January 21, 2024
Keeping on a Student Budget in Sweden - Part 2
Hej everyone!
As I said in my previous post, here are some more tips for keeping on a budget in Sweden!
- Travelling
The student dream of exploring every nook and cranny of your host country can face a harsh reality when you start tallying up travel expenses. My advice?
- One tip is to try to travel in a group. It will probably allow you to divide some expenses (such as food and accommodation) and it is always fun!
- If you are only travelling for a couple of days, try to prepare your meals or some of them. It makes you save some money, and it is really practical to always have something to eat when you are in the middle of nowhere, or if all the restaurants are full.
- If you are travelling to places nearby, try to walk or use your bike as much as possible. And don’t doubt yourself, I’ve done Ryd-Tornby and all the way back on one of my first days with a bag full of stuff to my bedroom, and I’m still here! However, you still have public transportation if that is not an option for you, and it’s not that expensive when you have student discount!
And don’t forget, your LiU card lets you use for free the LiU bus to Norrköping (see my experience here) if you want to visit there, or if you are in campus Norrköping and want to visit Linköping !
- If you want to travel a little far away, define a budget and start working on finding accommodation as soon as possible. Although sometimes the best deals are done when you reserve around the day you want to go, that can also mean that you lost some other opportunities that were probably nearby the places you wanted to visit, and you may need some kind of transportation to move around.
- Other option is to apply for a trip with student organizations. For example, ISA and ESN usually have trips to Norway or Lapland (for example) which are usually budget friendly and may be an option for you if you feel more adventurous and want to make some new friends in the way.
- Student discounts
These are your best friends! When you become a student at LiU you can apply for student discounts with Mecenat, and have plenty of good deals on a lot of different things!
Besides, some student organizations have a membership card that allows you to access more discounts to plenty of activities! A good way to get to know them is on the Welcome fairs organized by the University at the beginning of each semester for the new students. So, don’t get shy! Go there and ask for more information (and you’ll probably get some food and souvenirs on the way)!
And I think these are my suggestions. I can also tell you that usually I spend around 700€ per month (which includes rent, food, transportation, and some parties/extras that I may have), but I usually don’t party and I always cook my meals, for example. But of course, it really comes to your choices, and it is completely ok to sometimes do something crazy that may not be planned! Remember, this is a new experience, and of course money is a big component, but you should also enjoy yourself and make this time count!
Hope you feel this is useful information and if you still have some questions feel free to send a message!
Thanks for reading, see you soon!
/Leonor, Applied Ethology and Animal Biology
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