10 Unnecessary Things Every Student in Wasting Their Money On

Money management is always an issue when you are a student. There are so many things that seduce you to spend your hard-earned income, and the temptations are so hard to resist. 

Unfortunately, even small things that you buy occasionally end up in quite huge amounts of money per month. Can you imagine how much you’d save per annum if you cut those expenses?

To understand what things you waste your money on, you should track your spending. Take notes or download an app that would help you stay on track of every transaction. Every end of the month just look through the list and see what things you could do without. You’d be surprised, we bet.

In this article, we are talking with Ryan Mitchell, a PaperWriter team member and former student, who shares his experience with money management and names things that induce excessive spending. Here is the list.

Unnecessary Products and Eating Out

Many students start eating out when they get to college. It begins as occasional get-togethers with friends but later becomes a habit. The student budget is usually not able to cover this much of café food. You can go once a week with a moderate bill, but that’s it.

Apart from that, students still buy some food for home. Most of it goes to waste because after eating out, there is no way you will cook. This double spending can be easily ended if you start preparing your food at home. 

Eat before you go shopping to buy fewer groceries and go home to eat after classes. 

Do not ask for paid homework help. This noticeably saves your money! Pretty soon you’ll see how your pockets will be full of money once again.

Overdue Fees

Unfortunately, many of us are addicted to credit card money. It really is a savior at times, but mostly this trick is designed to claim more money from you. Whenever you miss a deadline, there is a penalty for it. Quite frankly, banks and other institutions earn on you well.

Try to control your finances so that you are on time with all your commitments. It is not too difficult to have a list of deadlines on your fridge to see all future payments and their due dates.

Entertainment

Students love entertainment, and there are lots of things they gladly spend money on. Sometimes this happens quite recklessly and even carelessly. If you count all your subscriptions, you’ll see that you give lots of money to services you do not even use. 

For example, quite often parents have separate Netflix accounts with their kids. However, the system allows several users to log in to the system at the same time. Students also subscribe to several similar services or apps, forgetting to delete them or cancel the upcoming payment. It usually ends badly for their budget.

Printing

Students always need to print something. That’s a rule since electronic file submissions do not always go through. Thus, they spend rather decent amounts whenever they need to use library printers. A few cents per page and you suddenly lack a few dollars.

It is wise to buy a device and share it with few friends or a roommate. It definitely pays off. You spend this money once and forget about smaller expenses in the future.

Electronic Devices

Technologies develop rapidly, and we all strive to catch up. At times, this is completely justified. For example, newer computers let you work with more advanced software. Just a simple example – you hardly could design in AutoCAD using a computer from the 90s.

However, if we consider a 3-5-year perspective, catching up with flagman smartphones may be rendered as a waste of money. Your iPhone XS is quite competitive even if there is an iPhone 12 on the horizon. Think twice before getting hooked by marketers.

Clothes

Sometimes we are tempted to buy an outfit we know we will wear only once or twice. Reasonable consumption is something you should think about all the time. If you have enough, do not buy extra. You’ll most definitely end up being disappointed later.

Instead, make use of your older clothes. Try them on in different combinations. You’ll discover lots of things you’ve forgotten. At the same time, your money will be safe.

Books

You cannot avoid paying tuition fees, but you can definitely decrease spending on educational materials. Start with books. There are lots of resources you’ll need throughout your studies. Will you buy every book you need to read?

You need it, but you don’t need it new. Students one or two years older might have been given pretty similar reading lists. Ask around and buy used books from them. After all, it is not only about saving your pocket but the planet.

Expensive Rent

Lots of students have to move to college dorms from their parents’ homes. Some of them decide to live on campus, while others rent apartments. Room and board costs are quite high for students. It is likely that you can find a proper flat off-campus at a more reasonable price. However, you’ll have to share it with a friend.

Of course, your comfort is important. But it does not justify way too expensive rent. You can find a nice small apartment without spending all the money you have. Just keep looking.

Missed Classes

This relatively recent invention helps colleges make millions of irresponsible students. It was calculated that an average student misses 104 classes over 4 years. There is a cost for every missed class, and it is quite high for a household.

Thus, whenever you decide to sleep in or skip a class, remember that you are wasting your money. The accumulated costs of such misdemeanors can reach from 8 to 20 thousand dollars per program.

And, Finally: Student Discounts

Some students forget about their status and pay for everything in full. However, lots of companies and organizations are quite friendly to learners and offer nice discounts to those with proof.

For example, you can save on transportation, books, cinemas, and lots of other things by simply mentioning that you are a student. Have the courage to ask for a discount when you are unsure. It helps to save up to 20% of your income. Sounds worthy of your efforts, doesn’t it?

 

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