One of the immediate scenarios new students find themselves facing is the requirement to budget for themselves. For most students, university will be their first time away from home and therefore, their first time needing to allocate budgets for food, drink and social purposes.

With student loans typically arriving in three instalments, you will need to ensure each instalment lasts until the next one, usually around three months apart. It is possible to fall into the trap of overestimating how far this money will go, and spending wildly when the money appears in your account, especially given that, providing you have sent off your application to Student Finance nice and early, you will receive the first instalment for the much-anticipated freshers’ week. It is important that even during these exciting times, you keep a check on your finances, as you will need to use it for your living costs over the next semester. Budgeting can be made easier by taking on some part-time work, as this will help to cover your weekly costs, stretching your loan further.

Rent

One of the most obvious costs that is incurred by university is rent. You will typically be required to set up a standing order which ensures your rent money is transferred to the appropriate account on a set date, which could be on a weekly or monthly basis, or some universities may have an arrangement in which rent is accumulated and paid on a date analogous to you receiving your student loan. It would therefore be a sensible move to total the amount of rent you will need to pay across a year, and subtract it from the total of your loan for that academic year. This will inform you how much of your loan should be set aside for rent, and how much you can delegate to other costs. As well as subtracting it from the total of your student loan, dividing it between weeks can be an effective way of creating weekly budgets.

Groceries

As well as the costs of accommodation, students need to account for the food shopping that is integral to university survival (not to mention survival in general). For some students, food shopping without guidance will be a new concept, and one which may prove trickier than expected ; after the crisps, cookies, pizza and beer, what else do you need to get?! Drawing up weekly allowances can also be an effective method of making the most of your loan, and avoiding falling into the habit of excessive spending. It is also worth bearing in mind that your third loan instalment will be the last one until the start of the following academic year.

Planning and monitoring your expenditure

Keeping track of your expenditure through the use of a spreadsheet can enable you to keep tabs on what is going out of your bank account, allowing you to forecast expenditure for future weeks and academic years. Typically, bills will be included in your rent throughout your first year, however, this won’t necessarily be the case in subsequent years when you are no longer in halls, when you will have to monitor and pay bills accordingly throughout the year. This can be difficult to forecast and plan for, therefore early practice of budgeting can help prepare you for the forthcoming academic years.