How to recession-proof your finances

(Credit – ‘Towfiqu Barbhuiya’ at Unsplash)

Hi again King’s! As a student at Kings College, London, you might be worried about how to manage your finances during a recession. A recession is a prolonged period of time where a country’s economy is in decline, and it can have multiple different economic causes. As students, I’d say to stay on top during a recession, it’s essential to have a plan. A great first step to doing this is to create a budget and stick to it.  Money Mentors has a lot of content out about how to budget, and online budget calculators you can use, but the overall summary of how to budget is that you should figure out your total incomes over a period of time, find out what fixed costs you may have over that time (like rent, utilities, groceries etc.) and then decide how you want to spend (or save) the rest. By creating a budget and sticking to it, you can guarantee that you have enough money to cover your necessary expenses and avoid overspending.

Finding a part-time job to increase your income is another superb step you can take to survive a recession.There are many opportunities for part-time work, such as working in retail, hospitality, or customer service. I personally started working as a barista then moved on with a NHS pharmacy dispenser part time job over the weekend as it is more related to my life sciences course meaning that I could not only earn money but also get transferable skills that will be important for my career in the future. Consider applying for jobs in the relevant industries to help you make ends meet and also I’d say it’s good to think about jobs that help you gain work experience and build connections for your future career.

Discounts are key! As a student, you are entitled to a range of discounts from various retailers and service providers (for example by using Unidays or Student Beans). Take advantage of these discounts to save money on everything from food and transportation to entertainment and travel. It’s essential to learn how to be resourceful and make the most of every opportunity available to you.

Times can be hard for students during a recession, and sometimes student loans or parental support may not be enough. Another way to supplement your income during a recession is to apply for scholarships and bursaries like the Kings Living Bursary. KCL offers a big range of scholarships and bursaries to support students who are experiencing financial difficulties. Check with your academic department or the student services office to find out what options are available to you. One thing not to forget is that there are deadlines  eligibility criteria for each scholarship and bursary, so please be aware of these.

During a recession, it’s important to be thrifty with your money. Look for ways to save money on everyday expenses, such as cooking at home (including the all-important *meal prep*) instead of eating out and taking public transportation instead of driving. By being mindful of your spending and finding ways to save money, you can stretch your budget further and weather the storm of a recession. It’s important to prioritize your spending and focus on the things that matter most to you.

In conclusion, while a recession can be scary, there are lots of steps you can take to survive as a Kings College London student. By creating a budget, looking for part-time jobs, taking advantage of student discounts, applying for scholarships and bursaries, and being thrifty with your money, you can navigate through these difficult times and come out on top. It’s essential to stay positive and focus on your goals, even when times are tough. Challenges like these are our opportunities for growth, and if you ever need any extra support, the King’s Student Money Mentors are always here for you!

Anmoyul Mohon
King’s Student Money Mentor
Part of Money & Housing Advice

The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts. 

Blackbullion ‘How to deal with a recession’ Pathway Review

If you google the phrase ‘UK Recession’, these are the headlines you might see:

I think it’s safe to say….it is not looking pretty for any of us. Upon seeing those headlines, as a constant over-thinker, I started to worry. How am I supposed to cope with such economic turbulence? Will the recession affect how currently budget? My student loans? To what extent will this economic situation impact my life? So many questions!

This is where Blackbullion came in. As many of you may) know, Blackbullion.com is a digital platform aiming to help educate students about their finances. It has various interactive ‘Pathways’, which are really similar to quick YouTube videos, on different financial subtopics such as ‘Budgeting’, ‘Debt’, ‘Saving’ etc. For this situation, I went through a pathway titled ‘How to deal with a recession’  and I’m going to tell you my honest thoughts.

Pathway Review

Firstly, the layout of Blackbullion is so organised! The order of videos within this Pathway are clearly outlined in a section titled ‘Lessons’. Within that section, there are various subheadings such as ‘Recessions Explained’. This makes it so easy to follow what the Pathway is trying to teach.

Another thing I really love is how short and quick these videos are. There are 6 videos in this Pathway, each under 75 seconds. The length of these videos helps make rather complex information very digestible and easy to assimilate. Additionally, the videos feature simplistic animations (see the photo below). These animations reminded me of Pixar movies, which gives this such a cosy feeling! Who doesn’t love a nice Pixar movie?

(Credit: Blackbullion)

In each video the narrator explains what a recession is, the causes of a recession, its effects and how to deal with it. The audio is clear and features short sentences with uncomplicated language. I found this particularly useful for a community like King’s where there is a high concentration of international students.

The Pathway ends with a quick quiz. The quiz has five questions. I know when people see the word ‘text’ or ‘quiz’, they go into immediate panic mode. No need though! This quiz is a self-paced, short set of questions to simply make sure you’ve gotten the most important information from the videos. No one is assessing you, no one is watching or timing you. There is zero pressure.

Overall, this short six minute lesson has left a lasting impact on my knowledge (and worries too!) about the recession. It is definitely worth a try!

Aminuoritse Jemide
King’s Student Money Mentor
Part of Money & Housing Advice

The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts.

What is Blackbullion and how can you make the most out of it?

(Credit – Austin Distel at Unsplash)

Hi KCL! Students have many expenses to think about ,and this can be even more daunting if you’re based in London. This is where Blackbullion comes in. Blackbullion.com is an online platform that provides students with financial confidence and knowledge, ultimately leading to better decision making skills. Luckily for us, with our KCL email address, we can register an account with Blackbullion for free!  There’s lots of features you have access to, including articles, videos and other tools. I’m going to share my thoughts on some tools which I found particularly useful and how you can make the most of them.

The first tool which helped me a lot was the spending snapshot. This tool is really easy to use, it involves you taking a couple of minutes to enter information about your income and expenses, and you can see how much money you’d be left with at the end of the academic year. Whenever I’ve tried to calculate my budget, I’ve always forgotten to include a particular expense however this tool takes pretty much any type of expense and source of income into account. You can input any income from student loans, bursaries, part-time work and more. In terms of expenses, you can input rent, bills, food shopping, going out (events, clubs etc), insurance and subscriptions – it’s very thorough!. My tip would be to use this tool before you begin the next academic year so that you can see whether your loans and/or part-time jobs cover your planned expenses. If not, you can try thinking of ways to cut down on some of your expenses (perhaps by taking a look at Blackbullion’s budgeting module). They also have a great budgeting calculator. This is very similar to the spending snapshot tool but includes more subcategories of expenses so may take slightly longer to use.

Another tool which I found really useful was the student loan repayment estimator. This tool provides you with a list of careers to choose from e.g. doctor, teacher, lawyer etc. Once you have selected your most likely career, the calculator will estimate your annual salary (based on the national average), your monthly student loan repayment and your resulting monthly take home pay. You can see how your salary will progress up to 30 years and the corresponding increase in monthly student loan repayments. If your ideal career does not appear on the list, or if you are not sure which career you’d like to follow, you can select the custom feature! This allows you enter any starting salary and you can see how much your student loan repayment would be each month. Although this is an estimate, it can give you a rough idea of how much of your salary goes towards student loan repayments when you graduate and the number isn’t usually as high as people think!

I hope this has helped you learn more about Blackbullion and how you can use this platform to further develop your financial skills!

Aanchal Raina

King’s Student Money Mentor

Part of Money & Housing Advice

The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts.