How to Save Money as a Student While Studying Abroad

How to Save Money as a Student while studying abroad? Studying abroad is an amazing adventure, but managing finances can be tough. This blog offers 11 hacks for Indian students to save money on accommodation, groceries, transport, academics & more! Learn how to budget, use public transport & explore free entertainment. Make your study abroad dreams a reality without breaking the bank!

Studying abroad is nothing less than an adventure for Indian students. From staying with your parents in your comfort zone to managing things alone in a new city for your study is not easy. All the things you learn during the studying abroad period will be helpful to be a global citizen. Managing finance in a new city far away from home is an essential part of your learning.

Having no budget planning and not using money-saving habits can increase your financial stress. Well, worry not! We’ll help you to be financially smart so you don’t need to ask for extra rupees from your parents during your higher study. In this blog, we will tell you how to save money as a student while studying outside India. Learning these money-saving tips can benefit not just you, but your buddies too.

Read: Cost of Living Calculator for Studying Abroad

How to Save Money as a Student?

You must have heard a line that “Money is your only best friend in a new place”. Indian students going to study abroad can easily relate to this line. When a student plans to study abroad then after choosing a college or university, they plan for accommodation, food and other essential things. All these factors are directly and indirectly related to the hard-earned rupees of your parents. So, it becomes important that you make a budget smartly and value your pocket money.  

11 Hacks to Save Money as an Indian Student

Here are 11 tried tips to save money as a student while studying abroad

1. Choose Shared Accommodation to Stay
2. Wait for Sale to Shop for Grocery and other Essentials
3. Cook Your Meals
4. Limit the Use of Credit Card
5. Use Public Transport to Commute
6. Get a Scholarship
7. Buy Second-Hand Products
8. Create a Monthly Budget and Be Strict
9. Look for Part Time Work
10. Understand the Difference Between Wants and Needs
11. Avail Student Discount (If Available)

Tip: Save this on your phone so remember these money-saving tips for students.

How to Plan Your Monthly Budget as a Student?

You have a limited budget for every month. Without having proper budget planning you can face financial issues ahead. You must create a realistic budget while keeping your expected expenses in mind. There are useful apps for students studying abroad to help with budget planning such as Google Budget, Excel sheet Splitwise and more.

Tip: Always keep the currency exchange in mind at the time of planning your budget.

How to Save Money on Accommodation?

Students can save some dollars by staying in Student dormitories, hostels and other off-campus accommodation. House rent of an apartment will be the same whether you live alone or share with other tenants. Sharing the accommodation can divide the house rent, and you can easily save money. Apart from your tuition fees, accommodation expenses cover a big portion of your monthly budget.

Tip: Try to live near the university campus. You can save travel costs and time.

Tips to Save Money on Grocery Shopping

You can easily find tips on the internet such as shop during clearance sales, sticking to your budget and using discount programs. We believe you already know all these tips.

Apart from these most generic tips, try to adapt to local food culture. Indian students take less time to adapt to new things. You can try the local market for shopping. Explore local food culture to save money while studying abroad. Bargain for deals and discover seasonal fruits/vegetables at lower prices.

Additionally, consider bulk buying, opting for store-brand products, sharing meals, and taking advantage of student assistance programs for extra savings.

Tip: Ask stores about their clearance sale policy to buy dairy products, bread, cakes and more.

Use Public Transport to Save

Using public transport can save your money that you can use later for other things. Also, you can get a monthly pass for daily travel by using the bus, metro or else. Owning a car as a student is not a good idea. It’s not only the cost of the car but you also need to be ready for increasing fuel prices, maintenance, insurance and more. However, you can consider carpooling where students can divide the total expenses to ease the burden.

Tip: Buying a monthly pass is a great option for you as a student.

Save on Academics Expenses

You are going abroad for higher study. Is there any way to save money on academic expenses? You can use the PDF edition of a book to save some money. Also, students can use second-hand books instead of buying new books. Even better, you can buy those books in India for your study. There are many online book-renting websites where you can rent books and earn extra money to help your finances. Amazon, ValoreBooks, and eCampus are some popular websites for renting books.

Tip: Buying second-hand books in India at a cheap rate is a good option.

Explore Free Entertainment Options

Movies, parties, clubs, theme parks, and other local attractions are not the only options for entertainment. Students can choose free entertainment options. Universities organize events regularly or else you can join the student’s club for free entertainment.