Managing finances at university: how I survived the first year

Being admitted to university and getting a scholarship is a great pleasure for every high school graduate and his or her parents because you realise that the efforts put into the studies were not in vain.

The government covers your tuition fees, and it provides you with a monthly allowance to cover the basics. Studying and getting paid monthly? I thought that managing my own money was going to change my lifestyle.

In September 2015, I started my first year at the University of Rwanda. I was admitted to the School of Journalism and Communication in the College of Arts and Social Sciences.

Like other students, I was delighted, but also anxious. I was going to move from my home town in the Huye district’s southern province, where I also went to school, to Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city. And I was going to get an allowance of RWF25,000 (US$25) a month.

I thought I was going to be rich, live a luxury life, buy the clothes I wanted, eat whenever I wanted, have fun with friends, and save some money for a business.

Little did I know that electricity and water bills were going to be added to the list of other basics such as food, lotion, soap, sanitary pads, photocopies of notes, internet, and airtime, among others.

The challenge was to manage the little money I had after I realised I needed to cover a lot of expenses I never expected.

Because I was going to be far from home, my parents wanted me to live in a university hostel – not my wish, but I applied.

As a first-year student, I was accepted into an on-campus hostel. But, before paying for the hostel, con-men used technology to steal the money. I opted for the ghetto because it was less expensive than paying the total amount for on-campus hostels. I was happy that I was not going to live on campus, but I was sad about the money I had lost.

For those students who take the risk of off-campus living, it is important to plan. You must have cash, which will help you to start a new life.

During the first two months in the ghetto, I found out how hard it is to manage finances as I started paying for water and electricity. Just as soon as I paid these bills, I heard a person knocking at my door. She was collecting money for garbage disposal.

I lived with two other students, and we shared the bills though it was not easy as I didn’t know anything about bills or what electricity cost when I lived with my parents.

No more money from home

Whenever I paid an amount, I was like, ouch, what is this? But I had to pay. And I got used to it. I used the pocket money I had to buy the small things I desired, like perfume, phone accessories and jewellery. But the support I received from my family faded; my mother warned me to use my allowances properly, stressing that she could not be sending money again.

So, after the second month, I relied only on the monthly living allowance. Life became tough and I started learning how to spend carefully.

In the third month, I was supposed to pay rent with my roommates and allow for other expenses. We had to stock up to make sure we did not run short of cash.

So, we made sure that each contributed US$15 for shared responsibilities and kept US$10 for personal use. Hard as it was, I tried to buy cheap items and leave expensive ones to others.

On occasion, I did get a little money from family and colleagues, but I could not count on that. But I could use that to buy shoes, clothes, or other items I had yearned for but could not afford on the monthly allowance.

Living allowances increased

Students appealed to the government that they could not live on US$25 and the living allowance was increased to RWF40,000. Like other students, I was happy about the increase, but a little apprehensive, because I planned to start a small business.

The allowance was delayed for three months, but then we received back pay as well as the next month’s allowance. I used part of the money to start a small business selling phone accessories such as covers, screen protectors, chargers and headsets.

My main clients were students. That business helped me get additional cash. It was not much, but it helped me until I graduated. I stopped the business when I started working as a journalist at Radio Salus, which is owned by the University of Rwanda. I simply got too busy to combine both activities.

The first year taught me the culture of being frugal.

Currently, young people are trained to save early and try to create jobs from their savings. Such training is provided through the Capital Market University Challenge that is organised annually.

This golden opportunity started when I was no longer a student, and those who participated and won say it instilled in them a culture of saving and they are optimistic about a better future. More youth should seize the opportunity to develop a culture of saving.

Alice Tembasi, 25, is a graduate of the School of Journalism and Communication, currently practising journalism at the University of Rwanda’s Radio Salus. She is a poet and an actress as well as an interpreter.