Slaying Inflation: How an undergrad is self-funding her studies by finding creative ways to save and still enjoy her youth

For the 24-year-old undergraduate at the Singapore Institute of Management , this is what a typical weekend looks like — back-to-back tuition and part-time relief classes the entire day to pay for her university education.

Her mother, who is in her mid-40s and her father, who is in his mid-50s, are both middle-income earners. They support her in other ways, such as covering her food and transport expenses when they go out as a family. I believed that I should be responsible for my own decisions and bear the cost of the extended two years of university education myself, at about S$12,000 per academic year.Payment for tuition fees are collected at three different points within the academic year, so I have time to slowly save up for each payment, instead of paying a lump sum.

When I am not studying or spending time with my family, I busy myself with offering tuition services and doing part-time relief teaching jobs so that I can earn enough to pay for my studies. I also bought my educational necessities like my laptop using my own savings and the money I received from the Goods and Services Tax voucher scheme.IN WHAT OTHER WAYS HAVE YOU TRIED TO SAVE UP?

As a result, I was always tired and I could not fully enjoy being in the company of family and friends, or devote energy to my CCA, and I had to cut down on the number of meet-ups with my friends. But I have had to sacrifice some wants, like forgoing a specific hair conditioner that works for me when it runs out at a time when I am short on cash.

Sometimes, I will have to ask my friends to reschedule or postpone our meet-ups since I do not have the budget to go out. I am lucky that my friends are also in the same boat, so they understand what I am going through and accommodate me.For instance, if I want to attend a concert but cannot afford it, I will take up an ad-hoc part-time job manning the cashier or food stalls within the concert venue so that I can attend for free, and even get paid for it.

To alleviate the costs of transportation, I buy the monthly hybrid concession pass for public buses and trains every month.Sometimes the pass expires when I am low on cash and cannot fork out a lump sum amount of S$90, so I top-up my ez-link card by cash, at about S$10 every week, which is a more bearable amount for me.

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