Students' budget is limited. Some parents only give their children their allowance for the month or just even for a week. Sometimes, these students want to buy their favorite clothes or just want to eat with their friends in a mall but they actually can't because of their limited budget. This is where the importance of saving is contemplated. So I want to share you my top secrets on how to save money as a student and I hope this would be helpful to you:
PAY ALL YOUR DEBTS
The first thing to do is to settle all your debts. Imagine this: you are saving for a new cellular phone. After three months of successful saving, you are now ready to buy your new phone. But wait, there's more! Someone knocked on your door and he is compelling you to pay for your one-year-old debt that actually amounts to your savings. How would you feel?
KNOW YOUR GOAL
Why do you want to save? Do you want to buy a new cellular phone? Or you just want to save to establish a strong liquidity? Always bear in mind that savings shall be meaningful. Some students save, say for a new phone, but when they see other things, they are often tempted to buy them. At the end, they fail to save for a new phone. When you set your goals, never get distracted by something. Always evade temptations.
MAKE A BUDGET LIST
Know your expenses for the week. It is better if you will write them on a paper or even on a notebook. This helps you to evaluate yourself if you are spending too much. It also pays to record all of the things you bought even a piece of candy or just an order of potato fries. A week after, compare your actual expenses and the expenses that you have listed. You will surely find a big difference!
EXPENSES=MONEY INCOME-SAVINGS
A basic economic equation states that savings is the the difference of money income and expenses. But I highly recommend you to use the above equation instead. As soon as you get your allowance, settle immediately your savings. And the remaining amount would be for your expenses. It is totally up to you how to budget it. Just make sure that when you ran out of money for your expenses, you do not use your savings.
USE 50-30-20 FORMULA
This means that you have to settle 50% of your allowance for your expenses, 30% for your unexpected expenses like school projects, and 20% for your savings. After a week and you found out that the 30% is still there or has an excess, do not spend it yet. Make it as your savings instead. I highly recommend this for those who cannot obey the former formula.
OPEN A SAVINGS ACCOUNT
This is very necessary. Opening a savings account also minimizes the probability of your spending. The more you see money on your hand, the more urge you feel of spending it. So the best way to do, is to hide/keep it far from your sight.
STAY WITH FRUGAL FRIENDS
They say Tell me who you're friends are and I will tell who you are.When you are with spendthrift people, you might absorb their attitude of spending lavishly! So it's better to stay with your frugal friends when you are saving. You might consider studying with them in the library or just go to a park instead to a mall.
KEEP A HECTIC SCHEDULE
Simple logic. When you are busy and focused to something, you are far from tempting. Instead of hanging out in a mall, why don't you do and finish your assignments and projects? I also believe that when you are bored, you tend to seek for a place that will reinvigorate you like arcades and Karaoke Hub.
USE DIFFERENT JARS
When I applied this method, I could say that I had maximized my savings drastically. I used two wallets for my expenses. One is for my fare and the other one is for my food allowance. I made it to the point that whatever happened, fare is only for fare and food is only for food — regardless whether the jeep driver has no coins for my change.
These are just some of practical ways of spending and saving money. Always remember that saving comes with a wise spending. The two are always intertwined.
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