How To Budget For Uni

Congratulations on making it to uni! Time to enjoy your first year living away from home. Sounds like fun and games, right? Well, yes but it includes a certain amount of personal responsibility to make sure you’re living your best life and not surviving on instant noodles at the end of term.

Why Is Budgeting At University Important?

At school and college, there’s limited teaching on how to manage money properly and budget, even though it’s an incredibly important life skill to learn early on. Learning how to budget for uni will stay with you throughout your life, and if you build a solid foundation now, you’ll be sorted for when you’ve got to start adulting properly. Budgeting allows you to spend more on things you need, enjoy (within reason), and have amazing experiences like holidays and trips.

Right, Now We Know Budgeting Is Important But Where Do We Start?

The first step of learning how to budget for uni is understanding how much money you have to spend. There are a few different streams of income a student can have; your maintenance loan, a part-time job, bursaries/ grants and help from your parents. Once you’ve totalled how much you’ll have for a term you can split it into essential and non-essential,  then break it down into more manageable chunks. Having a weekly or monthly budget will provide you with some structure. If you feel you need a stricter schedule to keep you on track, then a weekly budget may be better. 

Set Realistic Goals

You know that horrible feeling when you open your online banking app to see £2.50 to last you a week? That’s what we’re trying to help you avoid! To encourage healthy spending habits and avoid running out of money, it’s important to be realistic and factor in spending for fun. For example, if you say you’re not going on any nights out or getting any takeaways (which is completely unrealistic…), these won’t be factored into your budget and will lead to overspending when you crack (and you will).

Helpful Tools We Recommend

There are certain banks like Starling or Monzo that send real-time push notifications when you spend money and categorise your purchases to show summaries of what you’re spending on most. These are very helpful when learning how to budget for uni as they show your spending habits clearly and concisely. Student budget trackers are also useful tools to help you budget properly, and there is a wide range available such as Moneylover and Goodbudget that will help you set boundaries and keep them! 

Student Discounts

This tool may seem obvious, but we’re just reminding you that as a student you have access to a brilliant range of exclusive discounts. Using apps such as UNiDAYs and Student Beans will give you percentages off most big and small brands. Winner winner! 

To Summarise…

To sum up, the university experience is about having fun and learning. It’s important to allow yourself to make mistakes BUT if you practise healthy spending habits and budgeting, it will be so much easier in later life (trust us). So, do your future self a favour and dedicate a little time this year to learn how to budget for uni - starting with the top tips above!