How to Manage Your Scholarship Money

Managing the scholarship money sometimes can be stressful as it might be the only resource you have to finance yourself while study. There are also feelings for “make the best out of it”, especially for PG student (we only have 1 year to spend, guys!) which led to unclear prioritisation and ended up overspend (if that’s make sense?)

Many factors play role to manage money successfully, such as how much stipend you receive vs what you need, desires and circumstances. Every person has different cases and my strategy might not proper for your case but I do have some tips that could save you from overspending 🙂 Keep reading it!

Personally, here’s how I manage my scholarship money: 

1. Know your goals 

Basic management 101, before deciding the “how” to manage your money, you need to know the “what”. What is your goal during your study? What are the things that you want to do? In my case, during my study time, I’ve always wanted to 1) travel (UK and non UK) 2) finding jobs after my study finished. Hence I need money to reach my travel plans and finance myself during after the school finish.

I then made rough calculation on how much money I should have to be able to reach those goals. I consider travel places that I want to go as well as how much monthly expense I should expect.

2. Know the amount and the delivery time

Usually, students receive money every month but many cases don’t. So, when you know the frequency, it will be easier for you to design the strategy. In my case, I receive the stipend once a month during the term time only (one year) so actually it helps my cashflow well-managed. But as I said, after the term finishes, I should be able to finance myself since I want to stay awhile looking for jobs. 

3. Design the strategy 

I am actually a vivid planner when it comes to money, my parents have taught me to appreciate what we earn wisely. Since I need to save some money every month, I apply some ratio to allocate 40% for bills, 30% for stuff I want, 10% for travel and 20% for savings. I chose the off-campus residence, which is quite close to the campus (20-30 minutes walk) and definitely has cheaper rent. With this, I don’t have the transportation expenses which I could save a lot! If you don’t want to walk, you can use a bicycle to campus. 

Important note: Every student have different circumstances so perhaps the ratio above is not helpful for you. Carefully design the ratio based on your situation and what you feel most comfortable. For example, if you study in London, it’s really hard to allocate 40% for the rent and bills, perhaps you might need to adjust the savings ratio. The key is don’t be too hard on yourself and you should aim to live comfortably as a priority. 

4. Use money management or planner 

If you feel that you overspend and need help to control it, you can use digital/challenger bank such as Monzo, Monese, Revolut, etc. These banks allow you to set budget on each expenses type, locked “pots” (pot is a place to save your money) and direct-debit for your savings. Control and saving money comes easier with those banks. 

While you apply your strategy, here are some handful tips to save (and gain) some money: 

1. Use your student card

Being a student indeed give you a lot of perks, one of them is a student discount. In the UK, many retailers offer student discounts, all you need to do is just ask them. Even better, the UK has Unidays, a discount website for students with abundant of brands that could help you save extra pennies. It’s free to sign up as well

2. Loyalty/membership card

Get loyalty cards from your local supermarket. It gives you extra discounts that you need. I have bunch of cards that really helps me save money, for example: student rail card which gives extra 30% for the train fee, National Express young person card that gives extra 20% for the bus travels, and many. In Coventry, if you travel after 6pm and in group by bus, usually you can get discount.

3. Cheapest groceries

In the UK, Aldi and Asda are two grocery places that offer you the best price. Buy your food in the groceries store, rather than minimarket. Buy a bigger size for the things you will use frequently, such as shampoo, bath soap, oil, since it’s cheaper. Frozen veggies and meat are always cheaper than the fresh one, but please don’t rely on these always, mix with the fresh ingredients. If you’re lucky, you could have half-price meat that will expire on the same day.

4. Earn extra money 

While studying, it’s always a good idea to allow yourself getting different experiences from work. In the UK, there are a lot of sites to discover part-time jobs, whether it’s a casual or formal job, such as Unitemps, Amazon, or Syft. Read my post about how to get paid jobs in the UK here. I used to work part-time and it’s been helping me to top up my travel budget. And yes, it’s obviously doable doing part-time jobs in the UK but of course the study should be your priority.

Hope you find this information useful!