Fed up of never having money and always being in debt? Learn the art of budgeting, as Michelle Higgs explains
“Making and sticking to a budget means you might not need to dip into your overdraft, or worse, go over it”
“If you create and stick to a budget, you will always know where you are financially”
“There are so many benefits to tracking and controlling your spending while at uni. In doing so, you will gain valuable money management skills”
Facts/stats
31% of students have thought about dropping out because of money worries
(National Student Money Survey, Save the Student, 2025)
81% of students use a banking app (digital/traditional) to budget money
(NatWest Student Living Index, 2025)
71% of students wish they’d had a better financial education in school
(National Student Money Survey, Save the Student, 2025)
Everyone knows that the maintenance loan isn’t enough to cover all your living expenses, especially in the current cost of living crisis. There will always be a shortfall. But that doesn’t mean you have to be the stereotypical student who ends up in debt.
If you can learn how to budget, you can make the most of life at uni without having to worry about your finances. You could even have money left over at the end of the month to treat yourself to new clothes, music or nights out, or even to save towards a holiday.
If this sounds too good to be true, it really isn’t. Listing out all your expenses is an empowering thing to do. That’s because when you see the facts in black and white, you’re more likely to stick to your budget, but it can be tricky to start with if you’ve never budgeted before.
Not sure budgeting is worth the effort? Here are four ways it can help see you through uni.
- Prevents debt and overdrafts
Making and sticking to a budget means you might not need to dip into your overdraft, or worse, go over it. Remember, if you’re offered an overdraft by your bank, it’s a loan. It’s not your money and you should never think that it is. And loans have to be paid back, usually with interest (with the exception of interest-free overdrafts). So if you budget realistically, it’s more likely that you won’t go over your agreed overdraft, so you’ll pay less (or nothing) in bank charges or interest.
It’s fine to use your interest-free overdraft, but going over it should always be a last resort. Think of it as a temporary fix or an emergency cushion, not something to dip into all the time. You should also allocate some of your budget towards paying off any overdraft you’ve used, usually when your student account reverts to the graduate version.
- Reduces financial anxiety
Worrying about your finances can adversely affect your sleep, your studies, your relationships and your overall health, both physically and mentally. Once you start getting into debt, it often feels like things are spiralling out of control and it’s hard to see how the problem can be solved.
If you create and stick to a budget, you will always know where you are financially. You’ll be in complete control of your money, living within your means, and you’ll experience far less financial anxiety. And that is a very good feeling. You’ll have a better idea about when bills are due, when there might be a tricky few weeks, and when you might need to plug some gaps with additional income from extra hours at a part-time job, completing surveys etc.
- Keeps spending in check
Creating and sticking to a budget helps you to see where you’re overspending. It’s easy to notice on your credit card or bank statement when you’ve had a splurge on clothes. But it’s actually the smaller amounts that add up more, although they may not be immediately obvious. The classic example is if you buy a £3 latte in a coffee shop every weekday during term-time. That would be £15 a week, so over 11 weeks it would total £165. Over a university year, it’s almost £500 – enough for a holiday!
Budgeting apps are really useful for identifying these smaller but regular amounts of overspending because they categorise what you spend your money on. You can then see where you could cut back, for example, with one latte a week rather than five.
- Builds money management skills
There are so many benefits to tracking and controlling your spending while at uni. In doing so, you will gain valuable money management skills. While you’re a student, you can learn from any financial mistakes you make so that you don’t make them again after uni.
Good money management skills are essential for life after university as you start your graduate career. If you can get budgeting right in your student years, you’ll leave uni in a great financial position for the future. And if you’re able to look after yourself financially, you could become fully independent from your parents or guardians earlier.
How to make a weekly budget
To create a budget, you can use an app, an online calculator or an old-school spreadsheet to work out your income and outgoings. Whichever way you do it, the same principles apply.
Start by adding up all the money you have coming in over one term. This could consist of your maintenance loan, any scholarships or grants, money from parents or other relatives, and earnings from part-time employment. The total is your termly income, so divide this sum by the number of weeks in the term to give you a weekly figure.
Now add up your compulsory outgoings over the term. This should include your rent and all your household bills such as gas and electric, water, broadband, phone, TV licence and contents insurance. As before, divide this total by the number of weeks in the term to get a figure for your compulsory outgoings per week.
Finally, subtract your weekly compulsory outgoings from your income. The difference is the amount you have available for living expenses such as groceries, travel, clothes etc.
12 tips to stick to your budget
- Use a weekly budget, rather than a monthly one, as the shorter timeframe makes it easier to stick to.
- Be aware of how much is in your bank account and what money is going out, and when.
- If it helps you to feel more in control, use cash instead of a debit or credit card to pay for things.
- Track your spending every day with a budgeting app so that you’ll know how close you are to going over your budget.
- Write a shopping list before you go to the supermarket and only buy what’s on it; ignore special offers unless you were going to buy them anyway.
- Only go shopping once or twice a week to avoid the high prices of convenience stores and buying unplanned ‘extras’.
- Learn to cook meals from scratch and buy supermarket own-brand goods to save money.
- Instead of buying food and drink out, take a packed lunch and refillable water bottle with you.
- Delay buying something online by putting it in the shopping basket but not checking out; you might have changed your mind the next day.
- If you’re prone to impulse buying, ask yourself whether you really need that item or if you can actually afford it.
- Set an achievable goal to save X amount of money by a particular date to put towards festival tickets, a new phone, or whatever you really want.
- Display a visual reminder of your savings goal, e.g. a photo of a sunny beach.
[box-out]
5 budgeting apps
Chip (Android, iOS, free; Chip X, £5.99 per month)
This clever finance app automatically moves small sums of money into your Chip account to put towards a financial goal, so you’ll save money without realising it!
Emma (Android, iOS, free; Emma Plus, £5.99 per month)
Use this great app to connect all your bank accounts, set realistic monthly budgets into Emma pots, and save money from what’s left.
HyperJar (Android, iOS, free)
This all-in-one spending app includes a pre-paid debit card that’s used to allocate your money into different digital ‘jars’, for example, groceries, clothing etc.
Revolut (Android, iOS, free; Revolut Plus, £3.99 per month)
With this all-in-one finance app complete with budgeting features, you can take control of your money, including putting spare change round-ups on card transactions into savings ‘pots’.
Snoop (Android, iOS, basic version free; Snoop Plus, £4.99 per month)
A useful money management app that helps you to grow your savings and make better use of your money by tracking spending and setting budgets.
