One of the hardest thing about studying abroad is staying within a budget.
Whether you have a job or not, here you can find some tips to avoid spending too much money and ensure that your funds can be used for your next travels.

#1 Create a budget

Not the easiest and fun task, create a budget per week is the first thing we can advise you because it will save you from running out of money.
First of all, do a list of all the expenses you encounter during a week (food, accommodation, transports, phone, leisure).
Pick a number you intend to spend in each expenses category and stick to it each week.
You can have more control know on your expenses.

#2 Have an Australian bank account

Having an Australia bank account allows you to simplify and reduce the costs of transaction than to use your bank account from your country in Australia.
We recommend you to join the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

#3 Get and know more about your ID card student

If you are a student, your school must give you a student card. This little card is very useful and will become your best friend to help you to save money.
Indeed, you can get great deals on:
– Transports: in all cities, public transports allows concession fares for full-time students. You can save up to half price for each journey.
Get more information about it on the website of the transports company of your city and check if you are eligible.
– Food: a lot of cafés, bars or restaurants have students deals! Feel free to ask them when you order.
– Excursions, museums, cinema, sports (fitness centre,..) etc: don’t let your student status ruin your social life! In general, they do have some special prices for students.

You never know what could be hiding behind this magic card!

#4 Travel and useful apps

Find below some useful travel apps to save money:

– Wi-Fi finder: Most study abroad students tend to be without wi-fi while out and about in the city. While it’s not 100% perfect, the Wifi-Finder app can help you pinpoint a connection hotspot when you need it most as well as directions to the location (download here for iOS or Android; free).

– To make your trip planning go smoothly:
Skyscanner: Looking for cheap flights? Skyscanner has a huge database with over 600 airlines to help you find the best deal. (download here for iOS or Android; free).

– To navigate:
Maps.me: Once you download your map, there’s no internet connection required to use it. It works all over the world, has GPS positioning and you can zoom in for a highly detailed look at where you are and plan your journey (download here for iOS and Android; free).

– To track your spending:
XE Currency: XE is easy to use and will work on 180+ currencies. It shows live currency rates and works offline as well (download here for iOS and Android; free).

Mint: A useful app for students on a budget, you can connect your personal finance accounts to Mint and use the app to see where you’re spending most, set up saving goals, send yourself payment reminders and just keep better track of where your money goes (download here for iOS and Android; free).

#5 Basic phone package

Have you ever thought of the phone bills you pay?
Sometimes, we don’t use the number of minutes or data given in the package, so it’s a mere waste of money. So select your phone package wisely; for example, don’t go for a package with international free calls while you can call abroad with WhatsApp for free.

#6 Shop different

Gumtree is the largest Australia’s local marketplace.
Whatever you are looking for, you can buy, sell and find just about everything across hundreds of categories (jobs, cars, home, sport, clothes etc).
Visit here: https://www.gumtree.com.au/

Another easy way to shop differently is to do your grocery shopping in local markets.
Usually, fruits and vegetables are cheaper than supermarkets and if you go when the market is close to ending, locals grocer are doing special prices to avoid to throw the products.

Now, you have plenty of tips to save a bit amount of money!

By the way, we organize every month some free events everywhere in Australia, don’t forget to check on our facebook page what is going on your city, see our events calendar here!

Start your Australian Dream today!

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