Increasing Your Income
There are lots of things you can do to increase income, not just by earning money. Here are a few things you can look at before starting university or whilst you are currently studying:
- cut down on non-essential spends. For example, do you really need to run a car?
- look for part-time work. Often it's easy for students to combine study with some part-time work. This will increase your chances of not running into financial difficulty and may give you extra money to spend on some items which you wouldn't be able to afford after paying for your rent and living costs. To find out about companies who may be interested in employing students, please visit the Careers and Employability website.
- check your student funding with your awarding body. Are you entitled to the full amount. If you have children and/or partner, are you claiming the full allowances such as Parents' Learning Allowance or Dependants allowance?
- student overdrafts are a good way to help manage money from one month to the next. Try not to max-out the overdraft with the first week as you may have difficulty paying it back in the future but the good thing about student overdrafts is that it's often interest-free for the period of study and sometimes a few years after as well. Most come with great repayment plans too, such as reducing an overdraft by £500 each year to help you clear it off easier
- Money Saving Expert always has offers and money-saving tips but remember not to buy on the impulse of a good deal! Always ask yourself whether you need the item you're buying.