How to make your savings grow

Inevitably, if you are a student then you are going to suffer from financial poverty or at least feel like you are in the mire financially. We all have memories of saving every penny at University, like eating beans out of the pan and buying cheap booze, but with a few simple steps you might be able to make your savings grow, whilst still being able to have a good time.
Fortunately, there are many ways to do this and I am going to let you in on a few secrets on how to get your wallet to overflow. Some you may already know, but prepare to be amazed by some of the offerings I have got for you…

Save your student loan

This seems like a fairly whacky thing to do as the maintenance loan is there to pay for your food and accommodation but if you are savvy with your money, you can actually save some of the loan and leave some of it in your bank account where it is deposited in the three yearly instalments that you get.
It can be really be a fitting way of banking some extra cash, although you may have to make some adjustments to your lifestyle. Make sure that you get a bank account with a decent interest rate and watch your savings compound. To be honest saving any money you can is a good idea.

Start your own business

Many people have started their own business at University and turned it into their full-time gig (that’s how Save the Student started). Your ambitions may not be as grand as this, but it can certainly be a way of making some money on the side, which is even better when you have minimal start-up costs and your overheads are low.
Be sure to pick something which is personal to you. I had my own proofreading business, as I am good at English and enjoy doing that sort of thing. Some of my mates started up their own coaching business, actually using University facilities to do so and going into local schools to run after-school clubs.
However, your business does not have to be affiliated with University or education; it could be anything which you put your mind to. Something crafty, creative or completely whacky- it’s up to you. Just pick something that you are passionate about and there is a niche in the market for and watch the money come rolling in.

Scrimp, scrimp and then scrimp some more

Obviously being a student means that you live on the edge financially and don’t spend any money (apart from on all those nights out obviously, they are absolutely essential) but if you really learn how to scrimp then you can save yourself some dough and also have a good time doing so.
To do this, you could do things like…

• Get all the value stuff from the supermarket when you are buying food
• Eat at your friends’ houses
• Go to a club early so you don’t have to pay
• Pre-drink loads instead of buying too much (but not too much as you might not be let in if you are too sozzled)
• See what free stuff you can get from Uni
• Get friendly with the people who run clubs so you can get free entry
• Abstain from buying any clothes (for now at least…)
• Use your rail card for visiting the family
• Live in a house that isn’t too close to Uni (the rent on some of those places close to Uni can be extortionate)

These habits are a really good start and can save you a lot of money over time.

Work, but not for a pittance…

A lot of students get part-time jobs, working in shops, pubs and nightclubs. These jobs are great and you can have some good fun (like getting off with a fit punter for example), but the pay is not so great, normally hovering just over the minimum wage rate. What if there were jobs which students could do and get paid more for their time?
Tutoring is one avenue you could go down and get about 10 or 15 quid an hour; with babysitting also having similar rates. Sports coaching is another one which pays well (normally between £8-11) and I have even known people who have been lifeguards whilst at Uni (which pays pretty well, although I think you have to do some training for it).
Some students get jobs in the field of work they want to work in after they graduate, for example getting a part time job in a school or maybe working in a hospital. There’s plenty of ways to make money if you just look hard enough.
So if you do all those things, you should be able to make your savings grow and be able to have a life at the same time. I did all the things I mentioned above and I managed to triple the amount of money I had before I went to Uni by the time I’d graduated. The little things really add up over time.