8 Tips to Help You Stick to a Budget When You Return to Studying

Returning to studying is a big step. It may be that you have to take a reduction in your salary for a while so that you can get the qualifications you need to move up in your career, or you may be looking to start a new career altogether. However, you know you are going to have to go through short-term pain to achieve long-term gain and that is going to involve a pay cut. Follow these eight tips to help you stick to a budget when you return to studying and your finances may not be hit as hard as you think.

Plan Your Budget

Make a list of everything you will have coming in and going out when you have returned to studying and at least you know where your starting point is. Factor in every expense you know you will have for the time you are studying, including your best friend’s wedding or buying Christmas presents. That way you will not blow your budget when these expenses occur.

Pay Yourself

Once you have a budget in place, any money you have left over is yours to spend so don’t forget to pay yourself. Set up separate accounts for your bills, savings, and spending, and make sure that the money you pay yourself goes into your spendings account. Only spend money from this account. That way you know how much you can spend, and you will never accidentally spend money that was earmarked to pay bills.

Menu Plan

Millions of dollars’ worth of food is wasted every year because people buy it and then leave it in the fridge and forget about it. By the time they remember it is there, it is only fit for the bin. Not only is this incredibly wasteful but it will cost you a fortune too. If you are guilty of this, it is time to save money and plan a menu. Decide what you will eat for every meal for a week and factor in some snacks too. That way you don’t buy food you don’t need and are likely to throw away. You have also taken the pressure off deciding what you are going to eat that day as you already have a plan in place.

Shop Online

Use your menu plan to do the food shopping but make sure you always shop online. This is a great way to make sure that you stick to your budget as you are less likely to buy more than you need or treat yourself as you go past the cookie aisle. Physical shops have some great tricks up their sleeves to part you from your hard-earned cash. For example, special offers might not save you as much money as you think, and higher-priced items are usually positioned at eye level to make you more likely to buy them. Although these marketing tricks are used online, they are not necessarily as effective, meaning that you are more likely to stick to your shopping list if you shop online rather than in-store.

Use Cash

Using cash may be old-fashioned but the act of handing over your hard-earned money rather than swiping a card makes the transaction seem more real. The physical presence of cash in your purse or wallet reminds you of how much you have available to spend and you are less likely to go over this. Take out the money you need for daily expenses and keep it in cash. You will soon find that you are making fewer impulse purchases and saving yourself a fortune.

Go On a Spending Freeze

This is not for the faint-hearted, but you will find that it helps you to stick to your budget. Ban yourself from spending money for one day every week or one week every month and you will be surprised at how much you save over time. Make it the same time of the week or month so you can’t cheat and do not make any unnecessary purchases. This means that once your spending freeze is over, you will have more money to spend, and this should make it easier to budget.

Sleep On It

You will spend the most money when your impulse buys and you can blow your budget before you know it. If you are considering making a big purchase, consider whether you need this or whether you want it. If it is something you like the look of rather than something you really need, then spend a week considering your purchase. Think about how much it will add to your life and whether it will add value to you or just add stress to your budget. Another factor to consider is how you are going to pay for it. For example, can you afford to wait for it to go on sale, or is a second-hand one going to work just as well? Is there an interest-free repayment option? Sometimes the immediate purchase choice is not the cheapest so consider your purchase carefully.

Focus On the Future

You may be suffering a little bit financially now, but it is worth concentrating on the future and thinking about the positives that will come from returning to studying. For example, completing a digital marketing analytics qualification from Aston University could mean that you learn a lot of new skills that will allow you to command a bigger salary and have fewer financial issues long-term. It can be difficult to concentrate on the future when you want that gorgeous new coat now but think how many of them you could buy with your increased pay check, especially if you do not have to worry about repaying lots of debt first.

Follow these steps to help you stick to a budget when you return to studying and you will be glad that you took the time to manage your finances and don’t have to qualify with lots of debt hanging over you.