Help & Advice

Managing Your Money

As a student, you probably know how much money you get and how quickly it all gets spent. Hopefully, this guide will help you organize your finances better, and give you a few useful tips to make your money last a bit longer.

1 - Maximising your Income. The first step you need to take is to make a list of your income - identify how much money you are getting from different sources, then look into whether there are other sources of income you could apply for in your relevant section of these webpages.

2 - Prioritise your expenses. Once you have looked at what money you have coming in and investigated possible further sources of income, you should then make a list of your expenses to identify how much you spend on priorities and non-priorities. As well as food, you may have other outgoings, which you must treat as a priority:

Rent/Mortgage - How much you are paying and when is it payable?
Fuel (Gas & Electricity) - It is important to take meter readings when you move into a property. There are a number of gas and electricity suppliers, and most offer payment plans to spread the cost of bills.
Water Rates - Your contract will say if you are liable for water rates. You can pay these in a number of ways to spread the cost.
Television Licence - You will need a TV licence if you have your own TV in a house or flat - you may need more than one if you do not live as one household. If you do not buy one, you could be fined or even imprisoned. You can spread the cost of paying over the year.
Council Tax - Most students are exempt from the council tax, but not always. If you receive a council tax bill, you should seek advice immediately from the Student Advice & Representation Centre.
Insurance - you should always take out insurance to cover your personal possessions. There are a number of insurance companies who have student policies, so it is worth shopping around to get a policy which suits you.
Books and other course-related costs and equipment - it is vital that, as a student, you have these to study successfully.
Other regular costs may include toiletries and travel.

3 - Draw up a budget. The next thing to do is to draw up a budget planner using the information you have already listed about your income and expenditure - hopefully by having everything on paper, this should help you manage your money. You can use a 'Personal Budget Sheet ' produced by the Student Advice Team to help you do this - we can help you fill it in if you need assistance.

Banks

Don't go overdrawn without first arranging an overdraft limit - most banks offer students an interest-free overdraft. Likewise, don't go over your overdraft limit without speaking to the bank. Keep in contact with the bank - don't ignore or throw out letters from them, act on them. If you are worried about your account, it helps to talk to them - if you prepare a budget this can often help in your negotiations with them. If you don't communicate with the bank, you will probably find you get charged high bank charges or interest or you could even have your bank account closed.

Credit and Debt

It is not advisable to commit yourself to credit without checking whether you can meet the repayments. Likewise, you should not take on more debt to try and repay other debts. Credit cards should not be seen as another source of funding, but as debt.Try and limit your credit, and try and stick to one credit card if you feel you need one (say for emergencies).

Debt Counselling

If you are being pursued for any type of debt, which you either cannot pay or do not believe you owe, you should contact the Student Advice Team. Debts from credit cards, store cards, catalogues etc. are treated as lower priority than things like rent/mortgage, utility bills and council tax etc. The Student Advice & Representation Centre can help you renegotiate payments if you can't afford to pay creditors, so please contact us if you are having difficulty meeting your financial commitments.

Last updated: 13 Aug 2007

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