Our formative years may be all about having as much fun as possible but it’s also the best time to get financially smart. Here are a few ways students can get savvy about money.
Being a student is all about learning and experiencing new things, making a ton of friends, trying to make sense of voluminous text books on random subjects and just generally enjoying the best years of our lives.
Usually, as students who haven’t yet embarked on a full-fledged career, money isn’t something we constantly tend to think about since our parents pretty much take care of all that financial stuff. And since we’re in our formative years, we rarely tend to think about our financial future or what we need to do to attain a certain level of financial freedom and comfort as we grow older.
Additional Reading: How To Teach Your Children About Money
However, while our years as a student may certainly be the most carefree period of our existence, it is also the perfect time to get up to speed with all things money related so you’re prepared to tackle anything that comes your way from a financial standpoint once you graduate and enter the big, bad world of corporate drudgery.
So, keeping that in mind, here’s how you as a student can get savvy about money and get a leg up on all your peers:
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Start Saving
You’re probably wondering why you need to start saving money at such a young age. Well, it really isn’t so much about saving money but about developing the habit of saving. Start by putting aside a portion of the pocket money you get from your parents every month. Whether you’re putting it aside to buy something you really want or just accumulating it for a rainy day, it’s important that you realize the virtues of saving money at a young age.
This will certainly hold you in good stead once you get older. Saving money early on in life is great, but doing it consistently every month and every year will help you amass a sizeable kitty, which could prove to be a solid financial safety net to fall back on should the need ever arise in future.
Additional Reading: Money-Saving Hacks Every Student Should Know
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Budgeting
Budgeting should be the cornerstone on which your entire financial future should ideally be built on. Learn how to split your expenses into needs and wants. In fact, you could ask your parents or older relatives to explain how they budget household expenses or how they allocate their monthly income towards different types of expenditure.
Once you get the hang of budgeting you will learn to appreciate the value of the money you earn when you get a regular job and not give in to the temptation of spending excessively on things you can certainly do without. Budgeting instills a strong sense of financial ‘balance’ that can keep you firmly on the right track to ultimate becoming financially independent.
Additional Reading: How To Help Your Children Understand Budgeting
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Learn About Different Financial Products
You’re never too young to learn about how a Credit Card works or about the nuances of various loans like Personal Loans, Home Loans or Car Loans. After all, there’s a good chance you will eventually avail one or some of these financial products in future.
Get the lowdown on Credit Card and loan interest rates, the different fees associated with them, repayment periods, EMIs, what the pros and cons are as well as other relevant information that will help you make an informed decision when the time comes to choose the right product to suit your needs.
After all, knowledge is power especially when it comes to your finances, while ignorance most certainly isn’t bliss.
Additional Reading: 4 Best Credit Cards For Students
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Stay Ahead Of The Tax Curve
Tax can certainly be a frustrating topic to deal with. You’ve probably seen your parents yanking their hair out while trying to figure out how to save on tax every year or figuring out how to file their returns before the deadline.
However, young minds grasp concepts quite easily and learning all about how to file taxes, how to save on tax, what investments to make to help you save tax etc. can certainly save you time, effort and most importantly give you peace of mind when it’s your turn to delve into the muddled world of taxation.
And considering taxes can be filed online these days and youngsters everywhere know their way around the internet like the back of their hand, it should be a piece of cake for you.
Additional Reading: Tax-Saving Investments To Grow Your Wealth
We hope you take all these points into consideration because there will come a time when you look back on this article and breathe a sigh of relief for taking it seriously. Until then we wish you great future ahead.
Oh and if your folks are looking for some great financial products then all you have to do is tug at their sleeves and direct them to us.