Student budgeting is a vital part of the university experience. For many people, university is the first time we experience financial independence. Learning about managing finances and how to budget as a student will help you set up healthy spending habits that will benefit you throughout your studies and beyond.
1. What is budgeting?
2. Why is student budgeting important?
3. How to calculate a student budget
4. Tips for student budgeting
5. Tracking your spending
6. Seeking support from university services
What is budgeting?
A budget is a set amount of money that you can spend. Budgeting is when you estimate how much money you will have and how much money you’ll spend over a specific time period. When it comes to student budgeting, you might budget for a week, a month or a university term.
Why is student budgeting important?
Managing finances as a student will help you to:
- Save a little – knowing how to budget means some students can put a little bit of money away for non-essential items or unexpected costs
- Spend money sustainably
- Pay bills on time
- Establish a healthy mindset around spending and saving
- Plan for everyday spending and future expenses
How to calculate a student budget
As student loans and grants are usually issued termly, we find it’s best to budget at the start of every term. Before the beginning of each term:
1. Work out your overall income
Estimate the money you will receive. This includes student loans, bursaries or grants, scholarships or sponsorships, income from a job, money from your parents or guardians, and any money you already have that you’re not saving for the future.
2. Estimate your essential spending
Probably the most important step for student budgeting, calculate how much you will spend on essentials, such as:
- Rent and utility bills
- Travel costs
- Phone bill
- Food and toiletries (track your average weekly spend on these items and multiply that figure by the number of weeks in the term)
- Credit card or debt repayments
3. Calculate any leftover money
Minus your essential spending from your overall income, and see if there is any money leftover. If there is, decide where you’d like that money to go. You could spend it on non-essentials, such as social activities, events, books, or clothes, or you may choose to save it.
Prefer to break your budget down to weekly or monthly? Do this by dividing the leftover money by the number of weeks or months in the term.
Is your essential spending always more than your overall income, no matter how you calculate it? Look into getting a student-friendly job. View the vacancies available through Unitemps.
Tips for student budgeting
To keep track of your finances as a student, we recommend the following money management tips.
1. Budget calculators
If you are struggling to figure out what your budget will be, there are some online tools out there to help you. Take a look at This is Money’s and QAHE’s student budget calculators.
2. Set a goal that’s realistic for you
Managing finances is personal to you. Any money goals need to be realistic for your current lifestyle – not the lifestyle you’d like to have.
If you’re left with £40 a week after essentials, it’s probably not a good idea to spend £120 on a pair of trainers. Instead try spending £30 a week on non-essentials – saving £10 a week until you have enough to buy that pair of trainers.
It’s easier said than done but try not to get distracted by what other people are doing with their money – this includes friends, family, and people you follow online. No two people’s financial situations are the same, so set a goal that works for you and stay focused on that. Remember that any saving is a win, no matter how small.
3. Send yourself money every week
A popular method for student budgeting is to put your weekly/monthly spending money in a separate account. Try setting up an everyday spending account with your bank or look into online banks like Monzo.
Every week or month, send your spending money (the ‘leftover’ money we calculated earlier) to your everyday spending account. Some people set up a direct debit from their savings account to their everyday account, so the money gets transferred without them having to do anything.
4. Shop food smart
Plan your meals for a week and buy ingredients that you can use in several meals to make them last. You could also try cooking larger meals and refrigerating or freezing them, so they last a few days.
Look at buying frozen fruit and vegetables and, we know it’s a contentious issue among students, but putting bread in the fridge does increase its lifespan.
Think about the cost per use of what you buy. Do you opt for the smaller bag of pasta because it’s cheaper, but have to replace it more regularly? It’s usually more cost effective to buy larger packs of cupboard food (cereals, pasta, rice) because they last for a long time.
If you shop at the same supermarket every week, see whether they have a loyalty card or reward scheme, as this could help you save a fiver every once in a while.
5. Share, borrow and reuse where you can
Living in shared accommodation? Save yourself some money by sharing the cost of more expensive items like herbs and spices, bin bags, and washing up liquid with your housemates. See if they would be happy to let you borrow things you’ve forgotten, like scissors or a tin opener.
Reuse things like plastic containers and shopping bags. In cases where you need to buy something, try charity shops and second-hand sites like Vinted and Depop before buying it brand new.
6. Consider switching banks
Some banks offer cashback or other rewards if you open an account with them, so it’s worth shopping around to see if you can take advantage of this. Be careful and read the terms and conditions thoroughly before opening up an account with a new bank – you don’t want to get stung by a hidden cost.
7. Make use of student discounts and other deals
Countless companies offer deals for students. Take a look at UNiDAYS for deals on things like food, technology and travel, and Money Saving Expert regularly update their site with a list of student discounts.
Companies like Amazon Prime and Spotify offer their services at a discounted rate if you’re a student. If you travel by train a lot, consider getting the 16-25 railcard to save 1/3 on rail fares.
Make use of Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day sales, but always have your list of essential/non-essential items in mind. Only tempted to buy something because it’s 15% off? Maybe leave it for now and keep your money for something you genuinely need.
Top tip: Think carefully about flexible payments through companies like Klarna. Never sign up to pay for something in installments if you’re not 100% sure you can continue to meet the repayment plans.
8. Take advantage of the summer holidays
Make use of the months off you have in the summer. Find a summer job and try saving up some of your earnings to go towards your essential costs once you’re back at university. Read our guide to summer jobs with Unitemps.
Tracking your spending
Tracking your spending as part of your student budgeting plan is a great way to see where you’re spending most of your money and where you might be missing some easy savings.
Use spend tracking apps, track it manually with your notes app, or the old fashioned way with pen and paper – whichever works best for you!
Seeking support from university services
Tuition fees aside, university can be costly when it comes to living and accommodation. If you find that you’re struggling financially, your university will have services to support you:
1. A Unitemps branch or careers service
Unitemps has branches at 19 universities across the UK and our jobs portal is regularly updated with flexible jobs that allow you to earn money without impacting on your studies. Find your nearest Unitemps branch and sign up today.
If your university doesn’t have a Unitemps branch, it will have a careers service or student job shop on campus, where staff will be able to support you with finding a part-time role.
2. Bursaries, grants and scholarships
Bursaries, grants and scholarships are offered by universities to students who meet certain criteria. Save the Student have put together a useful guide on the different types of student funding available – have a read through and check your university website to see what they offer.
3. Student wellbeing and support teams
There are many positives that come with being a university student, and having autonomy over your spending is one of them. However, it would be unrealistic to say that managing finances doesn’t bring stress or worry. A report from Student Minds in 2022 found that 59% of students surveyed said that managing money was a cause of stress ‘often’ or ‘all of the time’.
If you’re worrying about money everyday, unable to cover your living costs, or are considering leaving university due to financial stress – contact your university’s student wellbeing or student support team for advice. They will either be able to help you directly themselves, or signpost you to other services.
Looking to make your student loan go a little further with a part-time job? Browse the flexible student jobs available through Unitemps, and sign up with your local branch today.
This article was written by Becky Marrow.
Last updated on 27 June 2025
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