Financial Management In Abroad Studies

Know your financial management when exploring overseas education.

Studying abroad is the dream of many, but this turns into a reality only for few. Sometimes it’s the financial constraints, while seldom it is the qualification which becomes barrier for a higher study aspirant. Those who are lucky to land in a foreign country often land in the situation of being broke in the mid of the month, which leads to cost-cutting, less food intake, increases tiredness, personal debts, other charges and dissatisfaction. These consequences can wear out any person focus towards his/her studies, which is the sole purpose they went. 

People often tend to ignore these basic amenities, leading to a misfortune of empty pockets with the remaining month staring at them. This situation doesn’t arise to those who are financially strong and have also paid their fees in advance, rather but pinches more to those who are studying on financial aids. Majorly, all abroad universities provide financial aid, in the form of scholarship, fees waivers up to 100%, and some metric criteria on percentile attainment. But to avail this, students have to perform well enough to be in the cream layer of the list of selected students. Apart from that, letter of recommendations is a compulsion in the universities. This helps them to decide which student is well enough to represent the university keeping its prestige and legacy balanced and prospering positively.

Now, as we all have faced problems when it comes to money management and budgeting, here are some pro-tips for those studying abroad and have the past experience of empty pockets in the mid-month. 

Understanding exchange rates

Exchange rates can be a real pain in the back, as they depend on the total import-export and the stock exchange, being totally variable. This leads to the miscalculation of the exchange rates followed by charges on it. This makes a dent on the desired money to be drawn out, leaving the person with less money than needed and more frustrated. 

   A person living abroad should keep the knowledge of exchange rates updated, the charges and the closing rate. They should also keep a list of the days the home currency was less compared to other days. Then they will receive more than the usual amount. 

Understanding the withdrawal rules and policies

One of the common problems faced by the students studying abroad is that they don’t know the bank rules and withdrawal limits and charges. This leads to miscalculated extra money getting wasted in the exchange charges fixed by the bank alliances monitoring international monetary transactions.

One should be aware of these charges, not to waste a single penny. They must keep a spreadsheet maintaining what are the corresponding charges with the different bank ATMs, not leading to another mid-month financial crisis. Opting to be in touch with a financial expert can work wonders, as they can figure out ways to prevent over-expenses. 

Local banks accounts

Opting for an account in the local bank which can also helps in getting rid of those extra charges we have to pay unwillingly for the sake of intra-currency exchange, which tags along with the exchange rates. 

Local bank accounts deal in the nation’s currency the student is currently dealing in. All one needs to do is to transfer the money from the home bank account to the foreign local bank account, converting them at once, with no hassle of every month transfers. Also, they must ask their parents/guardians/benefactors to transfer the expenditure money in that account only, bearing the nominal inter-country costs themselves, so that they can provide a hassle-free transaction to their pupil/ward anytime he/she needs it.

Utilization of student benefit cards and schemes

Almost all the countries provide special discounts, waivers and different schemes for students, but seldom students know about them. They tend to be every student’s right, one he/she must be aware of. This should be the task of the government and different student bodies to let them know of their basic rights.

These discounts and credits help a student studying abroad in managing financial status throughout a month/quarter-year without being stuck in the even-break situation. 

Different government and privatized transport systems also support student discounts/waivers, helping and encouraging more and more people to study and not to worry about travel costs. This will ultimately help the universities to get the deserving students willing to study, on their own and the government getting a chance at proving how much they are investing to promote literacy and knowledge. 

Getting passes for traveling or use bicycles

Apart from using travel discounts, students should also use travel passes, like subway/metro pass, bus pass, local train pass, and cab pass if available. Although this should only have opted when the institute is far from the stay, which is not at a walking distance. This helps in the budgeting of the travel costs, making it only a monthly expense, not a regular one. Apart from this, students, if possible can also opt for bicycles, if possible, to commute, ensuring a pollution-free, inexpensive and fit way of traveling to places.

Cooking food at home and staying healthy

Eating –out can be a real unwanted expense, as the prices are very undesirable, while the urge to eat is not. This may be tackled by the cooking of food at home itself. Procuring fresh food and ingredients, making healthy food and eating it. This is a much-preferred way, compared to eating out. You can control your calories in this way, and eat as much healthy you want. 

One such advantage of not eating out is not falling ill. If you fall ill or even catch a cold, you will have to fish out extra expenses for doctors and medicines, which are often pocket-pinching. So one should cook healthy and energetic food to stay fit.

Budgeting, savings, and cost of living

A person needs to have a good place to sleep, to eat and to study. This often leads to misunderstandings, leading to residence-related over-expenses which can be a real mess. One needs to understand the financial crunch and has to act accordingly. 

Finding shared condos and apartments are a relief. Paying guests is also very common these days, covering the food, lodging and all other extra costs in a single amount, which had to be borne by the students living in apartments themselves. 

Also, budgeting is a must in these students’ lives, as this helps in saving money from getting wasted in unusual and unwanted things one must never spend into. These help in maintaining the emergency fund, not leaving the student out of cash when in dire need.

One can also opt for part-time jobs during vacations, to fish out extra essential expenses. They have to maintain their travel-back-home expenses so that they have enough savings for any emergency. This is why it’s also said that one must save from the expenses and keep it aside for future emergencies or in times of dire need. These methods, when applied in a student’s life, can be a real financial aid to them. These situations tend to force them getting indebted for squabbles, making them lose attention from the sole purpose they went there for, studies. Students should keep their minds focused on studies only, not on how to get some dime to eat.