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Running Head: SAVING IN THE UNIVERSITY 1

Saving In The University

English Composition I (EH 1010) June 18, 2021

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Saving money in the university: How to save as a student in the university

Most university students spend their money carelessly and end up getting into debt without

a plan. Most students feel that they cannot save the pocket money given to them by their parents

and guardians for use in school. Students end up finishing university and having to start life from

scratch while it is not only possible to save money but also use the savings in starting a business or

making other small investments. Saving money for a campus student is not as hard as most people

think and is very doable. Students in universities can save their money by creating and sticking to a

student budget, sharing accommodation, and also checking on their eating habits.

One sure way to monitor spending is for students to create a budget for the finances that

one has. One reason people end up not having money on campus is that they struggle on a budget

and end up overspending their money on things like parties and hanging out with friends. Let us

say that a student receives money by their parents weekly and the amount they get is $200

monthly. The student can plan effectively for the amount. In the budget, the student can create a

budget at the beginning of the month to make sure the money is allocated to the various expenses.

The main expenses for a student will include the house rent, utilities, internet, groceries,

entertainment, home supplies, school expenses, clothes, personal effects, and other expenses. The

largest expense will be the house rent which would cost around $700 a month in a comfortable

house with all the needed amenities such as water, electricity, and internet (Popovich et al., 2020).

For the home supplies, personal effects, clothes the student can use $250 comfortably. The student

will allocate the money to all the expenses and have an allocation of $200 for miscellaneous and

emergencies. With the budget, a student will be able to control their spending habits by ensuring

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they do not exceed their limits for the different expenses. In this case, the student can save $300

monthly after all the expenses have settled.

Having a roommate on campus can be an exciting experience since with a roommate a

student will have company and will not get bored. One thing that most students would not know is

that having a roommate will help save so much money in school (Smale, 2019). Accommodation is

one of the most expensive things in university with the houses going for around $500- $700 a

month. Let us say that a student gets accommodation for $600, if they share with one person, they

spend $300 per month and if they shared with another person, they would spend $200 per month.

The student will save $300 when they share with one person and $400 when they share with two

people.

Students can save money by changing their eating habits. It is extremely easy to overlook

the money spent on food so much of the pocket money that students have ends up being spent in

eating as well. If a person has let us say has $300 for food, it is extremely easy to eat up the entire

amount within less than a month if one has no schedule. If a student creates a meal plan and

decides they will cook on weekdays and eat out on weekends they will save a small fortune on

food. (Timmis, 2017) The cost of cooking a proper meal is around $4 while the cost of eating out is

at least $9. Cooking will save a student $5 for every meal cooked and that can amount to around

$100 per month, this amount is small and if saved for a long time will help a student after they

have completed school.

Another way to save money in university is using bicycles or walking instead of using a car

to and from school. Although most people think that cars are convenient, they are highly cost that

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would be unnecessary for a student with minimal or no income. Having a car will cost a student

around $50 per month on the routine maintenance costs. having a bicycle will cost less and

walking will have no maintenance costs. If a student decides to walk to and from school if they

can, they will save $50 every month. For the monthly savings, students will be able to achieve so

much when they are consistent and maintain their habits.

Students can indeed save so much money on campus when they are careful about what they

spend at school and in their houses. Recommended that students teach themselves saving habits to

help them become more responsible individuals and prepare them for any emergencies. The topic

of financial management should be taught in schools for all faculties since it is a prominent issue.

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References

Popovich, J. J., Loibl, C., Zirkle, C., & Whittington, M. S. (2020). Community college students’

response to a financial literacy intervention: An exploratory study. International Review of

Economics Education, 34, 100182.

Smale, B. (2019). Manage Your Money. SAGE.

Timmis, C. (2017). Five money-saving tax tips for small businesses. Professional

Accountant, 2017(31), 12-13.