ORGANISE YOUR MONEY MANAGE YOUR ACCOUNTS BETTER

Organising your bank accounts is a must-learn skill for students. It will save you heaps and hopefully help you pay your bills on time. Keeping all your money in one bank account makes it tempting to spend until it’s gone – never mind paying the rent or buying food.

There’s a savvy solution to this problem that eliminates some of the stress. That’s to open multiple accounts with the same bank for different purposes such as:

■ fixed expenses, like rent and phone.

■ variable expenses, like food and electricity.

■ short-term savings accounts for student fees and occasional expenses, like warrant of fitness and spending/fun money.

If your bank doesn’t let you open extra free online accounts, then ditch them and switch to one that does.

Getting Started

Give your new accounts custom names such as ‘bills’, ‘supermarket’ or ‘fun’ and you will know, at a glance, what that money is for. When your StudyLink payments, wages or other money lands in your main account, split the money between your sub-accounts for different needs and wants.

That way you’re less likely to ‘accidentally’ spend money that’s meant for food, rent, utilities and other essentials. To make it work, you do need to be honest with yourself and not dip into other accounts.

Make A Plan

If you have a budget, you’ll know exactly how much you need to put aside each week or on pay day into different categories such as food, clothes and transport. If not, make a list of essential spending and have that money credited to the relevant account at the beginning of the week, month or semester, depending on when you get paid or receive your StudyLink payments. Always make sure you have some money set aside for fun. To make the new system work, you need to automate it. Ask your bank if it can split your incoming money automatically. The other option is to set up multiple automatic payments from your main account to the others. If you can’t work out how, don’t hesitate to visit a branch or call your bank so that they can do the work for you.

Set Up Text Alerts

It’s free with most banks to set up text or email alerts to avoid going overdrawn, which can incur unexpected fees. Alerts can tell you if an account balance falls below a certain level or if, for example, a regular automatic payment or direct debit fails.

Planning For Fees

It’s a good idea when organising your accounts to find a way to keep money earmarked for study fees away from your day-to-day bill and spending

writer DIANA CLEMENT photo credit i STOCK

IT ’S VERY EASY TO DIP INTO YOUR BILLS OR SAVINGS ACCOUNTS FOR REGULAR SPENDING .

Try Not To

BILLS AND SAVINGS ACCOUNTS .

accounts. Check if your bank has an online savings account that pays interest.

DON’T BE TEMPTED

It’s very easy to dip into your bills or savings accounts for regular spending. Try not to be tempted. It can help if your debit card isn’t connected to rent, bills and savings accounts. Check with your bank if you can have accounts with additional EFTPOS cards. Don’t hesitate to ask – banks want your business.

Consider Using Digital Apps

Most young people opt for fee-free student or youth banking from the main banks. But there are new electronic wallets and apps in New Zealand that can help with budgeting and money management. Revolut, for example, is a digital app with a debit card attached. The app has budgeting built in and helps you analyse spending.

The Dosh app allows customers to stash money in different wallets and to split bills with friends. Buck is another local bill-splitting app. Finally, if you do need to shop around for a better student account, visit MoneyHub’s guide at www.moneyhub.co.nz