The life of a student is one that usually involves a whole bunch of penny pinching. The whole “living on a student budget” lifestyle is a given with students today. With that said if you’re in the middle of your masters in health care informatics and it feels as though you never quite have enough money, you’ll love these money saving tips that we’ve put together for you. They will make your life easier and a little less stressful where money is concerned.
Make Yourself a Budget
It’s extremely hard to be able to know what you are spending if you don’t have a budget. Before you even start to use any of the money saving tips it’s important to create a monthly budget. This budget should include all your fixed expenses, variable expenses, and your income. If your expenses total more than your income, then you need to start doing some cutting. Even if your expenses are less than your income, there are probably places you can make cuts and save money.
When making your budget, you will want to add expenses such as food, transportation, entertainment, clothing, school supplies, and more. Often people forget to add these to the budget and they can end up being the area you spend the most money.
Ease Back on the Credit Cards
It can be all too easy to charge a little purchase here, a little purchase there, but before you know it those “little purchases” add up and you’ve got a rather hefty credit card balance. This is why it may be a good idea to keep your credit card at home in a safe place so it’s not with you when you shop. It’s there for emergency purposes instead.
Start Making Your Own Meals
Dining out is something that pretty much everyone enjoys doing. You don’t have to do the cooking, you get to eat some pretty incredible meals, and it’s a social opportunity. The downfall of always eating out is that it adds up real fast. One of the best places you can look to save money is by cutting out the takeout and restaurant expenses. Maybe allow yourself one meal a week at a restaurant, and the rest of the time do the cooking at home.
Be Careful with Your Mobile Bill
Nowadays everyone seems to have a smartphone and while they can make life a lot more convenient, they can also cost a fortune in monthly fees. Look to find a provider with a low-priced plan, some may even offer student packages/discounts. Once you choose you plan be careful not to go over your set allowances. Once you go over in data and talk time, that low-priced bill will suddenly be out of control.
Buy Used Textbooks
If you need to buy textbooks for your health informatics classes, look into buying used. You will save a fortune on the textbooks, and really there is no need to have them be new. You may even be able to borrow them from your local library.
Money Saving Can Be Painless
There is no reason that saving money has to be painful. By using these tips, you can easily start to cut back on your spending and with little impact to your daily routine.