Budgeting Tips for College Students

Living is an art, the more you master it, the more you learn to explore avenues to make it prosperous and incessantly flourishing. But living within means, spending wisely and sketching the future glorious financial freedom is much more than just art. That art of financial freedom and prosperous future can only be mastered through financial literacy. The fundamental lesson taught in financial literacy is how to live within means and that ‘means’ recognized by financial veterans is nothing but budgeting wisely.  Prudent budgeting is, therefore, equally important for all people whether they hail from lower stratum of society or from perks and privileges enjoying elites, whether they are sitting at top notch management positions or those seeking to make their both ends meet. But when students are brought to limelight, the budgeting becomes far more important for students than any one else because of their extreme budgetary limits coupled with their extravagant nature.

Are you a student confined by monthly and yearly financing? often run short of pocket money much before than you want, you have to pay boarding expenses, semester fees,  you need  books to study without any push or force for resubmitting them to wherefrom you borrowed or you need enough funds available at your discretion  to go for picnic, other entertainment and extracurricular activities. If your answer to these statements is affirmative, then here are the time tested techniques by financial gurus that can make your life happier, prosperous and provide you with trouble free financial freedom and teach you how to get most of your limited funds.

1. Look at your total available budget.

Determine beforehand what amount you have available to spend and how much you are expecting to receive during your study duration.

1. Prioritize areas to spend.

You need to prioritize all of your activities according to value and level of urgency needed. Decide where you have to spend and how much amount. Make sure that you don’t spend your entire money.

1. Look for used books instead of new ones.

Buying new books can be expensive, so it is always better to search used books which can be purchased at pretty much discounted price. If you decide to purchase brand new edition then try to make arrangement with bookseller for selling him after completion of your course.

1. Buy from discount stores.

Whether you are buying academic books, software CDs, music CDs, clothing or grocery items then visiting discount stores is the most viable option. By shopping form such stores in bulk, substantial amount can be saved.

1. Take extreme care of your credit cards.

It is always more tempting to spend as much money as possible while using the credit card because this is some thing that is not emptying your pockets  at the time you purchase some thing, you realize when due date for repayment approaches very  fast and you wander to make arrangements to prevent  your credit credibility from erosion.

1. Discharge obligations on time.

If you have received bills to be paid by specific date; then make sure to make payment by the due date else surcharges can further exhaust your limited income.

1. Learn Pooling.

Whether you are visiting your home during vacations or visiting any enchanting place, and then instead of driving alone, try to determine who is going along the same route, travel together with him / her to share and jointly bear the expenses.

1. Never miss the opportunity of grants, bursaries and scholarships.

During studies institutes often offer scholarships and grants to needy students. Grabbing such opportunities can swell up your funds that can enable you to purchase more or save for future spending.

1. Be a tutor.

To day there are lots of opportunities for teaching in various disciplines. You can teach either to your immediate academic juniors or you can become a freelance writer to get most of your skills, ability and writing skills.

1. Carefully choose residential apartment.

If you are staying out of hostel then always try to live in apartment near to the campus to avoid   fares and wastage of time. Living together with other colleagues and classmates in an apartment can lower the burden of rent that you will have to pay alone.

These are the various means, which if students adopt can tremendously benefit from and can make their budgets within limits and relish the fruits of better budgeting.

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