| |
| |
|
|
Personal Finance |
|
Students Investing in Their Future Need to Manage Their Finances Today
With the A-level results coming out, the long wait for UK school leavers hoping to go to university will soon be over. All the hard work that has been put into achieving the grades required will now pay off and the fun and freedom that is student life can begin. This may have been the case in the past, but the notion that university life is socially and financially responsibility free is now lamentably outdated. These days, if you want to study beyond the age of 18, learning becomes very expensive. According to the National Union of Students (NUS) the typical cost of living expenses at a university outside London are around 8,600 a year for the essentials of food, rent, fuel, books and tuition. For students' studying in London they can expect to pay over 10,000 a year. Barclays bank has calculated that currently the average graduate leaves university owing 13,501. Jeremy Law, the head of student and graduate banking at Barclays said, "students starting a three-year course this September could be graduating with debts of almost 20,000?graduates will find themselves with debts for years to come which may affect their ability to buy homes and invest in pensions?prince or pauper, these levels of debt may act as a deterrent to some people considering going to university." With student debt growing every year - financial comparison sites like Moneynet are seeing an increased need for students to take control early and carefully plan for their future. Richard Brown, Chief Executive of Moneynet said "We all understand the importance of budgeting, but for students this can be especially difficult." HSBC has estimated that there will be a difference of around 6,400 between the average student's income through loans and their total expenditure this year, making the skill of how to budget effectively a vitally important one to develop early on in a student's life. A spokesperson for the NUS said, "When you get your student loan it can seem like a lot of money. And for those who have never had to juggle lots of money before it can be difficult not to go out and blow it." There is help available from the NUS and other sources to students who get into financial difficulty. The NUS has set up advice centres which can provide support on money management as well as advice on how to access any other funds such as Higher Education Grants, Childcare Grants, Disabled Students' Allowance, Parents' Learning Allowance, as well as possible reduced rate loans, which may be available dependent on course subjects and individual circumstances. An important issue for freshers to learn is that making careful financial choices early on, such as the right bank account, can help keep graduation debt to a minimum. By focusing on the interest rates, authorised and unauthorised overdraft borrowing rates, bank charges and ease of access to the money in their account, rather than the host of freebie sign-up gimmicks can make all the difference. The NUS advises, "Students not to get a credit card as you will pay exactly the same high interest rates as everyone else". In general, credit cards rarely carry genuinely privileged terms solely for students, however students can still utilise cheap forms of credit specifically devised for their circumstances, such as graduated interest-free overdrafts and low interest student loans, before resorting to a credit card if necessary. Living at home will help to keep costs down, but for most students, this is frequently either not possible, or not desirable. The best way to make finances go further whilst at college is obviously to get some form of job that will fit in around studying. Although many employers do not like employees having irregular working hours due to external commitments, there are some employers who will veritably embrace students as they can fill in on a part-time basis to cover unsociable hours and holiday periods. Supermarkets, restaurants and bars are ideal for student work, as is working late shifts in large financial firms, or being a mystery shopper for research companies, or even becoming a film extra for 50 to 200 a day. The real problem that needs to be in the minds of all students though is that any money that they borrow, whether it is through a loan or a credit card, must still be paid back at some point, even if that time may seem a long way off, and they expect to be earning a high salary. The truth is that there are more graduates leaving university every year, and there is increasing competition for what seems to be a dwindling graduate job market with diminishing pay rates. Students need to take control of their finances as early as possible in order to stop their finances taking control of them for a long time to come. References:
MORE RESOURCES:
Personal-Finance - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Whats The Truth Behind Your Finances? Between 15 - 20% of people in our country (UK) own there own businesses. This statistic is on the rise thanks to the incredible invention of the Internet. Money Matters - Really! One of the biggest challenges facing black RELATIONSHIPS today are finances. Many people mistakenly feel that money does NOT matter. Save Money Off Your Home Utility Bills Many don't realize that our basic utility bills provide the perfect money saving opportunity for practically every household!Especially with today's energy crisis so prevalent throughout many of the states, you've probably heard this term - conservation.Guess what, conservation really means "using less". Saving Money - The Magic 20 Percent Saving money is not easy and is made more difficult if you have a short-term outlook regarding your personal finances. If, like many people, you are living from one pay cheque to the next, it is difficult to put some money aside for a rainy day or for a summer holiday. 5 Steps to Healthy Spending Habits Next to our physical health most of us are primarily concerned with our financial health, and with good reason. Although our intentions are usually great our follow-through and discipline generally isn't. Personal Checks - Extreme Benefits Millions of people have a checking account and many people have two of three. They have the choice of choosing a variety of check designs to compliment the checking account. If I Had a Structured Settlement, I Would Use It to Pay for Gas Has anyone been to the gas pumps lately? Soon $3 a gallon will be the asking price and we'll either have to become cyclists or create some additional income. I plan to do both of course because you can balance thrift and greed pretty well as you ride your bike to work. Saving Money On Gasoline For Your Automobile The gas that we fill our tanks with every week adds up to be quite an expensive bill over the months and years. Thirty dollars a week in gas adds up to over $1500 a year. 10 Steps To Improve Your Financial Situation Here are ten steps you can follow to help improve your personal financial situation and inevitably save more money:1. Pay Yourself WeeklyThis may seem a bit odd, but this is an excellent way to start building a substantial savings. How to Choose the Right Bank for Your Online Business You should thoroughly consider your business needs when selecting a financial institution or bank for your small/home business. You may want to consider the following points:- The types of products and services that are offered. How To Free-Up 10% to 15% of Your Income Would you be interested in freeing up 10% to 15% of your current income? Just imagine what you could do with this money. You could pay down your debts, increase your savings, or work toward that next important purchase that you have in mind. What's New in Checking - From Designs to Photos Just about everyone has a checking account. Checks present easy ways to make payments and they have simply become a way of life. Want Your Savings to Earn a Higher Rate of Return? Try Internet Banking Doesn't it seem like the only impressive numbers we've seen this summer are the digits on the thermostat and the unaffordable prices of homes? Real estate has been excruciatingly hot for the past few years, but getting in the market now puts you in the high-risk category for a heat stroke if the market decides to cool off this year.So if a real estate induced stroke doesn't appeal to you and the stock market's roller coaster ride gives you motion sickness, it's very likely that you as a health-conscious investor are sitting on a stash of cash collecting an anemic rate of interest. Portfolio Planning can Lead to Irreconcilable Differences The judge had to ask the question, and we had to answer it in order to get our divorce finalized. It was all supposed to be pro-forma. 10 Tips To Save Money When Dining Out Here are some tips that can help you save money when dining out. Keep in mind that these tips are intended to help you save money when dining out at a restaurant type setting. Money Saving Tips. Maximize Savings on Everyday Items! Frugal living is more than a lifestyle. It's a passion. Learning the Basics of Handling Money With prices increasing all the time, saving money can be harder and harder to do. Here are some solutions for saving a little so that you can still meet your needs and still find ways to trim off a little for the future. What is a Traditional IRA? With a traditional Investment Retirement Account (IRA) you pay taxes when you take the money out at retirement in the future. Make sure that this account is really worth opening in your situation because what you put in the account today may be fully deductible, partially deductible or non deductible, depending upon your income and other retirement coverage. 10 Steps to Take if You Are a Victim of Identity Theft There have been an estimated 9.9 million victims on America and over 40% of all consumer complaints in the U. The Magic Of Compound Interest Christians are called to be good stewards of God's resources. A steward can be described as someone who manages the resources of another.
|
|||||||||||||||
