Can a poly or uni student survive on a $350 ~ $500 a month?

Possible but it would be better to increase your income with part-time job.

It can build up your CV also.

You can opt to work as a financial consultant while studying. This can help you accumulate working experience in the financial industry, which help to fulfill pre-requisites of future certifications in the industry.

If interested you can email me at [email protected]​​​

Hi, Definitely possible! However, I won't deny that it will take a fair amount of discipline from you! Here are some ways you can increase your own awareness and as a result reduce your spending.

Do not do retrospective tracking (Only after the month is done) but rather do tracking using a tracking app on the go. Only then can you possibily react to over spending through the month.

If you are concerned about your spending due to your limited allowance, you can consider doing side hustles! Tuition is a good way to build your income as a student!

Hi Alcander, it’s definitely possible! I’m a uni student and my monthly expenses averages to be around $450 ($90 on concession, ~$280 on food, $28 on phone bill, remaining ~$50 on other miscellaneous spending)

For myself, I just try to make sure that each of my meals are $5 or lesser. I do so by looking out for deals and promotions, so that I can get a nicer treat for myself at times at a discounted price :)

It’s good to identify what you spend most on and see how you can reduce it if possible. For example, are you spending too much on transportation, how can you reduce it? Is concession better? Or are you taking Grab too often, is it really necessary? Or if it’s on food, are you eating like too expensive restaurant food too often? Not that you can’t but personally I’ll eat slightly more expensive food as a reward to myself after some exam, project or a really long day in school.

$350-500 is enough for sure. As a student, my monthly expenses is around $180-300 excluding big ticket items like laptop, oversea trip, etc.

Try to have 2 different bank account. 1 for spending and 1 for savings. Use your spending bank account for daily expenses like food. Keep track of your savings account and set a target. Example, $2K in savings by this year.

At the end of the day, it also depends on your group of friends. If your friends love eating in expensive restaurants/ bars, it might be difficult to keep your expenses low. This is quite hard to change.