Saving money at university
For students, saving money at University should be a priority aside from getting good grades and having a good time. Here are some ways to save money at University:
• Have a budget of your own - having a plan on how to spend the money aside from tuition fees and all miscellaneous fees at university, will certainly make life easier. List all the necessary things to buy and stick to the budget. Try not to deviate from this plan, but be realistic too. Leave yourself some money aside for entertainment and having fun - thats what university is about!
• Do not spend too much money on food - Obviously eating well is still important, but you can be frugal with your shopping habits. Be practical when buying some foods as there are ways to save on your shopping bills, buy purchasing lesser brands. This also includes making your own tea or coffee and not paying someone £2.50 for the priviledge. The same goes for lunches, why not make your own food and bring it into university with you.
Buy second hand books to save a small fortune at university
• Always find good deals for books - inevitably, books are part of student’s life. Without them, knowledge would never be sufficient enough. Canvass bookshops to find which ones are cheapest, shop around and look on notice boards to find second hand text books from ex students.
• Do not spend too much on fashion - if you are to treat yourself, always find fashionable clothes which will not cost you too much. There are often vintage or discount clothes stores where you can do both.
Fashion is not about how expensive your clothes are, it is about style and how you carry off what you are wearing.
As a student, you should aim to do well to give you the best chance of success in the future. Remember that you can have all you want if you finish your studies, stay out of debt and work hard.
An introduction to debt management
Anyone’s circumstances can change. Their income can go down, their expenses can go up, they might have a baby, move house, get a new job involving more travel… Whatever the reasons, the payments they could comfortably afford three years ago may be impossible to make today.
If that problem sounds familiar, remember you’re not the first person to borrow money - or to have to deal with changes to their financial situation. If you realise you can’t make your payments any more, it may be the first time you’ve been in this situation, but your lenders will (almost certainly) have ‘been there before’.
So you may be surprised to find they’re willing to listen to your story, help you explore your options, and do what they can to help you find a way of repaying the money you owe them in a way you can realistically afford - i.e. more slowly than you originally agreed.
Having said that, they can’t help if they don’t know you’re struggling financially. That’s why it’s vital you get in touch with your lenders - or ask professionals to do it on your behalf.
A ‘debt management plan’ is a repayment plan that takes into account the fact that your situation has changed and you simply can’t keep up with your repayments any more. It involves talking to your lenders and telling them what you can realistically commit to paying every month once you’ve taken care of all your essential costs, from your mortgage/rent and food costs to your utility bills and essential transport costs.
Your unsecured lenders should understand that paying for these essential expenses has to be your top priority, and they may well agree to accept a pro rata (i.e. in relation to how much you owe them) portion of your disposable income (the income that’s left over once you’ve taken into account all your essential costs).
It’s up to you whether you talk to them on your own or ask a debt management organisation to do it for you.
Some people will prefer to do it on their own, maybe because they don’t want anyone else involved in their financial affairs, or maybe because they’re keen to save themselves the fee that the debt management organisation may charge.
Others would rather get some professional help so they don’t have to do all the calculations, negotiations, payments, etc. - they’d rather hand it all over to professionals, make one monthly payment and leave the rest to their debt management representative.
Either way, there are ‘cons’ as well as ‘pros’ associated with debt management. For example, repaying a debt more slowly will mean you’re defaulting on your agreement (not sticking to the terms you originally agreed to) and this will stay on your credit report for six years, which can make it harder and/or more expensive to get further credit during that time. It can also add to the overall cost of repaying your debt, since you’ll be paying interest for longer (unless your lenders agreed to freeze interest on your debt - or reduce it sufficiently).
Having said that, your lenders wouldn’t accept lower payments unless you were genuinely unable to keep up with the payments you originally agreed to make - so if you’re in that situation, there’s a fair chance you will have damaged your credit rating already.
Further reading
You can find more helpful advice on debt management here.
