Besides the usual cost of going to school which includes courses, books, school supplies and student loans, people tend to not include the cost of entertainment when talking about budgets for students. Due to this dis-inclusion, students do not plan their budget accordingly and it seems as if money is disappearing from their pockets.

Why isn’t entertainment normally included? Call it stereotyping, but students do spend quite a lot of money on some form of entertainment. After all, your college years are supposedly one of the best years of one’s life, if not the best. Planning how much you choose to spend on entertainment can actually help you save quite a lot of money. This way you are not as likely to go splurge on something on impulse.

Sacrifice a little bit

One thing to do would be to prioritise your spending. What is more important to you, entertainment, food, clothes or books? If you are anything like me you would probably say books, but that of course depends on the individual. How much are you willing to sacrifice one item so that you may spend more on the other? For myself, it was quite difficult to limit spending on clothes when I started university. Everyone I’m sure has their weak spot, and for me it was trying not to upgrade my wardrobe very often.

So what you have to do is limit yourself to how much you can spend on that particular category. If you are the type who loves going out to movies, think about how much you are willing to limit yourself every month. Maybe you are able to replace going to the theatre one night with renting a DVD and enjoying it at home with your friends. It will  probably end up being even more fun because you can be louder than in the theatre, eat whatever you want, and just be yourselves. Not to mention that you will probably feel better about yourselves since you were able to achieve this night without wasting your pingas. Not only have you saved money from theatre tickets, but on food as well.

The video is of Kyle who talks about how heaps! has helped him save money by telling him where he spends his money (like alcohol) and being able to avoid over-splurging.

Although this post is not like many other posts which concentrate on how to split your budget for education, books, and how to deal with loans, I personally find that talking about entertainment for students is nearly as important. The reality is that students are not very likely to give up any kind of social life. So why must we always assume that students will be able to split their budget while not including the vast cost of enjoying themselves?

Books, Parties, Alcohol

I don’t mean to stereotype, because I am sure there are students who are more responsible with how they spend their money, as they won’t have the same urge to splurge. But for the majority, it is no doubt the case. Sometimes when you think of being a university student, you think of parties, going out to bars and theatres and buying lots of alcohol.

Which then leads me to my next point. The cost of alcohol can be quite hefty on the wallet. I have not started drinking until relatively recently, and I have found that I spend more on drinks in one night, than I spend on food for a week. Being careful of how you spend your money on alcohol is crucial to budgeting, this is important to everyone, not just students.  Although it is probably more fun to go out to bars with all your friends, it is no doubt more economically reasonable to buy beer or wine in bulk at your local supermarket and spend the night indoors.

Not Too Many Discounts

Another thing to be wary about are student discounts. Although it seems that going out specifically because you receive discounts in drinks and dining out due to you being a student, it will probably only hurt you in your wallet. How is this possible? Well when  you go out in search of deals that you would not necessarily buy otherwise, then you are actually giving your money away rather than saving. For example: if you find that there is a bar that is giving 2 for 1 drinks on a Wednesday night ‘student night’, then you are wasting money on something that you never really planned for in the first place. So only if you are looking for something specifically, without knowledge of what specials there are out there, should you be in search of places that actually do give discounts.

A little confusing perhaps, I realise, but let me reiterate. If you are someone who does not necessarily eat out Thursday nights, and you happen to come across a restaurant that has a $3 discount for students, you will probably be prone to go into that restaurant because it seems as if you would save money. The reality is that you are wasting money because you probably eat at home on a Thursday night, not out.

On the contrary, if you and your friends want to go out anyway, and have a plan to dine out or go to a bar (I want to emphasise plan), then it would be wise to do a little research on discounts at various places.

I promise to stop rambling.  If you came this far in reading I thank you so much. I hope you also took the time in watching the video we have on this post as it is of a real student, who talks about how he budgets his money on heaps! and how it helps him save money.

Let us know if you have good ideas on how to have a little fun while saving money. Do you plan on your nights out and getaways or is it almost always spontaneous?

Cheers,

-the heaps! team