How to budget as a student at university

Navigating university life is exciting, but it often comes with financial pressures and challenges that can be daunting. Between tuition fees, rent, textbooks and social activities, learning how to budget as a student is essential – especially if it’s your first time living away from home or supporting yourself.

Budgeting isn't just about making ends meet. It's also about having control over your finances so you can enjoy your uni experience without unnecessary stress and focus on what matters to you.

To help you get started, we’ve compiled some top tips and ideas to consider when it comes to setting up a university budget – including your own student budget template.

Looking to create a student budget that works for you? Start here.

When creating your university budget, start with your income (ie. any money you receive regularly).

For a lot of students, a substantial portion of income is the student loan. Your student loan is usually split into two parts:

• Tuition fees (to cover the cost of your course) – paid directly to the university
• Maintenance loan (for uni living expenses) – paid into your bank account.

Make a note of how much of your maintenance loan you will receive each term, as well as other forms of income that will support you in paying university costs. Make sure to include all your income sources, such as:

• Earnings from jobs. Lots of students work while studying to support their living costs. You might work part-time in retail or as a barista or bartender. Alternatively, you might earn money through freelance jobs like writing or tutoring. Make sure to include an estimate of how much you’ll earn based on your typical hours.
• Funds from a scholarship, bursary or grant. These funds are normally paid to your bank account from your university or an external company or a charity. You may be eligible if you’re from a low-income family or have particular personal circumstances. If you think you may qualify for additional financial support, apply for a few different schemes to maximise your chances.
• Parental or family support. If your family is able to support you through uni, make an estimate of how much they'll chip in and categorise it as income.
• Extra or ad-hoc cash. If you’re keen to make a little extra, consider budgeting for selling clothes or second-hand books once you're done with them. It's a small way to increase your income during term-time.

The next crucial step to budgeting for uni is factoring in your expenses. Your student budget must include the essential and non-essential outgoings you’ll have throughout the year.

Your university budget should be as specific as possible and include all the costs – some of which you might not have thought of. To help you get a head start, here’s a breakdown of some of the uni costs you might not have considered yet:

• Textbooks and course materials
• Computer software like Microsoft Word or Adobe Creative Cloud. Your software needs will depend on your degree!
• Society membership fees
• Extra costs associated with sports societies, like insurance or team kits
• Printing fees

• Prescription charges for medicines (if you pay for yours)
• Gym membership
• Laundrette – check if you’ll have a machine in your accommodation, otherwise, you may need to pay per use!
• Rental deposits and fees for cleaning accommodation
• Homeware, from your bedsheets to your frying pan to your scented candle

• Travel to and from uni (eg. bus passes to campus)
• Travel from home to uni
• Maintenance costs for your car or bicycle, if you’ve got them

• Overdraft charges, if you enter your overdraft
• Technical issues, like replacing a broken phone screen or lost headphones
• Your phone bill
• Streaming subscriptions – Netflix, Spotify, Disney+ and so on

When budgeting, it’s crucial to distinguish between essential and non-essential costs. The differentiation helps ensure that you cover your basic needs before you allocate money to other areas, making it easier to manage your finances effectively throughout uni life.

Your essential costs are expenses that you must cover to maintain your day-to-day living and make sure you’ve got everything you need for your degree, too. They are the non-negotiable expenses that take priority in your budget, such as your rent payments, groceries, transport, course materials and bills, to name a few!

Your non-essential costs are those that aren’t crucial for student living. You should consider them after you’ve accounted for your essential expenses. Examples of non-essential costs include:

• Eating out and takeaways, which will quickly add up!
• Entertainment (whether that’s going to the cinema, concerts, student theatre, parties and events or staying in with paid-for streaming services)
• Clothing and accessories beyond what you need. Non-essential clothing includes things like costumes for themed nights out!
• Hobbies and leisure activities, including your society fees or a gym membership
• Trips and vacations. Any travel outside of daily travel to uni or home
• Luxury items like non-essential electronics
• Late return fees for library books (best to try and avoid if possible!)
• University balls – for example, the annual Law Ball if you study law. They’re usually optional, but you may wish to attend!

You can think of your non-essential vs. essential list as things that are a ‘want’ versus things that are a ‘need’. While covering essential living expenses should always be your priority, budgeting doesn’t mean you’ve got to sacrifice all non-essential spending.

Striking a balance between essential and non-essential expenses is key. You can do it by carefully planning your student budget to allow room for some of the activities that make university life so enjoyable and full of opportunity.

To help you along the way, we’ve compiled our top tips and tricks on how to budget as a student at uni so you can start the term feeling prepared and free from the stress of financial planning.

By carefully recording your expected income and estimated costs, you can accurately create a budget that reflects your university spending habits.

Make sure to prepare your budget before the term starts, so you avoid any unexpected hiccups or going too far into the dreaded overdraft!

As a uni student, every penny counts, so keeping in the know about the best discounts and freebies is a key way to keep your outgoings down and still have space in your budget for treats.

Many retailers and restaurants will offer a discount if you’ve got your student ID. Some businesses only offer discounts with certain schemes, so it’s worth looking into setting up an account with UNiDAYS or Student Beans or getting an NUS TOTUM card. Don’t forget to check for discounts online as well as in-store.

