I am a university student. What is the best thing I can do for myself money wise...?

in terms of how it will affect my future finances?

Start an IRA or some other form of retirement account. With some companies, it doesn't take much to start. Use direct, automatic deposit and put what you can afford into it. It doesn't have to be much at your age, ten bucks a paycheck will be fine for now (that's two trips to starbucks or mcdonalds).

Every time you get a raise, or a windfall (unexpected bonus) raise you automatic deposit.

It doesn't seem like much now, but when you look at it in 10 years, 20 years, you will be amazed.

If you possibly can, get a job. Even the nastiest, most unpleasant job is worth it. I used to clean filthy nightclub toilets while at Uni. It was one of the best jobs I ever had. Cleaning is a good job because it's all after hours, and you can go out on Friday or Saturday night (have a BUDGET!) and then go home, grab a couple hour's sleep, and clean some buildings for a few hours, and have the rest of your weekend to yourself.

If you possibly can, save 10% of your income, and put it in a long term investment. I would start by saving what you can in a higher interest bank account, like a passbook account. If you are on Centrelink payments (I'm an Aussie) you should be fine to save something. Also, if you're an Aussie, pay some of your HECS up front. That will save money down the track. Even though HECS doesn't earn interest, it's indexed to the Consumer Price Index, meaning the amount WILL go up in time. So pay what you can now.

So get a job. Even if you have to go part time or take a lower school work load and stretch your degree over another year, it'd be worth it to be better off financially. It's not how much you earn, but how much you save, that will get you ahead. If you wait to save til you're out of Uni, that's several years of interest on your savings you will miss out on. So start now.

Share your accomodation with someone. This will keep down your living expenses. If you have a car, avoid driving it unless necessary. This saves your petrol. There are heaps of cheap things you can do as a student. Make your own homebrew beer. Grow some vegetables in the back yard if your accomodation is suitable. Instead of going out to the pub, have a DVD night and everyone bring their own grog. That's way cheaper. Buy your clothes at the 'op' shops (the cheap charity secondhand shops). If you shop around, you'll get nice clothes. All my furniture's out of the op shop, and I've been out of Uni for years. Also, take your own lunch with you. That will save you heaps on buying take away.

If you can use all these ideas to save a little money, once you get about $2000, go to your bank and see a financial planner. OFten there is one on staff and it's a free service. They will take a small commission of your investment, but long term it's worth it. They can recommend a good product for you to invest in. Once it's invested, it's harder to touch, and you're less inclined to want to touch it.

I invested about $7000 before I went to Uni, and ten years later it was worth $18000. All I put in was $7000. Instant house deposit. It was one of the best things I've ever done. The more you save now, the more time it has to increase in value through compound interest. So save your money, only buy secondhand where appropriate, and you'll have a nice little nest egg.

do not finance! save and pay cash. you don't need the latest and greatest cars and stuff. the less debt you have now, the more stuff you can have latter and pay cash for it.

get a job or sell your body.

I find the best thing to do with money right now is:
Write out a table with headings 'what I bought', 'how much it cost' and 'was it necessary'. Adding up all the money you spent and looking at what could have been saved shows you exactly how you could be doing better.

Get yourself a relevant student job. You'll avoid getting into debts and you'll have valuable experience to put on your cv!

Good luck!

Stay home on Friday nights. I remember spending way too much money at the bars when I was in college.

Start paying off your student loan as soon as you can. Even if you are in school and only paying 20 a month. It will help you so much even if all you pay is interest.

Concentrate on your education. The better you do in University, the better you are likely to do in life.
At the same time, don't live in books. You will also need social and personal skills unless you are planning to be locked in a cubicle by yourself for your professional life.
Working may be overrated. At least at the schools where my daughter applied, any money earned in an on-campus job was cut from any student aid packages. You can't win.
She did stay at the university one summer and work for them while taking two P.E. courses. In addition to the credits she had earned while still in high school, this allowed her to graduate a year ahead of schedule.

Keep your debt as low as possible and if you must borrow money low student loans are the best way to go. Get a part time job.

what like what courses should you take? Invest in Chinese Stocks

Avoid accumulating credit card debt, and do not take out private loans (try to use only federal).

avoid loans
avoid credit
pay your bills on time
pay off debts as soon as possible

If you are eligible for work-study take advantage of it. It generally pays a bit more than regular student positions. If you ra a Grad student check with some of the departments to see if they have any Graduate Student positions available which can pay your tuition and give you a monthly income check out tutoring payment can be up to 35.00 per hour depending on your specialty.

whatever you do in your life money wise,make sure never borrow money,if you have to pay later with interest.watch Suzy or-man's TV shows and seminars.that will lead you to the financial free dome of your life.
live a life in your means,do not use credit cards,if you can not pay full.when ever you want to shop any thing,think over and over,and ask question with yourself,that do i really need to buy? if your conscious say yes you need it then buy.always buy cash.or use credit card but pay in full.make a habit of saving instead a bad habit of spending.
even for the university fee.first make the money and then pay the tuition or during study keep on working to pay the tuition and bills.if you are good in your studies i think tuition fee will not be a problem.keep your bills under controls.no one told me these kind of thing and i learn from my life and in 22 years in this country i have a paid off house and force to lay off so just the monthly income,$678, i am surviving,to pay all my bills,taxes,medicine,car insurance,and all the necessities of life without any debt.no matter how much little you make you need to budget your expenses.good luck

This depends on what you want out of your university life.

If you are looking for mainly a good time with a bit of study every now and then... you are likely to end up living beyond your means (i know i did).
You could take up part time work to mitigate this but you will need a flexible employer that can give you hours to suit your studies / exam schedule.
Some supermarkets / bars etc will be quite understanding but the pay is relatively low. This also cuts into your social life.

Whatever you do, don't let your work affect your studies.

If you are looking for a first class degree and a high paid, high powered job on graduation, study hard, socialise less and live frugally.

Don't worry about money now as a few years of hard study will enable you to get a well paid job which will enable you to pay of any debt that you have built up.

Apply for any student loans you can, get your applications in on day 1 of the term. Put the money in an egg money account or instant access savings account (should easily get 4% credit interest). These will allow you access to the funds as required without penalty.

If you are looking for long term investment, buy a house.
If you can raise the funds that is.

Convert all rooms except the kitchen / bathroom into bedrooms.
Rent out the other rooms.
You can charge enough to cover your outgoings.

saving money now to avoid furture debt. Invest in stock index funds - right now the market is at a bargin.

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