Students’ years are the great time when you are young, free and it feels like the whole world is open to you. Probably, one of the biggest problems of every student is always being kind of scarce with money. It is not so easy to combine everything – studying, working and attending all the great parties and events that are going on around. However, students don’t get desperate, they get creative and find some ways out of that situation. Here are some of the ways how European students are dealing with their limited budgets and save some money.
Clothes
Of course, there are exceptions, but most of the European students are not so crazy about the brands. They have their own style, follow it and look great, but it is absolutely normal to buy clothes in second-hand store or a vintage shop; there is even a special chic in that. Many young people care about the environment: the idea of recycling and saving the resources is very popular, so the students do not tend to buy extra clothes in order not to support the extra usage of materials.
Social help
The government in many countries is ready to help people with the low level of income. For example, students can ask for a financial help from the government if their parents’ income is lower than the minimum one. There are some social shops, where everything is much cheaper than in the regular ones, you can buy things from there if you show a document that proves your low level of income or the fact that you do not have any income at all. Another way to save some money on food is to come to the market at the end of the day, right before the market’s closure – many students do so, as you can save up to fifty percent.
Helping each other
There are many Facebook groups, special websites and stores where you can exchange something that you do not need any more on something quite useful. Most often such places do not accept food, but you can bring and find clothes, books, furniture, electronic devices, bicycles. There are also other websites, where you do not exchange, you just take something from there, as people post the pictures of things they do not need anymore, and many students use this opportunity as often you can find something really nice there.
Transport
Many universities provide their students with special passes, which can be used for any type of transport and which are much cheaper than the regular ones. However, probably the most popular transport among the students is bicycle. You can easily rent it, use a city bike or get your own one. There are a lot of special stores and websites that will help you to get a used bicycle in a good condition for an affordable price.
Sports
Young people in Europe are quite active and do sports, but they manage not to spend a lot of money on that. First of all, there are a lot of free classes provided by different places, you just need to monitor your opportunities. Secondly, there are gyms, swimming pools, dancing classes where you decide how much you are willing to pay, as there are no fixed prices there. And, of course, you always have the options of running or cycling, which do not require you to spend extra money. Actually, these two are the most popular kinds of sport among European students.