This is my second round of being a broke student, and not going to lie it is much harder this time around. Before I was able to work just three shifts a week and had enough money for everything I needed.
Fast forward to today and being off of school a year, travelling and pretty much living that "YOLO" lifestyle, I am now pretty strapped for cash. Compared to when I last went to school, I now have a car payment, insurance payment, higher phone bill, and making the decision last minute to go back to school was probably not my best plan. I am also working full-time hours at 40 hours a week and still have a very light coin purse.
You have to start appreciating the small things at times like these. You have to know when to part ways with some or a lot of things and becoming a bit tech savvy helps. So, without further delay let's get into my 8 tips to handle the broke student life.
#1: Live Within Your Means.
Try and wrap your head around a budget and understand that you have to live a bit more humble now. You don't need the latest makeup or smartphone. Chances are you already have a makeup desk stocked well with all of the makeup you could possibly want and your phone is still working fine. Try not to get anything new unless you really need to. I know, this is easier said than done, but it does help to understand how much money you can or can't spend.
#2 Look For Deals.
Gifted couponers are my favourite people. The ability to go into a grocery store and use as many coupons to get everything they need for as little price as possible is amazing. I wish I could do that, but I do use as many coupons as I can. Coupons come in the mail, online, or even on cereal boxes. There is nothing wrong with using them and they can give your wallet a much-needed break.
#3 Hang In Rather Than Hang Out.
This is pretty self-explanatory. You don't have to go out to hang out with friends. Invest in a $20 board game or watch a new movie on Netflix. Going out for food and drinks or even a coffee can add up over time. There's also the chances your friends won't mind spending a night in, as well.
#4 Having No Time Means Less Time To Spend.
School, work, and other responsibilities take up a majority of a student's time. I find lately that I have zero time to shop or spend money on something I shouldn't because I really don't have time to go out to the shops. This is not always great, but it will help if you're trying to save a bit of money throughout the semester.
#5 The Envelope Budget.
This is probably the most useful tip on this list. I'm actually using this myself right now. To use this budget method you need to look at your income, I look at mine on a bi-weekly basis. You then take away your main expenses such as rent, insurance, car payments, bills, etc... I then break down how much I can give myself to spend on gas, food, and miscellanea items. Everything else that is left over goes into my savings account. After that, anything I don't spend over the two-week period can just continue over into the next. For example, my envelopes are as followed:
Food: $50
Gas: $75
Random: $25
This way I don't spend more than I have and I am actually able to save money.
#6 Get Creative With Food.
Skip the takeaway and get creative with making food. If you're just making food for yourself, you can easily meal prep 4 lunches with a $4 pack of stir-fry vegetables, tofu, and rice. It is a very cheap meal and saves you in the long run. Meal prepping like this for at least one meal a day can save you so much over the course of a semester.
#7 Extra Income.
Since going back to school I have been looking into ways to earn a bit of extra money on the side. One way is through online surveys such as
Dailyrewards.com. You do surveys and get paid so much for each survey you complete. You may not be the right match for every survey, but if you have some time between classes or readings you can easily do a survey. I haven't made too much so far, but I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on how much I make doing the survey over the course of the month. I will also point out that this is in no way sponsored.
Other ways you can try and make an extra income is through doing odd jobs like walking someone's dog or running errands for people.
#8 Used Textbooks.
As a student, you will know that textbooks can be super expensive. I go to one of the most affordable universities in North America and I still feel the pain of having to spend close to $500 on textbooks. Thankfully, this semester I was able to cut that down to less than $150. This is mostly thanks to my school's Used Textbook Sale and thanks to Thriftbooks.com. I have so many English textbooks and I was so happy to see that most of them were actually on this site for an awesome price. If you would like to get 15% off your first purchase you should totally use this
link. I would like to point out that this is not sponsored, Thriftbooks has a shareable code offer for all members to give to their friends and family.
Besides University textbooks Thriftbooks also has a lot of high school books and children's books as well. I would definitely recommend checking it out.
That concludes all 8 tips to help handle being a broke student and ways to save a little bit of extra money. Did you try any of these tips? Let me know in the comments down below!
I hope you all have a wonderful day!
