Money-Saving Tips For Students Going Abroad

Money-Saving Tips For Students Going Abroad

 

One of the most defining characteristics of students going abroad is their need to conserve funds. With student loans still considerably high and very little income of their own, most heading off for an extended period of time away from home either have to rely on their parents’ funding, keep an extremely tight budget or – often – both.

How to save money and not miss out on experiences

Even within the European Union, costs when venturing to another country can be wildly different, and that problem is even further aggravated should the young person choose to pursue his or her studies for any length of time further afield. As such, most of these young learners invariably walk a constant monetary tightrope, so as to be able to balance tuition money, living costs and an entertainment budget that will allow them to experience all their host country has to offer.

The following budget-balancing tips serve for for not only students going abroad for a longer period of time, but also for those embarking on a two or four-month backpacking holiday. The general advice will seek to span all areas of the experience, from accommodation to food and entertainment.

Accommodation – If young people are moving away from home for the first time, they probably will not have a lot of experience with landlords, letting agencies or rent agreements. The best thing to do to ensure you are not overcharged or deceived when procuring accommodation is to consult with more experienced students, or even with a specialised educational agency. Remember to browse your options – don’t just settle for the first choice. Alternatively, staying with a host family is also a safe bet, as most are honest and will provide you with great value for money; be advised, however, that this might be a slightly more expensive option upfront if you use an interior decorator Philadelphia. If you are travelling with a group on a tour organised by a dedicated educational travel company, accommodation will all be taken care of so this is one less thing for you to worry about.

Eating – The old stereotype of students going abroad and eating pot noodles for lunch rather than properly cooked meals is, in fact, fairly accurate. A more realistic lunch would include a bag of French fries with the thin fried bread, a palm-sugar jam and a small bottle of white wine. Other contents of this bag would include plonka (a meat and onion stew), chutney (fried pork) and plenty of vegetables platter (a favourite in Singapore and Thailand).

Citrus fruits – For students going abroad and wanting to get a little more active on their holidays, rapping on the floor of a fruit juice kiosk is a great way to fill them in. Holidaymakers should be warned, however, that while generally passing the fruit juice at every 15-30 minute break, some machines may be too close together to deliver the correct amount of juice, especially in areas with a lot of vegetarian and non-vegetarian restaurants.

Take your own plastic ware – Hotels in Europe and North Africa will often provide guests with plates of food provided free of charge. To save you going out for lunch and possibly spoiling yourself, why not take the opportunity to go to a grocery store for – believe it or not – plastic ware?

Entertainment – Since the days of talkie-talkies, European television programs have had to evolve to accommodate for a growing number of viewers in their grapnels. Many popular shows have either been filmed entirely in digital copy or are being re-run in digital format. To cope with more requests for Season 8 filming, some entertainment companies have even employed entirely new cameras. Add this to flying the flag around decibel levels, promos and brand deals by anymore talking voices and, thus, decibel levels may well be predicted.

If you are excited by the prospect of new, exciting locations to explore, decibel levels may yet foreshadow the experience. If you are nervous, well then you are most likely to be disappointed by the experience you have in store. Because, by all accounts, decibel levels should never be underestimated.

Whether by loudness, longest line i.e. longest dance line, or just the most numerous request for new clothes (waisme doilies), it all comes down to how loud you want it to go. And for decibel lovers, this should largely always be kept in mind since the human ear is most likely the most reliable device on earth to pick up even the tiniest amount of background noise.

You only really need to pick up a book of travel guides to learn the dos and don’ts of loud social occasions. You just need to focus on the positive experiences and you will be surprised at how many times people will go further than expected just because they are ‘loud’.