I earned 12K in a year to pay for my exchange

How this situation came about: my dad was retrenched a few months before I was set to go on exchange so I wanted to fund my exchange myself to ease the burden. Of course it was a really big decision but I have 3 siblings so as the oldest, I think it was important for me to step up and do what I could to help out.

While I did not have the money on exchange for me at that point in time, I ended up taking out a loan as it’s 0% interest while you are still in university. This is a good solution if you’re tight on cash. It’ll also give you more flexibility and you can have a longer window to earn the money and pay it back.

I wanted to pay back my loan before my university term ended which meant that I had one year to save up the money. Yes it was really hard but here are my best tips that helped me to save up enough and pay off my exchange loan.

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1️⃣ Set a budget each month and actively keep track of your spending

I’m not sure how much allowance each of you get so this can be a big factor depending on that. For example my mum gave me $400 a month but I spent only around 25% on food as I cooked my own meals.

I paid about $45 for my concession to university, so this gave me about an extra ~$250 a month to put aside in my savings.

Pro-tip: what helps me is to immediately write down your expenses on a tracking app so you are aware of your money flow.

Having a separate savings account for travelling/exchange so I could pool money inside there along the way was also helpful.

2️⃣ Determine what small things you can sacrifice

Learning to be okay with discomfort along the way is vital!!! Cut out unnecessary expenses like eating out all the time (this saved me A TON of money) 💸😭

Remember that this is a short term goal and you won’t feel like this forever.

For example it could be your Grab rides or Starbucks, something that can easily be replaced with cheaper and more economical options.

3️⃣ Work part-time

Sorry but if you wanna earn dat coin it don’t come easy 😩

I had a pretty stable part-time job that allowed me to study during down times. I think if you find the right job you can be very productive — I worked as a tuition centre admin and between classes I didn’t have much to do so I could study. This gave me about $800

If you’re on Lemon8 as a content creator, hey!!! this is a pretty solid side hustle too that can help make that ~$1K savings a month 😬

Basically be smart about the jobs you pick. It’s not impossible to work multiple jobs at once if you choose the right ones.

Here’s how I managed to work 3 jobs throughout university ;-)

4️⃣ Clear your room

FOR REAL!!!!!!!

I made an audit (lol) of all my items that I had and decided what I didn’t need and sold it on Carousell. I made a good amount back after selling everything which gave me about ~$500 into my bank account lol 😆

5️⃣ Apply for school assistance schemes

Depending on your financial situation you may be eligible for assistance schemes.

While my dad was unemployed I was able to get some subsidies that I was able to apply towards my loan, so it’s useful to read up and see what available schemes the school has to offer.

While I would have earned 12K by the end of the year anyway, these subsidies helped me loosen up and enjoy more luxuries a little (I only got them towards the end of the year so I was grinding hard before that 🫠).

Pro-tip: use your PSEA

DID YOU KNOW YOU CAN USE YOUR PSEA to pay for your exchange loan???

Pretty handy if you ask me. So even if you don’t need a loan, you can take it because then you can use your PSEA to pay off a chunk of it.

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I think there’s no shame in accepting help from your parents if you really can’t do it, but at the same time I’m sure they’d appreciate you funding as much as you can because it shows a maturity #GlowUp as well ☺️

Hope this was helpful for all you students out there looking to rake in that cash 👀

#savingmoney #savinghacks #savingtips #Lemon8SG #Lemon8Lifestyle #Productivity #financesg