Fresh
This period is where fresh and new students begin to settle down in various tertiary institutions.
Most fresh students do not have any idea how to spend and manage their allowance when they get into a tertiary institution, making them mismanage their money.
Here are money management tips for fresh students
1. Create a monthly budget
Fresh students should create a budget if they want to manage their money well. This is very important.
With the monthly allowance given to you by your parent's, you should pen down your estimated expenses for the month.
It might be difficult to have a regular and particular expense while at school but you could try to be sure what you know you spend money on.
Work and stick with your monthly budget and also track your budget to improve on it each month.
2. Your needs are more important than your wants
You should know the difference between what you want and what you need. Your needs are definitely important than your wants.
Putting your wants before your needs might always leave you in a bad financial situation.
Your needs are the expenses you can't do without and are very important at that exact period but your wants are the expenses you don't need but you desire to get.
Tracking your expenses make it easier for you to differentiate between your needs and wants.
3. Spend wisely
As a new and fresh student, you shouldn't get carried away with things happening around your tertiary institutions. To many distractions can make you spend recklessly.
Also, you need to shop smart while you are at school. Make sure you shop smart and find other alternatives when shopping.
An example of shopping smart is buying textbooks. Textbooks are one of the important things in schools which you can't do without and can be quite expensive.
Instead of buying new textbooks, look for a place where old books are sold and buy your textbooks there, it would be far cheaper instead of buying new ones.
4. Find other means to make extra cash
You might want to find other ways to make more money for yourself when you get into a tertiary institution.
Start a side hustle to earn more money. This would help to learn about financial independence, not having to depend on your folks for allowance all the time.
The good thing about starting a side hustle is not only the fact that you have extra cash which is added to your monthly allowance but you get to gain some entrepreneurial skills which would be useful when you are out of school.
5. Start saving
It is very important to start saving while in school. You should make saving a major priority when it comes to your personal finance.
Cultivate the good money habit of saving while at school, it would definitely help you when you are out of school.
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Your savings would help you cover your personal wants.