6 smart financial resolutions for the new academic year

Why wait for the new year to make savvy financial resolutions when you can get started now? Begin the new academic year by committing to some solid financial habits—and get a 4-month head start with your savings. You’ll thank yourself when you finish the spring semester with some money in your wallet! Here’s how to get started.

Commuting to and from lectures, the library, and parties can take a toll on your wallet—especially if you rely on taxis to get around. Instead, make one of your financial resolutions to start walking or cycling to get from A to B. Making smarter transportation decisions will add up over the year—and help you stay in shape. Plus, your daily bike trips to campus may mean you won’t need to spend extra money on a gym membership! 

Perhaps one of the best things about being a student is the deals you can score. With companies competing for your business, you can benefit from huge savings on all your back-to-school gear. That’s why it’s always worth checking if an item you’re about to purchase comes with a student discount. From clothing retailers to big tech companies, magazine publishers, phone providers, and even travel agents, you can cash in on some great reductions.

This financial resolution is part experiment, part game, and the results may amaze you. The rules are simple—only spend money on essential purchases, and nothing else. The following expenses are classified as necessities:

• Rent
• Groceries (the basics, not expensive produce and unnecessary treats!)
• Utility bills
• Medication

Note that this list doesn’t include money spent on eating out, shopping, or subscriptions. You’ll be stunned by how much money you can save when you cut out non-essential purchases, even for a short period of time. Plus, it may help you reassess your spending habits in general. This could lead to you to develop some better long-term savings habits, which will boost your financial wellbeing for years to come.

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While the thought of heading to the library may stress some students out, it can be a great resource for free media and entertainment. Most college libraries—especially art colleges—have extensive film, audiobook, and magazine selections. So, not only can you save on pricey books for your studies, you also won’t have to fork over the cash for streaming services or magazine subscriptions. Just make sure to bring everything you’ve borrowed back before their due date to avoid any pesky library fines.

There are few better ways to save money as a student than to get a part-time job. This extra income means you’ll have more money to save, and helps you avoid amassing any debt. Plus, having some tangible work experience looks great on your CV. Not sure where to begin? Here are some student job ideas to get you started:

• Student brand ambassador
• Service staff for a cafe, bar, or hotel
• Remote virtual assistant
• Film or TV extra
• Events assistant

As far as financial resolutions go, paying yourself first is an absolute must. This means automating your savings each month. Before you spend any of the money coming into your account, consider putting a portion of it straight into your savings account. This is a particularly good habit to get into if you’re making extra income from a student job. And because you’ll know exactly how much you’re going to be making every month, you can create a budget and allocate a share of it to go into your savings. 

To make this easier, as an N26 user, you can easily set up automatic transfers using Rules. This smart feature automatically deposits an amount of your choosing into one of your Spaces sub accounts each month. Before you know it, you’ll have acquired quite a little nest egg!

Keeping to your financial resolutions is easy with N26—and as a premium member, budgeting is simpler than ever. Create multiple sub-accounts for all your financial goals with Spaces and keep track of your spending habits with Statistics. And to save even more, our Roundups feature automatically rounds up all of your card payments to the nearest euro and deposits the difference in your savings account. 

Not an N26 user? Get your academic year off to a good start by signing up for your N26 card. It only takes a few minutes and requires absolutely no paperwork. So what are you waiting for? Compare accounts and sign up today!