Budget, Budget, Budget!

The easiest way to cut your spending is to know what exactly you’re spending your money on.

My top tips for budgeting/saving would be utilising money apps like Monzo. Personally, I find it helpful to use Monzo to divide my money into “pots”. It’s like having separate envelopes for your rent money, grocery money and other expenses right there on your phone. Organising my finances this way helps me feel more in control and ultimately eases financial stress.

Determining your Must-Haves and Nice-to-Haves is also vital to having a firm budget plan. Make two lists of essentials and non-essentials. Essentials are things needed for daily survival, while non-essentials would be streaming subscriptions or eating out. I tend to remind myself that if it’s not a daily necessity, it’s potential savings and will help me gain more in the future.

^{Monzo pots can help to manage your spending}

That being said, allowing yourself to indulge occasionally and striking a balance between financial responsibility and treating yourself is equally as important.

Something that heavily relates to my next point is finding opportunities through social media. With everything being so digital now, staying active on socials is the best way to find other ways to support yourself. Check Queen's social media accounts and follow other accounts that post student opportunities frequently.

Side hustles

There are so many recreational activities that can earn you a little extra income, whether that’s knowing how to create captivating social media content, baking or creating jewellery. There are countless skills that are profitable if marketed to the right audience.

You might need to spend some money on supplies for your chosen side hustle, but it could come back twofold.

^{Create jewellery as a side hustle!}

Meal prep

Designate a day to cooking and use that as an opportunity to cook your meals for the rest of the week. You can easily make a big serving of one dish and portion it out into containers.

Now when you come home from a long day of lectures, you can just take out a container of food, pop it in the microwave and you’re good to go. It saves time, energy and money!

^{Meal prepping will save you time and money}

Prepare for the hunger pangs!

Try to make sure you eat breakfast in the morning. If you know you’ll get hungry during the day, pack some lunch to take with you. These two things will help to avoid running to the store to satiate your hunger and ultimately it will save you from an unnecessary expense.

Embracing the ‘home-made only’ approach for your daily dose of caffeine can also result in a significant decrease in your monthly spendings. I have learned how to make my favourite caffeinated beverage at home, using budget-friendly items. That compromise gives me what I want while also making sure I can take care of myself and my dependant.

^{Stick to coffee at home when you can}

Save when you can

While it is hard to save money and set it aside in our current climate, when you can do so, you should set it aside into a savings account for at least a year so you can earn interest on that money. This way when life throws something unexpected your way, you’re prepared and have some extra money to dip into without resorting to relying on your overdraft.

Side note: It’s a good idea to avoid going into your overdraft unless you’re confident that you can pay it back. Not being able to make the required repayments on time can negatively impact your finances later on.

Keep in mind that, unfortunately, sometimes you just can’t avoid it.

"Depending on factors like your race, religion, job history, health conditions and even your dietary restrictions you could receive grants and scholarships from charity organisations."

Student Discounts

Put your student ID to good use! Sign up for UniDays, those 20% off deals will help you save while you spend, when it comes to food, clothes and everything in between. Save the Student also has a whole section of their website dedicated to good deals for students to take advantage of. It can help save time as all the worthwhile discounts and deals are all in one place.

^{Don't forget to take advantage of student discounts!}

Scholarships and other funding

Student finance isn’t the only way to fund your education and cost of living. Depending on factors like your race, religion, job history, health conditions and even your dietary restrictions you could receive grants and scholarships from charity organisations.

^{Find out more about the GB scholarship}

Turn2us is a great charity that offers a grant search tool. This can help you sift through any opportunities you may qualify for, and you can easily apply if you find a good match.

Lastly, remember to enjoy your university experiences. You can spoil yourself every now and then, it doesn’t always have to be so mundane!

Find out more

Cost of Living in Belfast

More blogs about student budgeting and cost of living tips

Students from Great Britain

Anaiba Rehman Business and Information Technology | Undergraduate Student | Birmingham, England I’m a 20-year-old currently in my first year, I’m studying Business and Information Technology. I’m a freelance graphic designer who has worked with all sorts of small businesses, my clients range from those within the beauty industry to the music industry, even the medical industry. It’s been an interesting two years for me, and I have now figured out I want to complete my current course and hopefully go into Software Engineering.