Budgets Behaving Badly

February 5, 2014  //  By: Hege Reme  //  Featured, GUIDE, OFF CAMPUS  //  No Comment

A definition of broke is “when there is too much month at the end of your money”; I must admit I find this description very much applicable indeed. For my sake, last month was unbearably long what goes for the end of my money. If I have understood it correctly, this is a common phenomenon among students. Somehow, the month’s funds have mysteriously flown away whether they came from SU, Lånekassen, your parents, or (less likely) your own efforts. Who hasn’t spent the last week or more (February with its peeking heating and electricity bills is a bitch) of the month eating overcooked macaroni and freeze-dried soup for all meals? Where did all the money go? It’s not like beer and the following night snack is that expensive or what?

Whether you spend a little too much money on shopping, alcohol (reality check; beer is expensive when you drink it several times a week and, honestly, who stops after only one?) or you just generally live by a continuously money spree, here are some tips on how to better rationalize your budget, and still live somewhat decent.

As food is a somewhat necessary post on every budget, this is a good place to start looking at how you can make your money last longer. First of all, as with most things in life, planning is the key. Once you are in the grocery shop, the temptations start screaming for your attention, and you are highly likely to fall for some of them. How many times have you gone food shopping with only one thing on your list and actually come home with that thing only? An everyday trip to the store suddenly becomes unnecessarily expensive if you always buy one (five) extra items. An easy way to solve this problem is to go food shopping less often. Spend five minutes on Sunday evening to plan what you need for the next week, and go stock up the following Monday. Throughout the week, you are likely to find the need to fill up the fridge with fresh foods, but try to walk silently past the racks of guilty pleasures (fear not fellow students: it is only human to be able to resist everything but temptations).

Moreover, make sure to check out the discounts in the different stores. Sometimes it can pay off to shop at another place than your local shop if that place is cheaper in general, or has some good deals. If you don’t get discount folders in the mail, more stores also promote their sales online. Whenever you find a good purchase, make sure to stock up. A good idea if you are keen on saving some time as well is to prepare an insanely large casserole of whatever you found at a rip-off price, let cool down, and freeze in portions. Voilà, dinner for the rest of the week in no time (I mean who has a varied intake anyways?).

Another tip is to go for seasonal commodities. In Scandinavia during fall and winter, root vegetables and fruit such as apple and pears are especially cheap and therefore a good bargain. Also, these products are often locally produced so your shopping gets a little more environmental friendly than if you only bought mangos from India. Speaking of, does anyone know when mango season is? I don’t, I just buy mine cheap at an exotic shop at Nørrebro (special price for you my friend).

Next saving point: canned foods. Okay, it might sound unappetizing, but you’d be surprised by the variety of delicious dishes you can get out of some kroner spent in the canned food rack. Similarly, it usually pays off to buy frozen vegetables instead of fresh if you want something else than carrots and potatoes. They are just as nutritious as the fresh ones, only cheaper and most of the time they are already cut (time saver #2).

All in all, saving money on food is fairly easy (in theory, that is) if you only take some minutes of your time to plan your purchases. One could of course bake one’s own bread, and fish one’s own fish, but let’s get realistic: who would then make the economy go around? After all, Keynes were right indeed: if everyone is saving, there is no money to spend.

About the Author : Hege Reme

Yet another Norwegian at CBS. Studying a BSc in Business, Language and Culture with French.