We’ve all heard the story of the student splurger. Gets their loan, goes to uni, spends their entire loan in one month. It’s not exactly an ideal situation to be in, is it? So how can you ensure that you use your loan responsibly whilst still benefiting your studies?
Here are a few realistic tips on how to get the most out of your student loan, whilst investing in yourself and keeping track of your spending habits. After all, there is no better investment than in yourself, right?
Complete Paid Online Courses Before You Start Your Course
There are SO many online courses (both free and paid), offering you unlimited opportunities to strengthen your knowledge before starting and during university. Paid online courses are one of the best ways to expand your skill set. Plus, lots of courses give you a certificate upon completion to put on your CV to show that you are proactive! Free courses are also great, but you can usually gain more value from a paid online course. It’s understandable if you can’t splash the cash, but try to complete an online course before you start the semester. You never know how it could benefit you!
Purchase Good Quality Equipment
A good piece of equipment goes a long way. There are so many students that feel the need to splash out on the latest laptop when, in reality, it’s not a necessity. Focus on finding a laptop that’s reliable, rather than the flashiest model on the market. However, please don’t feel as if you have to have the latest model. It would be nice but it’s totally unnecessary. It would be useful to look at online reviews like this before making a big purchase to see which laptops are rated highest according to the experts
Invest In An Online Community To Support You Through Your Studies
Online communities are the new phenomenon. With the pandemic forcing many people to stay at home, the growth of online communities skyrocketed and it’s so easy to see why. For example, if you’re in the marketing industry and you’re wanting to invest in yourself, Girls in Marketing is an online community of passionate marketers, offering an online space to connect with others and upskill. There are a huge number of online and offline communities out there, no matter what industry you are hoping to progress into. These communities are the perfect place to push your learning further and a supportive place to help you through your studies.
Invest in Course-Related Books
University libraries are great, but you are often left with a limited amount of choice related to your course. Why not spend your student loan branching out your knowledge by purchasing books that are not available in your University library? Treat yourself to a visit to a nearby bookshop, and see what gems you can find. This is bound to impress your course tutors too, so it’s definitely worth having a look to see how books can help you.
Monitor Your Spending Habits
Getting your student loan is all fun and games until it comes to the last week of the semester and you have little to get by on. It’s so easy to loose track of your spending habits when you have so much going on but try and set aside a little time each week to budget for the week. Decide how much budget you have for essential items and see if you have anything left over for more exciting things. This way, you can enjoy your studies more whilst not having to worry about loosing track of your spending. Just ten minutes a week to focus on budgeting can help!
It is okay to spend some of your loan on enjoying yourself sometimes. Just don’t make the mistake of splurging all of your loan on nights out and takeaways. Fight the typical student stereotype!
By finding the perfect balance between investing in your education and having a good time, you will have a much better university experience and your degree is likely to benefit too!
About the author: This article was written by Keira Penney from Girls in Marketing, an e-learning platform and community on a mission to bridge the digital skills gap and equalise gender seniority in marketing.
