Getting stung a few times is a memorable way of learning how to manage your finances. But if you want the gain without any of the pain, then read our guide to money management to avoid fines, penalty fees, whopping bills and the other nasties that can gobble up your student loan.

Manage Your Money

Lots of people find it difficult to budget. Perhaps you’re just not used to having large amounts of money to allocate to different things. Or maybe you simply haven’t got enough money for everything you need. It’s easier to ignore the problem, hoping that ‘something will come along’ and anyway, budgeting is boring.

Some steps towards better financial management:

• Check your bank statements regularly by signing up for on-line or telephone banking.

• Use a Budget Planner to help you plan ahead for the year.

• See our tips on how to Spend Less.

• Avoid buying on credit. Use a debit card or withdraw a fixed amount of cash for spending each week .

• Note payment dates of bills to avoid late charges.

• Always check the minimum contract length when signing up for mobile phones, broadband, cable TV or gym membership – don’t tie yourself into things you can’t really afford.

• Set yourself 3 realistic goals e.g. reduce my overdraft; spend less on going out; stop using my credit card. Think about changes you’ll need to make to achieve your goals. Start these within 2 weeks.

• Don’t ignore financial worries – the problem won’t go away by itself.

• Get advice from your university finance advisor – see Student Finance – Resources for the appropriate links.

Weekly money saving tips now available by email

If you log on to www.moneysavingexpert.com you can sign up to receive a free money saving e-mail each week. This won’t make all your money problems disappear but with student debt running at record levels, if you can find ways to save a bit of money each term every little bit helps.

"When all your friends are spending money, it's hard to say 'I can't afford it' and most of us are pretty reluctant to ask for help."

Plan a Budget

Be on top of your finances from the start. See a budget planner here.

You might want to use your bank statements to remind you of your normal expenditure and don't forget to divide TV licence, phone rental and utilities by the number of people who share the bill.

Why do I need a budget?

• Seeing all of your income and expenditure in black and white shows how much you can spend on non-essentials (disposable income)

• It shows you if and when you'll run out money which means you can do something about it before you reach crisis point

• If you're not worrying about money you can focus on other things ...

Why don't more people budget?

Ignorance is bliss, right? The main reason most people avoid working out a budget is that it normally makes you realise how little money is left after the necessities are paid for.

In fact, if you are relying on just your Student Loan to see you through the year, you'll probably be in for a bit of a shock. NUS estimates the Student Loan only covers about half the average student's annual expenditure

Please see the page Spend Less – endless ways of saving money – really worth doing the research.

Part of this content is reprinted with kind permission of the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund fromwww.money4medstudents.org