Are you having an income expense mismatch due to which you end up borrowing money from their friends and family. As students, it is important for you to learn the art of money management at a young age so that it can tide you over in your career and by the time you become professional working adults. Keeping their various expenses and income range in mind this article will act as a practical guidebook for students.
Creating a budget
Budgeting is the process of estimating in advance the expenses which are likely to be incurred in future. It entails preparing in detail, how much funds will be needed to sustain yourself every month. It is highly advisable for you, as a student, to prepare a category wise budget like Food Budget, Telephone Budget, Travel Budget and jot down how much money would be required for each category.
Keep a track of expenses
It is very important for you to know where the money is coming from and where it is going. Keeping a track of your expenses will help you identify your over-spend and wasteful spend areas. Once your over spend and wasteful spend areas have been identified – you should try reducing them. You may maintain an expense sheet in a notebook or on Excel. If you have a smart-phone you can also use various Money Management Apps like Money Manager or Good Budget to create budgets and keep a track of your expenses.
Separate wants from needs
You should classify all your expenses into expenses on necessities and expenses on luxuries. The necessity expenses have to be incurred in any case but the luxury expenses can be reduced depending on your cash position.
Resist peer pressure
A lot of spending nowadays happens because of peer-pressure. Most of the people are buying phones, phone accessories, gaming tools not because they need it but because all their friends have it. It is very important for students living on a fixed low budget to resist such peer pressure which will help them save out on a lot of cash.
Look for discounts online
The product sold online on e-commerce sites are most of the times cheaper than the products sold in stores. As the cost for operating an e-commerce store are much lesser as compared to a physical store, the products sold on an e-commerce store are most of the times cheaper than physical stores. So the next time you have to buy any product or supplies, ensure you browse the internet before making a purchase.
Take advantage of student discounts
Money saved is money earned and you as a student should try to make the maximum of such offers. Many stores give additional discounts to students and hence you can buy products at a cheaper prices. Lots of restaurants and cafes also have happy hours and special offers for students which will help you save money. Keep your student i-card handy as these stores will ask for your student identity card to ensure that you are a student.
Learn about investment opportunities
After making all your expenses if you still have some money left – don’t keep it idle. Start investing it which will not only yield you good returns but also help you understand about various investment products. It’s never too early to begin your investment portfolio and with the magic of compounding it can turn into a sizeable investment.
Make investments in yourself
The Investments that yield the maximum returns are not the investments which you make on others but the investments that you make on yourself. Making Investments in yourself basically refers to taking a course that improves your skills like we at WEALTHVIDYA impart on all topics related in Financial Literacy. This could be a soft skills program or a course on improving your presentation Skills or attending some seminar or conference, all of which are offered at Wealth Vidya. These investments may not give instant returns but will go a long way in building your career.
