Money-saving tips for students studying abroad

Studying abroad can be quite expensive, especially for students coming from countries outside Europe and North America. Tuition fees for international students are usually much higher than for domestic students. Moreover, there are also other additional costs that international students have to pay, such as health insurance for foreign students. However, there are money-saving tips you can apply to save some cash.

Even though you are already spending a lot on fees and daily expenses, you can still end your program with money in your account to rely on, before you get a well-paid job and be able to start saving. Here are some money-saving tips for students studying abroad.

Exploit student discounts

Have you heard of student discounts? By taking advantage of all the student discounts available, you will be able to pay less for certain products or services and save a fair amount of money every month. You would be surprised how many companies offer students this pricing privilege. First of all, apply for a student ID card, if your university has not issued it yet. Once you have your student ID card, do your research in advance on brands and companies that offer discounted products or services to students and just take advantage of them. You can save quite a lot of money by buying stuff online or watching movies at the cinema at a lower price.

Live off campus

Living on campus is much easier because you will be surrounded by students like yourself. However, you will end up spending more money living within the college community. Even if you are on a scholarship, most scholarships do not put enough money into a student’s pocket to cover accommodation fees at some of the biggest schools. Therefore, consider finding an apartment near your college. If you find one you like, consider staying there to cut down on expenses.

Buy used stuff

You certainly don’t have to buy brand new items all the time. Quite often, used products are as good as new, but they don’t cost as much. Even people outside college buy used stuff, so why shouldn’t you? Used items you can buy include textbooks, furniture, clothes and gadgets. Search the internet or ask around for places where you can buy used items that are still in good condition, then save extra cash for other expenses.

Book your flights early

If you must fly back to your home country at the end of each semester or year, you may end up spending several thousand dollars or euros before graduating. While these costs cannot be avoided, you can take steps to reduce your flight expenses by doing something clever. Book your flights in advance. Early bookings allow you to save a considerable amount of money. There are even web apps and platforms that you can use to monitor flight prices. Just enter the date, and the rates of airlines traveling on your route will appear.

Responsible budgeting

Did you know that you can predict your expenses long before budgeting? Always draw up a budget for the month ahead and try not to exceed it as much as possible. There are apps that you can download to your smartphone to notify you when you are close to exceeding your budget in a given period. It is a matter of financial discipline. If you have a budget and stick to it, you should be able to save some money each month. As the saying goes, little drops of water make a mighty ocean. Before you know it, you will have accumulated a significant amount as savings.