Budgeting

Many students are understandably concerned about the difficulties of managing a limited student budget.

Talking to a Student Money Advisor can help you to explore the best ways of making your money last. We can help you to learn from the experiences of other students by suggesting ways in which you can minimise your expenditure and also maximise your income, including seeking part-time work. 

Budget planning

One step you can take now is to use a budget planner to see how to balance your finances.

A budget planner, fully completed, will show you what money you have coming in (income), and what you have going out (expenditure).

You can do a simple budget on a sheet of paper.

By putting down an amount of money for each item on the sheet and then adding up the two columns you can easily see what you spend your money on over a week or longer and whether you can afford your spending.

If the total of the expenditure column is bigger than the total of the income column then you are spending more money than you can afford.

Priority items are usually:

  • Rent or mortgage
  • Essential living costs such as food, laundry, gas and electricity and telephone, childcare, travel, etc.

These priority costs need to be met and budgeted for before any other costs are met.

Next to budget for are things that are essential for your course, as being at university is primarily about gaining a qualification.

But it is also about enjoying yourself as well. In order to do both and not get into unnecessary excessive debt, budgeting is essential.

By budgeting sensibly you can pay your bills and still have some money left.

A hand placing a coin into a blue piggy bank. There is a pile of coins on the table next to the piggy bank.
Student budgeting planner

Tools and tips to get your budget in order from MoneySavingExpert

A group of students sitting at desks chatting to each other
Money workshops

You can book on to a Student Life workshop to find out more about budgeting and financial safety

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Contact Student Services

If you would like any support from Student Services, you can contact the team on the details here.