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Student Finance: How to manage your money

13 March 2019 | Story Xolisa Mnukwa

financial savvy — Over 60% of South African students are in debt and spend more than the average South African adult.

For many students, university is their first money-management experience, and it is therefore crucial for them to prioritise basic personal-finance knowledge in order to avoid poor money management, and not knowing where their money is going.

Various other educational institutions, facilities, and initiatives such as Student Connections highlight student financial wellness as a topic of importance at higher-education institutions, because of the following reasons:

1. Low retention rates (university dropouts)
2. Loan default (graduating with student-loan debt)
3. Financial hardships affecting future success (low academic performance)

According to LinkedIn, a business and employment-oriented service, the spending and saving habits you develop in college are likely to stick with you throughout your adult life.

A personal finance study conducted by University of the Free State (UFS) Economics and Finance Lecturer, Cecile Duvenhage, revealed trends on how much students spend, and what they spend it on. Her outcomes discovered that students believe money buys them worthwhile experiences; it also revealed that over 60% of South African students are in debt, spending more than the average South African.

According to Duvenhage, the best way to optimise your use of money is to understand three things:

1. The psychology of money – relationship with money, your goals (reality, beliefs, perception, experiences, repeated messages)

2. The science of money – where is your money? What are you using it on, and how to make more (investing, savings, assets, liabilities, expenses, and income/pocket money)

3. The art of money – creating a financial game plan to stay afloat (knowledge, context, personal goals, game plan)

The Guardian website also highlights important tips for managing your money:

- If you’re struggling to manage your personal finances, ask for help. The earlier you get support, the less susceptible you are to overspend

- If you have financial aid, be sure to complete and send back your signed agreements in order to avoid delays in obtaining your money

- Add up your income, and then deduct all your essential expenses.

- Essential expenses include: tuition fees, rent/accommodation, electricity, and other accommodation expenses, groceries/food, and travel costs

The article, 6 common money management mistakes college students make, advises students to “live within your means, and [to] make choices based on the money that you have available.”

The article further recommends that students download a free, easy-to-use budgeting app such as Fudget: Budget Planner or Intuit Mint on their cellphones, which automatically creates a basic spending plan to personalise according to their means.

For enquiries or assistance with money management, contact finaid@ufs.ac.za

News Archive

South Africa praised for dealing with its history

2012-07-12

Case Study: Symbols of Power, Justice and Transformation - Prof. André Keet

“I listened to an incredible conversation on how South Africans can talk about the past. We failed to do that in the US. We cannot move on because we failed to name the ghosts in our past. I am honouring what South Africa is doing.”

These are the words of a staff delegate from a university in the USA in a case study at the Global Leadership Summit led by Prof. André Keet, Director of the International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Students and academics from universities in the USA, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan are attending a Global Leadership Summit with the theme “Transcending Boundaries in Global Change Leadership” at the UFS.

In the case study, symbols on the Bloemfontein Campus such as the MT Steyn Statue, Justitia symbol of justice at the building of the Faculty of Law, the artwork Van hier tot daar, and the Women’s Memorial were presented to the audience and the question was asked if they had to be removed or if they had to remain.

Students overwhelmingly felt that symbols of the past had to remain. Here are some of the comments:

“Without our past we would not be here today. Without the past, we would not know why we are here or where we are going.”
“It is important for students that it remains on campus, as a reminder that history must not repeat itself.”
“There is room for new symbols. We must look back but must also look at the future.”
“We must resolve the problems of the past and move on.”
“We must remember that we cannot go back there again. We must not take away part of other people’s history.”
“Symbols must be contextualised.”
“Don’t look in the rear mirror, but through the windscreen where you are going. The windscreen is far bigger.”

One student said the statute of MT Steyn filled him with anger.

Prof. Keet said the act of running away from the ghosts of the past was a way to keep those ghosts alive. The past cannot be dealt with, only visited. The ghosts connect people with the past and allow the past to be present in the now.

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