LIVE, your guide for student life September 2014 | Page 14

HOW TO STRETCH YOUR BUDGET
M

anaging a budget is not as
hard as you think. The hardest
thing is not to make it, but how
you can stick to the new plan.
Remember, money is part of
your lifestyle and character. New
student must face living on a
budget especially when coming
away from home. Here they are
the step to save your money while
studying, from Shara Athinson,
a Student Finance Advisor from
Birmingham City University:
Step 1 : Your living cost
Create your budget to know
how much estimated living cost
from your basic expense, these
include: your rent, food, travel,
and book expenditure. Based
on the data taken from Save the
Student! student finance survey
2012, rent is the largest proportion of a student’s outgoings,
with food and socialising the
next largest drain on finances at
almost half that. See if there is
something you can reduce from.
Focus on spending money only on
needs.

Step 2: Go for groceries with
friends
Usually, some supermarkets
offer to buy two for one deal that
much cheaper. Then, you have
to write down you priority to buy
before you go shopping. The most
important thing is, don’t go to supermarket when you’re hungry. It
will tend to be impulse buying that
can increase your expense.
Step 3: Prepare for different kind
of clothes
Warm clothes will be useful for
most of the time in the UK,

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