Finances Archives - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

Having bid adieu to uniforms, daily lunchboxes, and travelling in school buses, college is when you learn how and where to spend money.

Coming to college is a step towards becoming an adult; but it can be a tough nut to crack when it comes to managing finances. Here are some tips to manage all this, smartly and efficiently:

Budget

In all the excitement to go to college all prepared, we do not realise how much money has been spent. When the realisation begins to kick-in, it is best to not have an ambiguous figure in your head; rather, a clear image of how much money is spent on different four major things – clothes, travel, food, and books or other resource material. You can also modify this budget list by adding or removing fields, based on your spending or interests.

Spending Smartly and Saving

Now try and identify expenses which can be moderated. Instead of purchasing books every semester, borrow these from your seniors or even buy them second-hand. This is a smart choice, given that there is a possibility they will have notes, or important points marked.

Instead of buying whatever clothes please your eye, make sure you try them on in the store, so there is no possibility of them being the wrong size, or something you are not comfortable in.

Ishita of Kamala Nehru College (KNC) gave a good tip and said, “I live in Dwarka where rickshawallahs ask for a lot of money even if you go in the shared ones, I discovered that Ola and Uber cost less and were more convenient.” It is important to try out different routes or transports to rule out the most tedious ones.

Student Discounts and Offers

Today, there are endless online stores, apps, offers and combos that allow you to spend smartly, and save plenty. You only need to become aware of these avenues, for example, waiting for sales to buy clothes. Devyani Arora, a student of KNC, shared, “Many food apps have discounts that can be availed, and there are coupons that reduce the cost further. If you do not have coupons, you can also pay through Amazon Pay or Paytm to get some cashbacks.”

When going out with friends you can look for restaurants offering “1+1” deals. Arora went on to add, “Using online portals or payment through credit cards can also help get points for you to redeem later.”

Feature Image Credits: Akarsh Mathur for DU Beat

Shivani Dadhwal

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Expenses for every out-station student are what Justin Bieber is for every girl he dates: Injurious and Harmful. For the freshers of the University of Delhi (DU), here is a listicle of things you would be spending money on if you are staying away from home, whether in a Paying Guest (PG) accommodation or in an apartment on rent.

Traitor PG Owners

PG owners of Delhi are disloyal role players. Before you get admitted to their PG, they will lure you with promises of “one fruit with dinner every day” and the “best security” available. As such, they convince you to pay insane amounts of money for abominable accommodation. PG owners may charge anything in the range of INR 6000 to INR 20,000. If your college fee is INR 13,000 for the entire year, your PG might charge you the same in one single month.

Miscellaneous Things You Don’t Realize You Are Spending Money On

Although they might look insignificant, miscellaneous things such as toothpaste, shampoo sachets, sanitary pads, and detergent occupy a large portion of your monthly budget. From buying bed linen to buying an umbrella, the most arbitrary of chores can prove to be strenuous for your wallet.

Food

Even if your PG provides you food thrice a day, you would soon develop a thousand problems with it. Sometimes you wouldn’t like the dal and at other times, you would think the chapatis are too shriveled, thereby prompting you to order-in food every now and then. The food ordering and delivery companies such as Swiggy which operate 24*7 only add to the ever-escalating expenses. Besides, if for some perplexing reason, you do like the food at you PG, college life wouldn’t allow you to make time for it. Going out with friends, classes ending late, and tempting food trucks outside your college create a menacing hole in your pocket.

Traveling

Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. had hiked the metro fares twice in 2017 and in case of certain metro lines, had doubled the same. Thus, even if you strategise that you wouldn’t be expending on traveling, that is one resolution that breaks quicker than your trust in Dharma Production’s portrayal of selfless liaisons and altruistic romances. Moreover, if your PG or flat is at a considerable distance from your college, then you would have to earmark at least INR 2000 to spend on traveling by autos and rickshaws.

Expenses Incurred While Living In A Flat

You would have a universe of expenses to deal with when you start living in a flat. Although rented accommodation is usually cheaper than PGs, the overhead costs of living in a flat are sizeable. From paying the electricity bill to buying gas cylinders, from settling your domestic helper’s bills to getting a plumber to fix the kitchen exhaust pipe, the accompaniment costs of living on rent would be almost equivalent to the rent itself.

Course Study Material

It is an irony in life that while not everyone studies in college, everyone does buy the course study material. The reading material might as well lie untouched in your table for months, but they do occupy a substantial amount of space and your monthly budget. The course in DU is extensive and there is an abundance of sources which you can refer to while preparing for the semester examinations. As a result, students end up buying piles of xerox copies of study material, even though they might not actually use them.

Feature Image Credits: Small Business Trends

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

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