The journey of becoming financially independent can be challenging, especially when on a student budget. With students making such little revenue, tactics on how to budget and save money can help decrease stress on students.
- Look at your spending!
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I feel that by using my credit and debit card for a majority of my spending, a lot of my expenses are invisible to me. Instead, I’ve begun creating the habit of actively looking at my card statement regularly to see what I’m spending money unnecessarily on, and if there are expenses I can cut down on.
Seeing my expenses visually definitely helps me see exactly where my money is going.
- Save Money While Grocery Shopping!
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One’s budgeting and expenses can be greatly affected by one’s grocery shopping, since it is a larger expense in a student’s life. Planning out your meals, making a specific budget, creating a shopping list, buying in bulk, buying frozen, or even using grocery delivery services, can help prevent impulse purchases and limit unnecessary expenses.
Efficient grocery shopping can guarantee you have all the ingredients you need and prevent eating out too much. You don’t need a strict meal plan, but having meals that you enjoy and are easy will diminish the temptation of getting take-out.
- Make Your Own Coffee!
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Oh my goodness! Going out for coffee multiple times a week was the quickest way my money diminished. Due to it being such a small expense, it caught up to me later on just how much I was spending. Investing in coffee supplies and tools that help you make delicious coffee that you enjoy will help save you so many unnecessary charges.
- Buy Second-Hand
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I have found that anything you need can either be found on Facebook Marketplace or at Value Village. Obviously, there will be things you want to buy new, but for objects that you don’t mind investing time in to find and can be reused, why not save a bit of money on them and find unique pieces?
- Love What You Have
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Instead of constantly replacing and collecting objects such as clothes and furniture, learn to love what you have. This can include altering pieces by cutting them in shorts or painting furniture a new color.
Learning these skills at a young age can be extremely beneficial. Adapting the skills of learning how to save money are skills that you can carry with you through your whole life. Budgeting, saving, and learning what money you can comfortably spend on items to “spoil” yourself can greatly help prevent unnecessary stress in your life.