Budgeting is part of adult life, you may think it’s pointless or boring to sit and work out a termly, monthly, weekly or even daily budget but it can be one of the most empowering things you can do, especially if you find yourself constantly dipping into your overdraft. Setting a budget and sticking to it puts you in control of your money - it’s a useful life skill to learn that’ll carry you through post uni life
According to a Save the Student Money Survey in 2022, 13% of students have never budgeted
How to work out your budget.
The first step of taking control of your finances is to figure out your budget by working out your incomings and outgoings. Luckily, this is super easy nowadays because there are so many apps and website out there to essentially do it for you. You could also use a free online calculator or an old fashioned spreadsheet, whichever you choose its super easy, just follow these steps to create your own budget:
- Start by adding all the money you have coming in over one term. (this includes your maintenance loan, any scholarships or grants, potential money from family and any money you’re expecting from employment)
- Determine if you’re going to be doing a weekly or monthly budget. For a weekly budget, divide whatever your total sum is by the number of weeks in the term/semester (don’t forget about achievement weeks and holidays). This will give you a weekly figure to work with.
- Now add up your compulsory outgoings over the term - This includes your rent, home bills, phone bills and anything other bills, direct debits and standing orders you need to pay.
- Just like with your income, divide your outcome figure by the number of weeks in the term, that’s your weekly outgoings figure.
- Now subtract your weekly outgoings from your weekly income and the amount you have is what you have available each week of the term as living expenses, or in other words, your budget!
That’s it! It’s really that simple. In five easy steps you can figure out your own budget and avoid dipping into your overdraft or spending beyond your means on a credit card or taking out a loan.
Now you’ve got your budget, staying within that set budget is the next challenge. It seems almost impossible at times. One cheeky pizza or kebab after a night out could throw your whole budget out of the window. Theres no need to start stressing about never being able to treat yourself as staying within your budget can give you some ‘treat yourself’ funds!
keep an eye on our socials as we’ll be sharing our tips of how to stay within your budget shortly.