Offers will mostly help reduce the cost of non-essential items, so you can maintain the right balance between the things you want and need.

Banks tend to offer special accounts for students, which often come with more flexible overdraft terms and additional perks. Don't get too swept up by freebies, though – your main priority should be having a safe place for your finances. When choosing a bank account, consider:

1. The overdraft amount
2. Overdraft repayment terms and interest rates
3. Incentives like vouchers, cash or discounts

You may also want to consider how easy it is for you to use online or mobile banking to track your finances. Banking apps can help you keep a close eye on your spending.

Eating out or ordering in is tempting, especially when deadlines ramp up and you’re stuck for time. It’s good to treat yourself occasionally, but being on a first-name basis with your Deliveroo driver can end up being a big drain on your bank account.

While you're at uni, it's good to get into the habit of cooking for yourself as often as you can. You might even find that you enjoy it – after all, you're free to experiment with flavours so you can make each dish exactly how you like it. When you cook, try making an extra portion that you can save for later in the fridge or freezer. You never know when you might need a quick meal later in the week. It's cheaper to reheat leftovers than to order that emergency mid-revision takeaway.

At most universities, you can buy books second-hand from students from the years above. It’s a great option to cut back on your expenses – especially on textbooks that you need for one module but won’t necessarily use again! If you can’t find any at your university, head to your local second-hand bookshop or try online.

Once you've finished each year of uni, go through your books and decide which ones you need to keep, if any. Then you can sell the rest on for a little money back!

If you want to subscribe to streamers or software, chat to those around you before opting in. It might be a good idea to share the costs of subscriptions with your family or friends. Lots of streamers offer discounts for multiple users, so you can share one subscription with your flatmates.

It’s easy to get caught up in the university bubble and lose track of what’s coming out of your bank account – which can lead to some nasty surprises at the end of term.

Tracking your spending regularly, either weekly or monthly, will help you to stay in the loop on whether you’ve overspent or underspent (and if your budget needs to change mid-term).

Consider investing in a student budget planner to jot down your outgoings and plot out how much you can afford to spend.

When setting up your uni student budget and template, it’s a sensible idea to factor in an emergency fund. You never know when something unexpected will happen, so it’s good to have a backup allowance. It’s particularly useful for unfortunate mishaps like misplaced house keys or a broken-down laptop!

Electricity and heating bills are some of the most important – and costly – expenses for students. If you're not already, get in the habit of turning lights off, saving energy wherever possible and putting your heating on a schedule that works for you and your housemates.

It's worth investing in a fluffy dressing gown and hot water bottle to stay cozy and warm during colder weather.

If you’re struggling to manage your student budget, don’t hesitate to ask for help. Many universities offer financial support services to help guide you when budgeting for uni with one-on-one help and manageable solutions.

Don't feel ashamed for needing support, either – getting by at university can be difficult. No one is expecting you to have all the answers. The sooner you reach out for help, the easier it will be to get out of a financial bind.

To start budgeting as a student, you need to first work out what your budget is. Begin by calculating your income (ie. any money you’ll regularly receive) and your outgoings (factoring in your essentials, like rent, and non-essentials, like your favourite smoothie from the campus cafe).

Once you know how much money you’ve got coming in and where it’s going, analyse it to see if you can make any cuts. You might be unnecessarily paying for a gym membership back home and another near your university campus, for example.

Beyond the number-crunching, a big part of learning how to budget as a student is tackling your mindset. Budgeting can be confronting as you might not want to know how much you can afford to spend. However, it can help you build a better relationship with money – whatever your financial circumstances.

One popular budget rule for students is the 50-30-20 rule.

The idea of the 50-30-20 rule is that you’ll roughly spend:

• 50% of your income on essential outgoings (ie. your rent, food, transport, compulsory printing at uni)
• 30% of your income on non-essential outgoings (ie. your wants, like eating at restaurants with friends, streaming subscriptions and gig tickets)
• 20% on savings or debts – either putting money aside in savings accounts or using it to clear your overdraft or credit card debt

Although the 50-30-20 rule is a good guide for budgeting, it’s not an exact science. As a student, you might find that your essential outgoings take up more than 50% of your income. Therefore, you might not be able to afford to save 20%. However, even if you can’t hit the savings target while you’re studying, it’s still a good framework. Plus, it’s an important reminder that budgeting doesn’t mean working out how to spend every penny.

To calculate your budget for university, you first need to work out what your income is. Consider all forms of your income, including your maintenance loan and wages from part-time work. If you’re going to receive any grants or guaranteed money from a family member, factor that in too.

Once you know how much money you’ve got coming in, you need to work out what money is going out. Start by calculating your compulsory outgoings (ie. rent, bills, food shopping, basic toiletries, travel). The difference between your income and your compulsory costs is your disposable income (ie. money you can choose to spend how you like). You might use your disposable income to pay for non-essential expenses like the occasional takeaway treat, cinema tickets or yoga classes.

When budgeting for uni, you should also factor in possible unforeseen emergency costs. For example, if your laptop breaks, you’ll need to suddenly find money to replace it. So, part of creating a university budget is working out how much you can afford to spend while keeping some funds available in case of a rainy day.

Getting a student budget planner or creating a spreadsheet of your income and expenses can help you map out your budget.