The Financial Steps You Should Take Right Now

Organising your cash flow can be one of the most important and most annoying things to get right once you start college. From Monday to Friday it can feel like a never ending cycle of spending your money. While spending money is a necessary evil when it comes to the college lifestyle, managing your money doesn’t have to be an overly stressful process.

I recommend having three different accounts. This process should help you to manage your money and your spending.

A Bank Account
A Revolut Account
A Savings Account.

A Bank Account

It’s a good idea to have a normal debit account opened with a bank of your choice. Use this account to receive money eg. to receive wages from your part-time job. This is where I would leave the bulk of your money. This account will hold money that you are happy to spend throughout the year, such as on rent, clothes, food etc.

Even if you don’t have a job RN, set up a bank account so you’re ready to go when you do eventually get a job.

A Revolut Account

A Revolut account is a very convenient account to have in college. It allows you to easily transfer money to friends on nights out. I’ve also used my Revolut account to help me manage my spending throughout the week. At the start of each week I transfer my self-imposed allowance for that week from my bank account onto my Revolut account. With it being so easy to tap your card, this process helps you to monitor how much you are actually spending per week.

Revolut is also great as it allows you to access a multitude of rewards and discounts in shops that you may shop from often. When you purchase from certain stores through the Revolut app, you can receive money back on your purchase. This is a great and easy way to save money.

Another great Revolut feature is their spare change savings. Simply set it up and every time you use you Revolut card it was automatically round up your purchases and put the spare change in a vault for you. You’d be surprised how much money you’ll have at the end of the year!

Savings Account

Having a savings account should be your non-negotiable must. Personally, I set up an account in the Credit Union. This account should just be used to save up money throughout the year. Even if all you can put aside is €10 every week, I strongly suggest you do put aside that money.

Your savings, no matter how small, will definitely add up throughout the year. If your income slows down at any point, these savings may really help you out of a bind. This money could also go towards things like a summer holiday, your accommodation for the next year or even things like your driver’s licence. Or even just to treat yourself. Get in the habit now of saving and it will stand to you.

Student Discounts

At every opportunity possible, I would recommend applying discount codes to your orders. Take the time to sign up for emails and to search for the best deal before buying a product. This step will really help you to spend your money smartly.

As a student, you can sign up for two student discount apps, Unidays and Studentbeans. These apps provide you with countless discounts from various different brands which definitely helps you to get the best “bang for your buck!”