{"id":4162,"date":"2019-06-11T12:00:53","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T11:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/students\/?p=4162"},"modified":"2019-06-11T12:16:45","modified_gmt":"2019-06-11T11:16:45","slug":"surviving-on-a-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/students\/sport-exercise-health-science\/surviving-on-a-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Surviving on a budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the biggest surprises for me at Loughborough was that the monthly expenses here could average to approximately \u00a3300, if budgeted well. <\/p>\n\n\n

Since I am an international student, I had a lot more arrangements needed from my end with regards to my winter wear, bedding sets, kitchen utilities, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the beginning and thankfully upon my family\u2019s insistence, I had brought most of my stationery, books and some basic kitchen related products that are needed with me, since they are reasonably priced in India. On the other hand, there were many products that I had to purchase on my arrival in the U.K. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While I was rattled, like many new\nstudents are, at managing everything \u2013 and having to focus on the finances was\nadding to the stress \u2013 I was sort of prepared for this challenge, courtesy of my\ninherent money-handling skills (the one trait my parents are proud of, sorry\nmum and dad!!) and the University\u2019s link on expenses<\/a>, and few student blogs<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, I will share how I managed to live on a budget of \u00a320 for a week. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is inclusive of all my groceries as well as treating myself at BomBom Patisserie (a caf\u00e9 behind the university), Peters (a pizzeria in town) or Oh Deer (stationery store in the town). My groceries were inclusive of the basics \u2013 milk, fruits, vegetables, proteins and my leisure item \u2013 a tub of ice-cream; lastly, my share of the household items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the first things I learnt to\ndo was plan an expected budget for the week. Before moving, I already had a\nvague idea of how much it could cost me a week, month and the year. Also, while\nplanning the week\u2019s schedule, one should make a rough understanding of what the\nexpenses for the upcoming week and can even decide on the meals (during extreme\ncrunches, I plan the menu based on the items on discount), which helps in\npurchasing groceries and avoids wastage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this purpose, I initially\nmaintained a diary and coordinated with my parents who maintained an excel spreadsheet,\nbut soon I gave in to relying on apps designed for budgeting, like \u2018Expense\nTracker\u2019. Such apps display my income and expenses and categorises my expenses\nwith enough supporting and simplified charts. This helps me plan how much and\nwhere I need to spend and cut down on (prioritise!) and is also easy for my\nparents to comprehend.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Prioritise <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Differentiating between what is needed, and what is luxurious was another step in saving my money. Personally, this is the toughest step in managing finances since I wanted to make the most of my Loughborough and Masters Experience by travelling, watching games, and meeting and interacting with various people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Having these forms of \u2018leisurely activities\u2019 is crucial and reinforcing, and to make it possible, I keep a huge amount of my income (by doing part-time jobs like Student Ambassador<\/a>) for it, and would plan my budget and save money from other areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n