A Guide To Managing Your Finances As A Student Of Higher Education

One of the biggest hurdles many students face during the time spent for the attainment of their professional qualification is the limited and stringent budgets that constantly put them at odds due to which they come face to face with financial constraints on a daily basis. This is due to the fact that the majority of their funds are used to pay the hefty tuition charges at the university where they are enrolled for their graduate or post-graduate program. This leaves them with little to no monetary resources to pay for their other expenses like travel, rent, food supplies, utility bills (electricity, water, & gas), clothing, and other necessities of life. Thus in order to cope up with their expenses, many students are often observed to work part-time jobs and run shifts at a workplace to make some extra cash, which allows them to fare these everyday expenses in a more manageable manner. However, there are some ways through which you can effectively make a dent into these incurring expenditures and in this post, we would like to share with you some money-savvy tips that can help you manage your finances as a student of higher education. So without any further a due let us offer you some advice that can relieve you of this consistent stress which you must overcome during your tenure at a respectable institution for professional qualification:

Avail Your Status to Earn Discounts

While there is no doubt that we all have our complaints with the troubles we face during challenging times, there is always a silver lining to a cloud if you care to look for it. Surely as a student, you don’t judge yourself to be in an ideal position to have a go at luxuries or a life of extravagances whenever you feel like it, however, there are many ways through which your status as a student can get you some fabulous discounts. Here are a number of ways to help you out:

• International Student Identity Card – serving more than 133 countries worldwide the ISIC offers you over 150,000 student discounts for a mere £12 per year. These include concessions for various goods and serves such as traveling and insurances. The card is available for all students aged above 12 years with no upper age limits and remains valid for a period of 16 months and additional 4 months following the completion of a student’s educational program at an institute.
• NUS Extra – The National Union of Students of the UK is a member of the European Students’ Union and is based on around 600 affiliated students’ unions. The establishment has worked continuously to strive for the betterment of student lives on a whole and there is no doubt that your membership should serve you well over the years. The NUS Extra Card is available for £12 per year and valid for a period ranging from 1-3 years as per your wish. It is no doubt a popular choice amongst students and offers you tremendous discounts of up to £500 a year for students in the UK.
• Student Beans – talk about progressive times, The Student Beans is an online based discount exclusively made available for students through the support of Beans Group which is a youth-based media company. Students can register for free and have their digital id cards made available to them so that they can use them to get fabulous discounts online or through their smartphones.
• UNiDAYS – The smart and essential app that is available to smartphone users offers you terrific discounts for verified students of higher education at various retailers like Apple, ASOS, Express, Levi’s and many more. You have to be at least 16 years of age to sign-up for a subscription which is completely free of charge and last as long as your higher educational program reaches its competition.

Make Your Travelling Less Expensive

Commutation from one place to another can be problematic for students if they require daily travel from their residential quarters to their institutes. Here are some ways to lessen that burden on yourself:

• Young Person’s Railcard – a worthy investment for anyone who is aged 16 to 25 years or enrolled in a full-time study program. You can avail one-third of the fare as a discount for various fare packages including 1st Class Advanced, Off-Peak, Standard Advanced, and Standard Anytime fares with just £30 per year.
• 18+ Student Oyster Photocard – avail 30% off for bus and tram travel. In order to be eligible, you must be of 18 years of age and a verified student who is pursuing full-time or part-time studies at a school, college, or a university. However, this applies to students traveling in London, and to apply the administration charges are £20 per years along with a recent photo of yourself.
• VIP Backpackers Card – perfect for students who want to go for long travels and stay-ins. The VIP Backpackers Cars offers you 12 months of membership and provides you with worldwide discounts for international accommodations, travels, and tours. You are also able to receive additional information regarding your destination, guides for hostels, as well as a mobile SIM pack for international calling. Membership costs you only £12 per year.

Shopping On a Budget Made Easier

There is no doubt about the fact that cost of living may be considered a bit harsh for students in the UK, however, there are a reasonable amount of offers available to take this opportunity and make a decent lifestyle using your status quo. Such as:

• University ID Card – this card is presented to you by the institution and is absolutely free of cost. You can use this card to avail on-campus resources as well as present various other stores to acquire various discounts. This way you can save a lot on your spending.
• Student Debit Card – as a university student it might appeal to you to apply for a student debit card which can be enabled after acquiring a student bank account. This undergraduate bank account can serve you to be quite beneficial at times since it offers interest-free overdrafts. Thus if you get more into debt (which we certainly do not advise) you will not have to pay overbearing interest rates. Professional advice, however, is always preferred if you decide on making a selection, so speak to someone at a branch on high street bank to get proper advice before making a decision.
• Tesco Club Card – though this is not specifically aimed at students, however, the Tesco card can have you saving £10 every now and then. The card can be used on all Tesco outlets and collects points based on money spent on purchasing items. So when you do run out of your essentials this can be an easy way out to save some cash in the longer run. Tesco also partners itself with Cineworld, Pizza Express, and Uber. You can always visit their website to find out more information.
• Nectar Card – quite similar to one mentioned above, the Nectar card also works based on a point system. The more you spend the more points you collect and in the end, you might become eligible to receive digital vouchers including for places such as Argos, eBay, Go Ape, Sainsbury’s, Thorpe Park, Virgin Trains, Vue Cinema, and many more.

Plan a Budget & Stick to It

As a final note, we would just like to say that as a student you know that your time spent during learning years will only offer you slim pickings. Hence it is best that you plan or create a budget for yourself ahead of time, taking into consideration all of your requirements, including traveling, eating, clothing, and other essentials. You should never aim to overspend and always be wary of compulsive buying habits. Your time spent carefully measuring your expenses can also help you to manage your finances in the later parts of your professional career ahead. Learning to monitor your finances early on is always a plus point. In fact, we deem it as a necessary skill for everyone living in this current century. These are just simple precautionary measures that can help you manage your personal funds in a much better way and make you learn a thing or two about money control and futile spending.

We hope this post was able to offer you some much-needed insights regarding how to spend your money in a more reasonable and sensible manner. However, if you are a student who is currently facing a lot of trouble in composing their academic-related written work, then perhaps it would be best that you acquire professional and specialized support of qualified and experienced writers. Perhaps it would be best for you to seek the guidance of a reliable and dependable online assignment writing service that can offer you the tremendous quality of work on time at affordable and feasible charges. With their professional support aiding you throughout the process, you will become relieved of the stress of submitting an affluent and lengthy paper at the academia.