6 Tips on how to manage your stipend as a student.

It's the dream of every high school or secondary school student to get admission into the university or college so as to further his or her education. Upon admission into the university, they are happy and somewhat free but sooner or later the thought of fending and catering for themselves with or without any support dawns on them. 

The inevitable task of trying to manage your stipend (Pocket money) given to you by your parents, guardians or even your academic sponsor hasn’t be so easy coupled with the fact that they are so many expenses that come up even without planning for them. In this article, i will be giving you pragmatic tips that would help you manage your allowance to fit your expenses.

Photo Credit: CollegeBound.net

1. Create a substantial Budget.

    When resuming for a new session, you should draw out your budget plan and list out all your sources of income corresponding to your proposed expenses for the semester without excluding the fact that you might incur extra bills in the course of the session. The truth is that it’s not always easy to forecast expenses as a student but you should be able to know the ones that are inevitable and include them in your list. You also need to try as much as possible not to go above your stipulated budget while ensuring you keep track of your expenses.

2. Open a convenient bank account.

    Before you open a bank account with any bank, you should be sure that you have easy access to their ATM centers around campus so you don’t incur unnecessary withdrawal charges when you use another bank. You should also be sure that the bank's branch is closer to you so as to avoid spending so much for transport if you have any issue with your account.

Photo Credit: Studentgidz

3. Get a part-time job.

    If you really feel that the money you get from your parents or any other person is not enough, it is advisable you look for a part-time job to supplement the money you get. The job shouldn't be time consuming so as to give you enough time to attend classes and read your books.

4. Distinguish "Wants" from "Needs".

   So many people tend to find this confusing but the moment you understand this ; the better your financial life becomes. I explained this in one of my previous articles on how to save money but i would still shed a little light on this. For instance, you might want something but you don’t necessarily need it. As a student, if you are asked "do you want a car??" you would definitely say yes because you like it but you don’t actually "need'' it now so as to avoid distraction and unnecessary attention.

 As a student you might also want to fill your gas cylinder which might cost you around 3000 Naira (8$) per 3kg but you might not need it at that moment since you have an electric cooker which you can use to save money. The point still remains that you should always have a scale of preference and go for the things that are very important so as to save cost.

5. Know how to cook.

    Nothing saves cost of meals on campus than preparing your own meal. I could remember during my first year in the university as a freshman, i used to buy food from the nearest cafeteria but later it became very expensive and i wasn’t always satisfied after eating until i decided to start preparing my own meal and after some time i realized that i actually saved 50% of what i do spend when i eat outside. A canteen in school could charge you the same amount you would have used to prepare the full meal for a little quantity of food you will get.

6. Buy the right textbooks.

   Not all textbooks should be bought- yes that's the fact. Some courses could have more than one textbook probably 2-4 textbooks especially when there are more than one lecturer taking the course. You need to select the ones that are very important and get them while the others ones can be photocopied or even converted to PDF (Portable document format) so as to reduce cost and also relieve stress by reducing the number of books you will have to carry around.

Another tip is to sell your old textbooks that you might not use again then use the money from the sales to buy the current textbooks you need. You should know that life in the university is fun but you should be careful not to spend frivolously and living above your income or stipend (Pocket money) as a student. I really hope you've learnt a thing or two from this. Please leave a comment, share this post and subscribe via email for daily updates.