How to Manage Your Finance: Tips for International Students in Australia

Wherever you are it is very important to know how to manage your budget well to avoid any problems in the future. It becomes far more complicated when you are away from home and in a foreign land with no close friends or family members around from whom you can borrow without hesitation. Money is a very important thing to manage your studies, personal expenses, and tuition fees. So, you need to be extra cautious with your finances. 

In this blog, you will learn how to budget well in a new country, which is among the most crucial aspects of settling in. Since you are an international student away from your usual support system, you will need to independently assess your costs, keep track of your spending, and keep your expenses within your budget. 

Here are some suggestions for handling your money wisely while you are a student in Australia. 

Create a budget plan

You must be careful to consider all aspects of your finances, which should include your income and expenses, in order to plan a budget. Your rentals, utility bills, phone expenses, internet expenses, subscriptions, travel expenses, and memberships are a few of your regular expenses. You should keep track of the money left over after paying for all of your necessary expenses to put towards savings and entertainment costs. 

Maintaining an Excel spreadsheet, that separates your income, expenses, and leisure spending is a great way to keep track of your expenses and also stick to your budget. You also have the choice to set up your budget planner on a weekly, fortnightly, or monthly basis, depending on what is convenient for you and how frequently you get paid and/or pay your bills. 

Open a bank account

When you go abroad for studies, you will need to plan everything in a way that you do not face any problems while staying away from home. So opening a savings account is one of the right decisions that you should follow for proper handling of your finances. Since you can earn interest on the money in a savings account, it is a great option to make the most of your money. 

Moreover, banks offer different types of savings accounts to different types of users. Compare and find out which one best meets your demands and as a student which one is suitable for you. Numerous account options are available for students from the majority of Australia’s major banks, including Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, and Westpac. Choose the one that suits your purposes.

Additionally, to open an account with an Australian bank; you do not have to wait until you arrive in Australia; the majority of institutions allow you to open a savings bank account online in advance.

Make wise use of credit cards

Many people get a credit card to manage their finances and save money. But, you need to understand, if not used wisely, credit cards just encourage you to spend more money. Undoubtedly, that is always what has been happening in many cases! However, a credit card can help you pay for daily expenses and even provide you with financial help at a crucial time. If you are good at managing your credit card, it is a great way to establish credit in Australia.

You can think of credit cards with smaller credit limits, interest rates, balance transfers, and yearly account fees when selecting a credit card. Additionally, you should look for credit cards that are mainly for international students because your choices might be relatively restrained.

It is essential to be able to repay the debt on your credit card if you are approved, more importantly when you are charged with interest on every purchase. Therefore, if you are financially not stable yet, it is better if you delay applying for a credit card. 

Apply for loans or financial aid

It could be hard to get a loan when you are traveling abroad. The best first step in clearing this doubt is to become aware of your loan options as an international student.

You are qualified for some type of student loan from Australian lenders as an international student. This includes personal loans, which have shorter terms and are normally ‌repaid within five to seven years. Depending on your income, credit history, lender, and liabilities, these loan amounts and interest rates can differ significantly.

Do not be too casual about it, as taking out a loan might have a significant negative influence on your financial condition. You are not sure if you are prepared to obtain a personal loan or not. Give a thought to it. To find out your eligibility, interest rates, and repayment plans, explore all of your possibilities with several financial aid providers and lenders.

Use budget-tracking applications

Saving money and keeping track of your budget and finances has never been this simpler before. With the abundance of financial tracking applications at our fingertips, now you can become more careful about your finances. With the help of a number of applications, you can categorize your spending, see where your money is going, and set financial objectives. 

For instance, some of the most popular and user-friendly tools to keep track of your finances include Track My Spend, Wally, Pocketbook, and You Need a Budget (YNAB). To help you monitor and track your spending more effectively, these applications integrate with your bank account so you can easily see where your money is going. Riaz is another application, which lets you ‌put your spare change into a portfolio of diversified shares. Just connect your bank account to the app, and every time you buy something, it will automatically round up and invest the difference.

The above points will help you manage your finances and budget better when you are in Australia or any other foreign country for your studies.