Student life is notorious for being broke, eating beans on toast for nights in a row and generally scraping by until your next SAAS payment – we know, we’ve been there.
As a student, you might find that money is tight, but it’s a great lesson in budgeting, prioritising and if you’re used to living off a small amount of money, this can teach you life lessons that will benefit you in the future.
However, there are little things you can do throughout your time as a student to help make some tiny savings, which will add up.
MONZO
If you haven’t heard of Monzo yet, it’s about to become your best friend.
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Monzo is the bank account every saver needs, helping you save the pennies and track your spending.
You can open pots, meaning you have money in different areas within the one account.
One option is to open a savings pot: this will mean that with each transaction you make with the card, it will round up to the nearest pound and put the extra change into the savings pot, which can add up to a hefty sum at the end of the month.
You can then take the savings you’ve made and transfer them to a dedicated savings account, where you can gain interest, or transfer it back into your normal pot to treat yo’ self with.
Mainstream banks are beginning to offer saving pots, including Bank of Scotland, TSB and Halifax.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
You heard us right. New automatic saving apps and bots are the latest way of saving the pennies for a rainy day. Companies such as Cleo and Chip will track your spending and transfer what you can afford to into their own savings accounts.
And the best thing is, it does it all for you, you don’t have to do a thing but link your account with your bank account.
It’s normal to be sceptical when linking your bank account up to anything, never mind artificial intelligence, which screams warning bells. But your data will be protected by bank level 128-bit encryption, meaning it’s extremely well-protected. Make sure to do your research before deciding the best option for you.
ISA
If you’d prefer a whole separate account for your savings, an ISA is your best bet. Otherwise known as an Individual Savings Account, an ISA will allow you to save money without having to pay tax on any interest you gather.
When your money is in a savings account, you will start to gain interest – basically extra money the bank gives you for choosing to save with them.
So, if you have £100 in your savings account and the interest rate is one per cent, that will give you an extra £1. Though it might not sound like much, it will add up, and even better if you don’t have to pay any tax on those extra savings.
Saving money can seem impossible when you’re a student, but it doesn’t have to be hard. With these helpful tools and tips, all you have to do is open an account and the rest is more or less done for you – simple.
Happy saving!
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