Without education or training, the chances of getting a well-paid job are usually poor. This means that a financially worry-free life becomes a long way off. Ironically, it is serious financial worries during the educational path - often even despite BAföG - that make it difficult for students to fully focus on a successful academic education. But there is another way. We still can't guarantee you a life of luxury, but our innovative savings tips should at least add some gold to your student life.
Housing: Take a close look at rental agreements and rental costs!
Rent prices in Germany have been rising for years because living space is scarce, especially in areas that are close to the university for students. Although you can't directly change this price trend, there are still ways to live relatively cheaply even with high rents.
If you are renting an apartment, you should first check whether the landlord's asking price corresponds to the local average or is far above it. This is actually quite simple. A look at the rent index for your place of residence is enough. Logically, you shouldn’t rent apartments that are too expensive.
If the average rental price in your area is generally very high, you should think about where else there is potential for savings. However, you won't be able to avoid making some compromises in terms of comfort - although you don't necessarily need it.
A good example of this is an elevator. Rental properties with an elevator are generally more expensive than buildings in which only stairs lead up. Additional living costs that are listed in the rental agreement also offer you opportunities to save money, for example cable fees for the TV.
Sometimes these are already included in the electricity price, which sounds good in principle, but this can increase the costs. If these are not available, consider whether you even need this connection, because thanks to the Internet, both private and public broadcasts are available digitally and some are available on demand or in live streams in media libraries.
► Compare the rental price with the average rent in the current Mitspiegel
► Exclude apartments with dispensable comfort facilities
► Check included services in the additional costs
Leisure: The most effective training is completely free!
Sport is also, or perhaps even especially, an effective way to recharge your batteries - and switch off mentally - during stressful study days. Fitness training is particularly popular with students. Unfortunately, not every university is equipped with a fitness room, so you have to take out a membership in the fitness center, and of course this costs money - month after month.
The question arises as to whether you actually need a fitness center to train effectively. Because if you don't want to become the world champion in powerlifting or the next Mr. Olympia, effective strength and endurance training can easily be implemented without weight benches and weight plates.
Strength training with your own body weight using push-ups, pull-ups or squats is likely to be a big challenge for most people, but it is at least as effective and promising as the bench press or the leg press - and is healthier for your joints too.
However, you should invest the money you save thanks to outdoor fitness training in proper sports clothing and sports shoes in order to be protected from wind and weather and to minimize the risk of injuries. In order not to have to spend twice as much money, it is better to buy high-quality sportswear directly. In order to save here, we always recommend taking a look at larger bargain portals, such as Mein-deal.com .
Completely unnecessary expenses relate to modern fitness gadgets or nutritional supplements such as protein shakes. You can often use most of the helpful tools for free as an app on your smartphone. The same applies to your diet as to the weight plates mentioned. If you don't do professional bodybuilding, you will be able to meet your protein needs to build muscle through natural foods. There is no need for protein shakes and other promising helpers.
► Don't take out memberships in fitness clubs, instead train outside
► Buy high-quality fitness clothing, but look for offers on bargain portals
► Don't spend money on nutritional supplements and fitness gadgets, instead eat healthy and use free apps
Nutrition: Don't buy anything that doesn't have anything in it!
If there's one thing that shouldn't depend on money, then it should be your health - and this is largely influenced by your own diet. However, there is a general belief that fast food like frozen pizza is cheaper than vitamin-rich, natural foods . However, it should now be clear to everyone that this opinion is more of an excuse than a fact.
Nevertheless, it is certainly true that some so-called organic foods, super foods and the like come at a considerable cost to the shopping budget. It is also true that even supposedly healthy foods sometimes do not deliver what they promise. Unfortunately, some companies have decided to deceive even with supposedly healthy nutritional products in order to make money cheaply.
An example: Vegan squid rings are often not made from plant-based, natural substances. Instead, manufacturers use artificially produced bulking agents, such as curdlan in this case. Although this is officially approved as a food additive under the name E424, it is, firstly, indigestible for the human organism after heating and certainly does not correspond to the principle to which vegans feel committed.
Vegan squid rings are not the only example, but they should make it clear that the extra cost for foods that promise to conform to your own nutritional credo is sometimes not worth it. When shopping for groceries, you also need to be careful and not blindly trust advertising promises. Simple natural foods, such as nuts, are usually the best decision. Although these are comparatively expensive, they have six times more vital substances than, for example, white bread - so they fill you up for longer and are therefore even cheaper.
► Don't blindly trust the advertising promises of food manufacturers
► Above all, buy natural foods, ideally from the region
► It's better to spend a little more on nutritious and long-saturating foods instead of buying seemingly cheaper products that only fill you up for a short time
As a student you don't have to live on bread and water ►three golden savings tips for students on the subject of ►Housing ✚ Food ✚ Leisure time ►Save yourself by studying!
