therefore as long as you are not a picky eater, you can safely consume foods after that date.

This is an excellent webpage where you can find a lot of reduced products in the range of “best before”: https://www.approvedfood.co.uk/

But you can also buy a lot of these kind of products directly from the supermarkets. Look for the lower shelves to find the cheapest deals!

4. Make a challenge of it

If you are into viral challenges (we are not silently judging you) you should try the “no spend” challenge. It is effortless, just try to not spend money on things you do not need (yes, you do not need wine to survive) for as many days as you can. And yes, you can post a picture of it.

5. Try to pay with cash as much as you can

It is more challenging to keep track of how much you spend if you do not actually see your money fade away. So, a perfect strategy is to start paying with cash, in that way you would probably feel a little bit more of remorse after expending over 20 pounds during a weekend.

 

Good luck with your savings!

Cheers,

Sara

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