Being a student sometimes feels like sitting on the fence.
There is so much on your plate, and you don’t know how to cope with it all.
Once upon a time, I was also a student and faced the same situations.
I totally get it, being a student, you have to take care of so many things.
However, things have changed a lot. If I compare the 90s era and this generation, a few problems are still the same, and one of them is how to save money as a student.
If you searched this query, that means you are already on the correct path.
Ask me, “why”?
As a student, if you are thinking about saving money, that means you have some future plans in your mind, and that's a really great thought. There are tremendous benefits to starting to save money early.
Also, when you start saving early, you learn about so many things related to budgeting, saving, investing options, etc. Another benefit is that you become conscious of your spending.
Now let’s go back to our question, which is, “How can I save money as a student?”
Well, different people have different opinions, and so do I. But one thing I can assure you here is that I’m about to reveal some important and realistic ways to achieve it. Here, I’m not going to promote so-called things that will hardly make any sense.
Compelling Ways to Save Money as a Student - Step by Step Guide
First things first. You have to decide on which category you come in. Are you a working student or a non-working student? Do you want to save money without working or doing any part-time job?
Steps are almost the same for both categories, but in this article, I am specifically going to cover how to save money as a student without working.
So if you are a non-working student and looking for tips on how to save money as a student, this guide will prove helpful for you.
How to Save Money as a Student Without Working
Being a student and working full-time does not work for every student. If you are a student and not working, that means you probably get pocket money every month.
So this guide is made specially for the people who are not working and getting pocket money and want to save money.
Well, don’t be sad. I have one individual article for students who are working and want to start saving.
But in this article, we only focus on how to save money without working. The following are the top ways to save money.
Save 20% of your Monthly Pocket Money
This is the correct answer to your question, “How much money should I save as a student?”
20% is essential to keep aside if you are thinking about saving money. However, it also depends on the amount you get every month.
If it is not possible for you to save 20%, make it a 10% and try to increase this percentage. Think about the longer run.
Saving 20% may sound like a big deal to you, but it is not. It feels this way as you are not habituated to saving money.
Calculate your Monthly Expenses
What are your monthly expenses?
If you live with your parents, your expenses will be less compared to the students who live away from home.
So, calculate your monthly expenses to understand your monthly spending. Creating a list helps you find out the difference between wants and needs.
Once you created the list. Check out the list carefully, and you’ll understand where you went wrong.
Some people prefer yearly, and some prefer monthly. Well, in your case, I’ll say go for monthly expenses because calculating yearly will be too time consuming and it becomes difficult to plan the whole year ahead.
Also, if in the middle of the month something unusual comes up, include that spending too.
Even today, I create a monthly expense list and record every expenditure of mine. This helps me understand where my money goes.
To calculate your monthly expenses, you can use journals, a simple diary or just grab your notebook. No need to spend on expensive monthly trackers.
It is that easy.
Don't Get Addicted
Are you addicted to anything?
If not, good thing. If yes, try to overcome it. Any kind of addiction is not good for health.
Here I’m not only talking about money but also about your health.
Just because your friend is smoking, you do not have to. Even if he forces you, don’t fall for it.
It will not only affect your budget but also affect your health (mental as well as physical).
Once you get addicted to something, it takes years to break that habit. So in the first place, it is better to stay away from it.
Don’t get me wrong here. You should hang out with all types of friends, but you must understand the difference between wrong and right.
In short, you must know your limits. Knowing your limits will protect you from so many bad habits and help you stay focused.
Avoid Going Out Every Other Weekend
School/college life is never going to come back, and that’s why everyone wants to experience it to the fullest, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
But as I said earlier, you must know your limits. If you are going out every other weekend, that will eventually affect your pocket. Along with this, it will also affect your studies.
You have so many things to do rather than partying every other weekend. You can spend your weekend by doing any sports activity, going for a walk alone, spending me-time, organising your things, doing weekend jobs, and there are tons of things that you can do on weekends and spend your weekend joyously.
You can also list the things that you want to do on weekends and divide your weekends accordingly.
Bring your Tiffin to School/College
Every school and college has a canteen nowadays, but that does not mean you have to spend your money on canteen food. As you never know whether the food is hygienic or not.
I know schools and colleges are under the surveillance of food inspectors. They often visit schools and colleges to check the food quality, but there is a possibility that your canteen serves you food from the previous day or the day before yesterday, without your concern.
For a min, just forget all I said but how much you are spending on by having food at the canteen.
In contrast, you can plan your weekly meal and accordingly do grocery shopping. Also, this is the best way to learn cooking.
Suppose you go to a country where you won’t find your favourite meals, you could cook for yourself.(Best deal, I know)
Walk or Cycle to the School/College
Walking and cycling are good for your health - you indeed heard about this so many times.
But did you apply this in your life?
When we choose a school or college, it is mostly a few miles away from our home. So why choose a school transport facility unless it is free of cost?
