Almost every university student can relate to the days sitting on the floor, eating 20 cent ramen noodles out of an overused, rusted pot, glancing at the mobile banking app with a dollar to their name. It’s in those situations where we wonder when things are going to get better.
As a current university student that has to pay for rent, tuition, groceries and everything in between, I find myself questioning when the stressful feeling of watching my bank account rapidly decrease will ever be over.
Although all of this could be solved with “simple” budgeting or cutting out non-essential expenses, I found some tips and tricks to work around spending — without having to jeopardize what makes you happy.
For me, being able to go out on the weekends, enjoy a restaurant meal and occasionally tend to my shopping addiction are all activities that keep the serotonin flowing. Just because I have many other expenses that I prioritize doesn’t mean that I need to cut out the ones that make me happy.
In order to engage in the things I love most, I needed to quickly change some of my spending habits. However, I have never been the one to plan or budget. Although it may work for many people, I found obsessively tracking my spending only added to the mountains of stress I already was experiencing in my life like school. My spending needed to adapt to my university life or I would be eating way less than ramen noodles for dinner. Here are some of the tips I use to help me save money without obsessing over it.
Walk More
Ubers are expensive and those $3.25 subway trips can add up pretty fast. Walking, when possible, can help save a lot of money that could be put towards something else. Not only is walking free, but it’s also a great form of exercise. According to Net Doctor UK, consistent walking can help reduce the chances of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, depression and even Alzheimers. Along with these health benefits, walking can be a quick lifestyle change. This works in saving a few dollars here and there to be able to put towards those leisure expenses.
Mix up your Protein
When I started doing my own groceries, a good portion of my receipt was spent on animal by-products like chicken breast or ground beef. As someone who exercises regularly and focuses on daily protein intake, but also doesn’t have the money to spend a fortune on their weekly grocery bill, I began to research cheaper protein alternatives. This is where I discovered beans and tofu! Some people might consider incorporating meat in their weekly groceries a must, and to be honest, I also like to have at least a couple meals based around those certain proteins. But not only is it cheaper to mix it up, it’s also better for the environment. According to Green America, “eating lower on the food chain overall can help significantly lower your personal greenhouse gas emissions.”
Additionally, living alone as a university student has forced me to start meal prepping. This has helped with not only saving money, as I no longer have the excuse of laziness to not eat my own cooking, but has also saved me time as I have everything planned out for the week.
Here are some meal prep ideas you can try!
Shop Second Hand
If I could buy endless amounts of matching Aritzia sweatsuits, I would. But as a broke university student, that just isn’t practical for my budget and what I want to spend my money on. I love shopping but getting new clothes is not something I want to veto out of my monthly spending habits. Instead of spending money at stores I can barely afford, I focus a lot of my shopping at thrift stores such as Value Village. A lot of the pieces at these stores are budget-friendly and unique as you never know what you will find.
Shopping secondhand is not only budget-friendly, but it’s also more sustainable than buying from fast fashion corporations. According to an article from Good on You, “three out of five fast fashion items end up in a landfill,” and “the average American throws away around 81 pounds of clothing yearly.” An easy way to reduce your carbon footprint while also saving money is supporting second-hand stores that focus on recycling and reusing what would otherwise be considered “waste.”
Focus on the Free
I am a sucker for having fun on the weekends, and this is where I tend to mindlessly overspend. However, I found most of my money was being spent on overpriced activities that I could easily cut out of my casual lifestyle. As a student, there are plenty of free things to do in Toronto that can help you save some money on the weekend. Places like museums offer either free admission or discounted entry. See, you can still experience the culture of the city without making a dent in your bank account.
Here is a list of free and discounted things to do in Toronto as a student.
These tips may not be functional for everyone’s lifestyle but they’re a few suggestions for students trying to save money, without having to make a monthly excel sheet or track every purchase made in one of those helpful yet somewhat stressful banking apps. The important takeaway here is that there are ways for students to save money by just making little changes to their day-to-day spending habits. Who knows, if you follow any of these suggestions, you might even end up with a tasty new staple recipe, a fun new piece of clothing and a free favourite spot in the city.