By
Karla Lopez
March 19th, 2020
The most important step is to put together a budget with all of your living expenses and then compare it to what that student loan breaks down into on a monthly basis.
It’s a whole new world when a student takes that first step out of their parent’s place and onto a college campus. There are lots of new things to learn, like cooking, cleaning, getting a good checker, so you don’t plagiarize, and learning how to live on a budget. It is a big shock, and there are many things that new students aren’t prepared for, like plagiarism, writing a paper, and the dreaded deadline.
Here is what students need to know before they leave for college.
Will loans for students cover everything?
If you’ve gotten a student loan, then your tuition is likely covered, and there’s probably a little bit of money left over. The question is, will it be enough after tuition and open university fees are paid? Scholars frequently find themselves living on a very slim budget when it comes to living off of a student loan, which isn’t easy.
It’s also quite common for scholars to find that a student loan simply won’t cover all of their expenses, like rent, bills, and food. The most important step here is to put together a budget with all of your living expenses and then compare it to what that student loan breaks down into on a monthly basis.
If your total expenses exceed that of what’s available from the student loan as a monthly stipend, then it’s time to consider getting a part-time job to help pay the bills.
Budget Is Your Best Friend
The truth is that there are people out there who will go through their whole lives without doing a single monthly budget. Pity them, because not keeping track of your spending is one of the most unwise things that anyone can do. Yes, wealthy people may not need to have to budget, but for a scholar, it’s going to be absolutely essential to get by.
Learn to budget and learn to budget well. There are plenty of helpful tutorials online to help students to create one. Once you’ve done a budget the first few times, it will become second nature.
Find the Best Apps
Applications help a scholar to do everything from check for plagiarism to help them to study. The trick is to look for a plagiarism detector or study app that is either for free or has a low fee that won’t bust your very limited finances. A plagiarism and grammar checker is the best two apps to start with for any student looking to make their lives easier.
Is There Any Assistance Available for Free?
Depending on the country or state that a student’s in, there can be different forms of student assistance available. In some cases, there are scholarships that people can apply for, which will help their finances considerably. Some countries actually have assistance programs to help students pay for the basics. England, for instance, has a student finance master’s program of up to ten thousand pounds just to help with living costs.
So, it’s always a good idea to look into what loans for students are available. It’s also a good idea to do a thorough check online for any programs that might be available for free.
Find the Best Bank Account
Although it is the norm for most people to get a simple checking account, this is not the same for students. Banking account fees vary greatly depending on what a person wants out of it. An unlimited transaction account, for instance, might seem like a great, care-free way of spending money, but it also has one of the highest fees of all accounts.
A student is usually living on a tight budget, so even twelve dollars a month can be a little high, especially when saving every dollar counts. Check with your bank and see if there are special accounts for students. Many have student accounts that allow for a healthy number of transactions at a bargain price.
Take a Long Look at that Car, Free or Not
Fresh scholars love to show off their cars to all of their friends who are taking the bus, but unless that car was a gift, it may not be the best thing for your finances. A car means buying gas, making car payments, maintenance, and paying when something breaks.
Altogether, these costs can make a car an expensive item to put into a student’s budget, and it usually means not being able to meet those monthly expenses. It’s better to use the transit system in your city. Most bus and subway systems are reliable and a great deal cheaper than owning a car.
