Tuesday 10 October 2017

Slaying It 2017 || Cutting it in College (Part 2) || Financial Series



Hey Friends,

Today I am back with part 2 of cutting in college. Here I am sharing with you some of my tips and tricks for surviving college on a budget. It can be done my friends. Is it easy? Heck no but I guarantee it will be worth it. If you missed my first post you can check it here (Cutting it in College - Part 1) it will also be linked below!!

When anyone thinks of college, its the lifestyle that comes to mind first & even though I have been through it already even I glamourise it a little in my head. We think of always looking our best, having all our college work up to date & acing all our classes, having cute instagram worthy houses and rooms. Is that what college is actually like? Again heck no. That doesn't mean it can't worth it and a hell of alot of fun at the same time. However most companies know we have this little ideal vision in our head and that's what they market towards. College is hard enough and expensive enough without us adding pressure by wanting our lives to look like Instagram or a Pintrest board. 

I have for you here 6 more of my tips and tricks for saving the pennies during your college years!! Please leave a comment below if you have any of your own!! We all need to help each other out to make college the most enjoyable experience for everyone! 

Pack your shizz the night before

Forgetting is the enemy of saving!! Never forget that! I have actually been caught more than once already with this. I know we all have nights where we are too busy, too tired or simply just forget but if we can remember nine times out of ten to pack everything we need the night before then we will save so much money in the long run. The problem is unless you live very close to the college, if you forget anything then you are going to end up buying it again!! It such a waste. I mean you will probably end up using the new item anyway but there should be no need to buy double items unnecessarily.


Student Discounts

Make sure to take advantage of all student discounty goodness. Now don't use it as an excuse to shop! What I mean when I say this is if there is something you need and can get a student discount on it then don't let that go to waste! Be aware of student offers in your area and if there are any on items you particularly need. Use that card to your advantage! Make it work for you!! 


Clothes

Clothes is probably the place where we feel like we want to spend the most money! Sometimes college can feel like a fashion show. We spend the entire day surrounded by so many people with so many different styles. Atleast ten times a day we are going to think to ourselves "ooh thats cute!!" or "I love her shoes, bag, jacket ect..." My advice is to have a closet that works for you. By this I mean have wardrobe where all/most of the pieces are interchangeable. That way you will always have different looks and outfits. Be aware of seasons for example have atleast one good coat to get you through winter, Have 2 or 3 scarves & gloves. Same when it comes to shoes have a good pair of boots, runners and / or pumps. If you have a few key good quality pieces that will carry you through a semester then you won't feel the need to run to your local Pennys / Primark atleast once a week. I think it is also important to keep a little money in the budget (not every month mind you) but if you keep a little "blow" money so to speak, even just €20 so you can buy a little treat every now and then to make you feel like your not constricted. As long as you have your main staple wardrobe then you can add a couple of accessories and completely change the overall look without going on a €200 shopping spree. Don't forget, Like with everything else, take the best care of your clothes that you can. That in itself will save you soon much money as it will extend the life span of all your pieces. The best advice I can give you is to sit down and really think about your wardrobe as a whole. Spend an afternoon with your wardrobe and by the end of it, you will know everything in it, all the outfits you have at the ready and anything you need to make it complete. Once you have a complete wardrobe of key, interchangeable items you will no longer feel the need to buy items on the spur of the moment which could end in buyers remorse. I will be doing a whole post soon on putting a wardrobe together that works for you. So stay tuned for that.     



Get the most out of your course

This might seem like a simple one but think about it. You have decided to make this commitment and whether you fully realised it at the time or not but that is a huge commitment that impacts all areas of your life. The only way to make it all worth it is by trying your best and getting the absolute most out of your college and course. Get you college work done and submitted on time. Put the effort in and get those grades, make all this sacrificing with your money worth it. Make the time and effort you're putting into this work for you. Get the degree out of it and in the future you will thank yourself as you will know have the knowledge and the opportunities you may not have gotten prior to doing the course in the first place! 

  

Emergency kit

Again this is another one that I am going to do a full post on soon!! Like I said earlier forgetting is the enemy & to be honest I have already been caught more than once! My advice is to create a little personal emergency kit. In this include little things that you might need so you are not caught off guard unexpectedly. In this kit I include items like feminine products, plasters, deodorant, hand wipes... ect.. by doing this you can really save money. Like food and water you can buy these items relatively inexpensively in bulk at places like Aldi, Lidl or Euro Stores / Dealz / Poundland. This means if you have forgotten something as simple as deodorant then you won't have to buy it for 4 times the price in the nearest convenience store. It also saves you from embarrassing TMI moments if "Aunt Irma" catches you unawares. 

   

Cut it down/out

Lastly and maybe the most important tip of them all is you need to take a good look at your budget and figure out what are your weaknesses are and figure out a way to either cut them down or cut them out completely. Thats probably where your going to save the most money. Mine used to be coffee, water and snacks but now with a bit more preparation I can enjoy all my goodies without breaking the bank balance. There are ways and means to everything you just have be a little more self aware and self disciplined. You can do it! I believe in you!!



There you have it!! All my little tips and tricks for sticking to a budget while also trying to put yourself through college too. Like most things in life its not going to be easy but it will be worth it!! 

Please if you have any tips and tricks of your own, then leave us a little comment at the bottom and share them with us. I'd love to hear them. I'm always looking for ways and means of saving a euro or two.

Chat soon x


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