You have three options here.
First, use public transportation, second cycling and third walking.
If the public transportation in your city is costly and your school or college is not far away, simply choose walking or cycling. Either way is good for your health and your pocket.
This is among the best ways to save money as a student.
Open Child/Minor Savings Account
This should be your #1 priority on “how to save money effectively as a student”.
Search for the government-authorised and trustworthy banks in your country and nearby branches. Ask your parents, as they know better when it comes to finances.
After choosing your bank, all you have to do is open your account, and you can start putting some money into it every month.
Buy and Sell Used Books (Unessential Items)
When I was in college, this was among the best ways for me to make some money without doing anything.
However, if you want to sell your books, make sure that you keep them neat and tidy. As long as your books are in good shape, you can easily find people to buy them and can grab a good deal.
Other than this, if you have some other things that you no longer need or are not going to use, you can sell them and earn a significant amount.
Check out the below platforms where you can find the best deal.
Where to Sell Used Books
- Amazon
- Facebook market and groups
- eBay
- Local vendor
Not only can you sell used books, but you can also sell other used items here. Don’t you think it’s a good way to contribute your bit to recycling?
Buy or Take on Rent the Used Books you Require
The same goes with you. Just think for a moment, people who are buying your used books, why are they doing this?
The answer is they want to save some money. If you go to buy new books, obviously, it will cost you more. So why not buy used books or take them on rent?
It may sound cheap to some people, but for your question of how to save money as a student without working, it would be a great fit.
In your 20s this would be an awesome hack one can use to save money in their 20s.
Use Personal Expense Tracker App
No doubt, today’s generation is tech-savvy and stays glued to their smartphones all the time. So why not put these smartphones to better use?
Your smartphone is indeed filled with lots of useful and useless apps. But have you downloaded a personal expense tracker app?
Trust me, you must. By downloading a personal tracker app, you can keep an eye on spending.
If you are kind of an old-fashioned person just like me, keep a budget journal with you and note down every spending of yours.
So if you really wanna know how to spend money wisely as a student, I guess you have got your answer.
Here is the detailed guide on how to use personal tracker apps and the best personal tracker apps to use in 2023.
So these are some of the ways through which you can save a significant amount of money. But it wouldn’t be possible for you to save a lot by applying the above methods.
In my suggestion, after a particular age, one should start working. It helps you in many ways that I talked about in the article, why a student should start working.
I totally get it, as a student, it won’t be possible for you to work full-time. But there are many jobs that have requirements for part-time candidates. Search for those jobs.
After this, the first question that may come to your mind is what part-time jobs I can do. So, below is the answer to your question.
What Part-time Jobs can I do as a Student?
The opportunities are tremendous, but you have to decide by yourself what you can do, as you have to manage your studies as well.
Before giving you a list of the jobs you can do part-time, let me tell you about another way.
Some students can’t manage jobs and studies at the same time, so what you can do is work during summer vacations or whenever your college or school gives vacations. As a result, it won’t affect your studies.
You will find many seasonal jobs in your local area if you stay alert.
To your question, what part-time jobs you can do, here also two types.
One is offline and the second is online.
Offline means here you have to go to a particular place to do work, and online, from your couch, you can work and earn money.
Related to -
Now, here you have to understand the difference. Nowadays, most people prefer online, undoubtedly it is among the best ways to earn money.
But whatever you do online takes time. Whether it's blogging, vlogging, becoming an influencer, freelancer, or whatnot. So if you want to start earning online, initially take it as a side gig. This option is best for financially stable students.
But what if you want money monthly to deal with your expenses? In this scenario, going for offline work should be preferable. However, along with your offsite work, you can also work on an online side hustle. And when you think that you are earning a significant amount from your online gig, you can completely focus on your side hustle, making it a full-time earning source.
One more thing I want to say here is, don’t compare yourself with anyone else. This is your life. If someone is doing X thing, it doesn’t mean that you have to do the same thing.
Nowadays, people get influenced easily, and this is where they make mistakes.
Honestly speaking, I never followed any trend, and even now I don’t follow it unless it seems worthy to me.
I want to share my secret with you all (I know after sharing it here it will be no more secret) - I’m that kind of person who never installed TikTok or tried it, never played Candy Crush or tried it.
If something does not feel right for you, don’t do it. There are so many better things to do.
Hope this answer clarified some things for you.
My Opinion
I was in your place some time ago, and I know how difficult being a student is. We see different types of students, some are rich, some are poor or middle-class, some are super smart, and some are average.
Somewhere, we try to fit into them. But hear me loud, don’t try to fit into a place where you do not belong. You are an individual and take pride in it.
When you start working, using, or selling used books, there will be some people who will make fun of you.
Just ignore them. You are now working on building your own empire, and you are going to become a queen or king of that empire. So keep on working to achieve your goals.
See you in the next blog!
Till then, lots of love!
Keep studying, keep growing.
