Wednesday 1 July 2020

3 Financial Tips in Preparation for University

Hey guys,

Hope everyone is still healthy and socialising with certain measures in place! Though the weather hasn't been the best recently, I was glad to be able to catch glimpses of the outdoor sun and breathe some fresh air! Anyways, as I begin my preparations for my University life, I thought I would share some tips that I received from my seniors as well as information obtained from hours of research on the net. These tips are rather related to a proper management of my finances.

The first tip I would like to share is to scout around for good textbook deals. Throughout your 4 years in University, there will inevitably be some modules that you would need textbooks for, either at your lecturer's request or for ease of studying. Instead of buying the textbooks directly from the bookstore (which often comes at a hefty price), you should consider either purchasing from your seniors, or from online platforms such as Carousell. Another tip would be to double check with your lecturers if you actually need the latest edition of the textbook, as older editions of the textbooks could be available at much lower prices. Furthermore, you can always sell them to your junior after you are done with them. You help to play a part in conserving the environment too! If you are planning to sell it, you should keep the books clean as much as possible. 

Secondly, I was recommended that you should be willing to spend a little bit more, to get a good quality laptop that could last you throughout your university life. Your laptop will be the device that you spend the most hours working with as a student, be it to attend lectures, prepare for presentations or to write your research papers. The laptop will most likely be on for more than half the day. Having a good quality laptop thus saves you from the worry of it breaking down on you right before your submission deadlines, or the need for you to purchase and switch to another new laptop(in the case of a breakdown) in the midst of your academic semester. By being willing to spend a little more on your laptop, you could be giving yourself a peace of mind. Taking a $2000 laptop in consideration, it only costs $500 a year to use it. There are installment plans provided at some retailers at 0% interest. Personally, I would rather spend more on a good laptop than to spend TWICE to get 2 laptops in the event the first one breaks down.

The last tip is one with a rather longer horizon. I challenge all of you who are entering university or in university to set a financial goal that you would want to achieve at the end of your university life. Everyone's goal is relative to our lifestyles and habits, but I believe it is important that we give ourselves a comfortable sum of savings to kickstart our career with. The source of savings can come from many places, such as allowances, internship and part time jobs. In addition, you should then break it down into smaller, annual goals, that you can review at the end of each year. To take it one step further, this amount do not have to be cash sitting in the bank, it can already be put into investments, reaping the power of compounding. I will also be setting such goals for myself, and reviewing them periodically on this blog to keep myself on track on my progress. 

Our time in university is often the last gate that we will step through before reaching the stage of adulthood, hence we should take this opportunity to develop healthy financial habits, especially since we will be managing our own salaries after we graduate. University may be the last chance for us to have fun as students, but it is important for us to also remember to set and achieve some personal goals!

Stay safe,
T

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