Firstly you need to calculate your sources of income, this may include: student loans, part-time jobs, allowances and any financial aids. With these calculations you should be able to determine whether your income is fixed or variable. Understanding whether your income is fixed or variable is crucial for budgeting purposes. When you have a fixed income, you can more easily allocate specific amounts to your expenses because you know how much money you’ll have each month. In contrast, with variable income, you need to be more flexible in your budgeting approach, accounting for fluctuations by creating a range or setting aside a portion of your income as a buffer for leaner months.
For students, this distinction can help them make informed decisions about how much they can afford to spend, save, or allocate to various expenses. It allows for better financial planning and reduces the risk of overspending during periods of lower income or unexpected expenses.

When it comes to creating a budget, it is important to distinguish between your wants and needs. This differentiation can help prioritise your spending and help allocate your financial resources more effectively . Your needs are the basic necessities required for your survival, they typically include: rent, utilities, food, healthcare, transportation where as your wants are typically: entertainment, travel, fashion, electronics and luxury purchases.

Once you have distinguished your income sources and your wants and needs you can start creating a monthly budget plan that can be using a budgeting tool or a homemade spreadsheet on your laptop or in your notebook. Start by allocating a specific amount to each expense category making sure that the total sum of all these expenses do not exceed your income.

Every expense you make during this month ensure you are noting it down no matter how small it may seem as this will come in handy for you to gain an understanding of where your money is going. Over a period of time you will be able to identify where an unnecessary amount of your money goes towards so then you can proceed to make cut backs or adjust spending for example if you identify a lot of your money goes towards take out coffee switch to making coffee at home instead.

Sometimes times can get a bit rough where unexpected expenses arise therefore it is also important to set aside an emergency fund to reduce the likely hood of straying from your budget due to emergencie

University can be quite stressful and tiring and it can be quite tempting to just order Uber eats or go out for food however cooking at home, especially meal prep can help you with budgeting and not over spending. Preparing your meals for the week ahead can save you time and money plus you will not have to worry about what your going to be making for dinner tonight. It is wise to invest some time in carrying out research on the best budget friendly supermarket around you and meal prep ideas you can try out.