Financial management is essential for undergrads, it is claimed.
Students are being urged to budget in order to avoid graduating with more debt than is necessary. A spokesperson for Debt Free Direct said undergraduates should set aside time to manage their student finances, just as they would to complete a course assignment.
Derek Oakley, operations director at the firm, said students should sit down and analyse how much money is coming into their accounts through loans and other avenues and work out how much they will spend on course fees and accommodation.
"The next step is to allocate money for essential items needed throughout the year and to then calculate what is left for social spending and non-essential items - this can be broken down into a weekly or monthly allowance," he remarked.
And he said taking on part-time or holiday work could help students to reduce their debt, as could shopping around to find the best deals on gas and electricity, mobile phones and even food.
According to the student information website Push.co.uk, graduates can expect to accumulate £4,000 worth of debts for each year of study, while official figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats show that 400,000 former university students who graduated up to seven years ago have yet to start making repayments on their loans because they are not earning above the £15,000 threshold.
