‘Making Use of Student Opportunities Fund’ – National Student Money Week Testimonial

Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

University is a great time for you got involved with all kinds of crazy opportunities to enhance your CV and to help you get your dream job later on. Last year, I was offered the chance to go to NASA Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to set up some biomedical payload experiments that I had been working on in the lab at King’s. I was incredibly excited but one of my immediate thoughts was how I was going to fund this trip. Usually, I like to plan ahead for big trips and slowly start saving for them, however on this occasion I only had 3-weeks’ notice! 

As someone who has always been very careful with my money, I did not want to throw my budget plan off and put myself in the position of having money troubles on returning from the trip. On the other hand, I did not want to miss out on this great opportunity, that may not come around again. I needed a plan!  

A friend told me about some organizations and companies that offer bursaries to help students with space-related research. As soon as I could I started emailing some of them. However, due to the short notice they were not able to help me. After doing more research, I decided I needed to look more locally and see if King’s could help me. After all, this would be an opportunity to develop my skillset and I had worked in the labs at King’s! That is when I found out about the Student Opportunities Fund. This is a scheme set up by King’s to help students fund opportunities related to career development. The money you apply for can be used towards conferences and research experiences. The process was also simple. It involved filling in an application form detailing the opportunity and then got assessed by a panel at King’s.  

Although it did not cover the entire cost, it covered a significant proportion and made the trip more affordable and accessible to me. The only drawback was that I had to pay for the trip and then claim reimbursement (but this is the case for most award schemes.) Whilst this involved playing around with my budget plan, using some money that I had saved up, and being more frugal until I got that money back, I knew in the long term my budget plan would be back on track. 

I am very grateful that funds like this exist, however, I feel that many students do not know this and miss out on opportunities that would enhance their professional development because they do not have the money to do it. In an ideal world, you should plan big trips and save for them slowly, whether that is tweaking your budget for the next couple of months or looking for a job to help fund it. In some cases, opportunities may arise unexpectedly and whilst it may feel easier to spend now and worry later or miss out on opportunities altogether, there are other options. Especially if the opportunity is educational or will contribute to your professional development, there is support out there for students from various sources, which you should take time to explore. An even better approach is to slowly save money on the side and to try and expect the unexpected! Having some savings on the side is how I could initially pay for the trip. Whilst I did not intend to use those savings for this circumstance, I am very glad that I had some money set aside. Even after this amazing trip, I try to save when I can because who knows what crazy opportunities, I can be a part of in the future!   

Chloe Mohanadas
King’s Student Money Mentor

Part of Money & Housing Advice
Studying Medicine MBBS (UG)

Need to speak to a Money Adviser? Call the Student Advice Line.

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. 

‘Effective Budgeting’ – National Student Money Week Testimonial

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Before I started my first degree, I had heard nothing but financial horror stories about students who had spent all their maintenance loan in fresher’s week, or had basically ended up living on beans and rice for entire terms because nightly takeaways wiped out their overdraft. So, when I started university and received my first dose of student loan, I was determined to be as frugal as possible to make sure I never ended up in any of these situations. I always bought cheap, value-brand food, I cooked all my own meals and stored extra in the freezer, and I would walk everywhere.  

These were all positive steps I took towards keeping myself financially stable…until I started pinching too many pennies. Soon enough, I stopped going to social events (I only attended two during the entire fortnight of fresher’s events my university put on) because I was worried I would spend too much. I wouldn’t go out to eat with my new friends because I just thought it would wind up being too expensive. Sure, I was reassured by the fact I wasn’t going to run out of money, but I was no longer even enjoying my university experience. It’s always good to have an emergency fund that can keep you afloat during hard times, but penny-pinching can go too far if you can’t even enjoy the good times.  

Ultimately, I discovered that by developing a structured budget at the beginning of the year, with different spending pots allocated for emergencies, essentials and everything else, I could have a great time at university, while still being financially responsible. It feels amazing to have a fun night out AND wake up to a bank account that’s still in the green.   

My unexpected discovery was that, with the use of a budget, a little bit of planning and some smart financial tools, penny-pinching doesn’t have to be painful.  

Omoremi Williams
King’s Student Money Mentor

Part of Money & Housing Advice
Studying Medicine MBBS (UG)

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Need to speak to a Money Adviser? Call the Student Advice Line, open daily. Please refer to the website for full details.

You can also click on this link for more information on budgeting!

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. 

‘Help and Support With Expecting The Unexpected’ – National Student Money Week Testimonial

Photo by Diane Helentjaris on Unsplash

Finance. *crickets chirp*. Yes, I know, not the most exciting topic that you want to be scrolling through while you put off doing that lecture that you’ve been “meaning to get to” (you and me both). But student finance is an important topic to talk about, especially when you’re thrown into the unknown world of adulthood when you start university. 

And the importance of the topic only greatens when we’re thrown a huge curveball like a pandemic. Like many, I found myself in a tricky situation with my finances and it gave me a wake-up call to take a hard look at how I was spending my money. 

Starting to review my spending was the hardest part. I just imagined that I’d have to be doing complex calculations with a bunch of spreadsheets up on my screen, trying to figure it all out on my own. I didn’t know what to do or where to start. The process was simply daunting! 

Eventually, I willed the power to take action and turned to my right-hand, Save the Student, my go-to whenever I have a question about money. I searched ‘How to manage student finances’, clicked on the first result, and my journey to becoming financially healthy began. 

During those next few weeks, I learnt how to budget, how to start a savings account and actually did! I know it can be overwhelming trying to sift through all the resources that may or may not help. So if you’re like me, wrapping your head around what to do, I recommend Save the Student and Blackbullion as great places to get yourself started.  

Blackbullion is free to King’s students, so long as you use your King’s email address! They have fantastic videos sharing steps on how to budget, how to save and have tools like the Budget Calculator to help you through the process.  

If you want advice on your money situation, contact the Student Advice and Guidance Team by emailing advice@kcl.ac.uk.  

Got any questions? We’re here to help too! Message us on Instagram at @kingsmoneymentors. And follow us to hear our latest money tips and tricks!  

What have you learnt about managing your finances this past year? Let us know by tagging us on your Instagram post or story. We love hearing from you!   

Stay safe and money savvy!  

Yogietha Kirushnamoorthy
King’s Student Money Mentor

Part of Money & Housing Advice
Studying Chemistry with Biomedicine MSci

Need to speak to a Money Adviser? Call the Student Advice Line.

For more information on money management and budgeting, check out Financial Wellbeing Part 1 – Where does your money go?, and Financial Wellbeing Part 3 – How to budget!

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.