How to not go broke at university
I’m a second year university student and haven’t gone bankrupt (yet). I’m passionate about helping people learn to save money and that’s why I’m interning at Pennybox, a business that educates kids about finance.
You’re at university, here are eight tips to stay on top of it financially:
- Savvy Spending on Campus
This heading can also be read as, ‘How to be a low key stinge and capitalise on freebies.’
Warning: People may call you Ebenezer Scrooge, but you’re the real winner because you have this precariously tall pile of gold coins at home.
I suggest joining as many clubs as you can. This isn’t because it is a brilliant place to socialise, although I suppose that can be a bonus. It’s because clubs have food.
I have gone into univeristy countless times with no lunch and a mix of silver coins in my bag. You just need to have a keen eye for the Vietnamese Society setting up a barbeque across campus or the Evangelical Union heading a bake sale. Your broad club commitments and critical spending of $1.30 will get you through the day reasonably well fed with an eclectic meal.
2. Look for University Discounts
I haven’t bought clothes at full price for a year now. Unfortunately this doesn’t mean I look this grunge and 2000’sy every day.
I just buy clothes second hand or with insane discounts, usually through UNiDAYS. This point could have probably been filed under ‘Savvy Spending’ but I just wanted an excuse to post a photo of Lilo with those streaks.
3. Buying Dreaded Textbooks
Every student knows that textbooks are the true bane of our financial existence. It is not uncommon to see people instantly drop dead in university textbook shops upon seeing the price of their readings. Please see actual photo of me when I saw the hit to my wallet.
My advice strays away from typical. I am not sold by online textbook buisnesses like StudentVIP. My experience with online selling involves sending out endless messages looking for a textbook, no one replies, then 4 days later Karen says, “soz it’s sold.” Needless to say for me it was just a great process which brought both happiness and convenience. Of course it may work for you, it is an awesome concept.
I do recommend your university’s student textbook shop, for both selling and buying. They will probably buy at a base percentage of recommended retail value and sell at another.
4. Find the Right Job
Everything in life has a cost, and having money coming in is the first step to financial freedom. Who knows you may even meet the love of your life, in her mum’s body.
Okay, I did watch ‘Freaky Friday’ last week and forgot how good it was.
Figuring out which part time job is best can be really difficult. Internships within your field of study are unpaid and yet require two years experience, whereas most retail and hospitality jobs both pay badly and won’t interest you directly. The only advice is to work hard. Commitment to your job in retail will both start your savings and help you on your way to your desired career.
5. Savings
This is both the most obvious and most ignored piece of advice given to new university students. To do this you will need to widen your vision from the present. Instead of building your own $8 Boost Juice today (seriously, how expensive is Boost), put the money away.
Really you just need to be consistent. Put a gold coin or two away each week, it will build up. You’ll need to cut down on impulse buys as well, linking back to savvy spending (who knew I could use the word savvy three times in one article).
6. Changing Socialising Habits
A major thing you need to change if you are serious about saving money is choosing when you spend. You will need to phase from days out like this:
To ones like this:
No, I’m only joshing you can have exciting nights like this:
I don’t have all the answers (or any answers really) but you will just need to find your groove in what to spend your money on. Once you have had this change of mindset you’ll be well on your way to gaining financial freedom.
7. Interest Rates
I feel myself growing into middle age just typing the words interest and rates together, but just stick with me. Thinking about this when you’re young is really important. If you hate working you need to look for the best interest rates, it is money making money. Before you know it you will have the person at the bank looking like this at how much cash you’ve got.
(Ideally it would take you less time than Fry.)
8. You should have gotten onto Pennybox early
If you’d grown up with Pennybox you wouldn’t have needed to read this exceptionally helpful list. I know, that’s both good and bad. You’d have grown up financially educated, but then who would have reminded you what an underrated film ‘Freaky Friday’ is.
Pennybox is an app which teaches kids about money. You will gain saving habits early, that will make you scoff at tips 1–7. The earlier you know how to prioritise purchases and tend to savings the better your financial experiences in early adulthood. If you are starting uni now, I’m essentially telling you that you’ve missed your chance. But, stop worrying, not all is lost. If you have kids in your life let them know about Pennybox, be it your siblings, cousins, or three great nephews.
Yes I had to google Donald Duck’s family tree to get that relation right.
If you liked these tips, or just enjoyed the early 2000’s references being forced into finance, follow our story and check out Pennybox on Facebook and Twitter.
If you’re interested, get early access to the Pennybox app here.
