Since coming to university last year I have struggled with adjusting to living on my own, which of course comes with having to manage my own expenses. Budgeting since first year has been a nightmare but I have learnt how to manage my expenditures, although we all have a little slip sometimes.
1. Making sure the fridge is fully stocked
This has been one of the most useful way I have found in saving money and keeping the constant temptation of takeaways at bait. Having an empty fridge with limited food supplies or just a bag of pasta in the cupboard can often cause me to indulge and go on an eating out frenzy, which I am ashamed to say can sometimes last for days. Having a wide variety of food is important in keeping my Uber Eat account in check and often makes me look forward to cooking more.
2. Meal prepping and planning
Meal prepping has been important for days when I know I am going to be on campus all day, whether it be cold pizza or pesto pasta. This is a method that has stopped me from running to the co-op at lunchtime and spending £3 on a meal deal, which is quite frankly outrageous and not as good as homemade food.
3. Including snacks in my grocery bag
I am sure many of you can relate to not buying snacks in your weekly shop in an attempt to be healthy, only to purge on them later in the week at your local corner shop. This has been a common occurrence for me; however, I have found through buying them in my weekly shop at Tesco’s, it not only helps me rationalise what I buy but also stops me from getting them from a corner shop, which is usually more expensive anyway.
4. Using a separate account
Having a Monzo account in which I can put in the weekly amount of money I want to spend, has been the most beneficial way in saving money, as I not only get a notification on my phone when I have spent money and how much, but it also shows me how much I have spent in a day. I recognize that you can always dive into your other account, and at times I have done just that but it does make me feel bad, which often deters me.
5. Check your bank account regularly
Waking up after a night out and recalling the number of drinks purchased can be terrifying; however, we have all thought that not looking and simply not checking will make the problem disappear. Although, this only leads to a downward spiral of running out of money and having your debit card declined at a coffee shop - I mean lets say for example, its not like that actually happened.
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