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Saving money when you’re studying abroad is a must.
We know that it’s already expensive to pack up your life and move across the world for your education. We want it to be easy for you to come to Kunming, China to study Mandarin, instead of worrying about your bank account balance.
Because of this, we’ve decided to share some practical tips on how to save money as a student who is studying in Kunming, China.
The first how-to when it comes to traveling cheap is creating a travel budget. In our first saving money article, “How to Save Money While Studying in China,” we mention planning ahead. Creating a travel budget before you’re at the airport, ready to fly, will allow you to understand your money situation and stick to the budget.
To help, we’ve created a FREE cost comparison graph for you. It compares some everyday expenses. We break down things like what an average lunch costs in China, compared to the USA, and the conversion rate of the bill.
This graph will help you know the cost of living in Kunming and how much money you should allocate to different things in your budget.
While it may take a bit to create your budget, it’s important to stick with it throughout your study abroad experience. If you stick to your budget, you’ll more than likely feel at ease when you’re away, and you open up your bank account statement.
Yahoo posts the daily exchange rates for all currencies, and a simple search will ensure you’re getting the most value out of your dollar.
In addition to paying attention to the rates, withdraw more money less often. Now, we’re not saying to walk around Kunming with hundreds of dollars on you, but withdrawing more money less frequently will save you from those pesky ATM fees.
ATMs are one of the best places to get money out abroad, but one of the biggest misconceptions is that there’s only one flat fee to withdraw money. But, in actuality, you can be charged multiple fees. Fees include a flat $2-5 transaction fee from your bank each time, a percentage fee for the currency conversion, and possibly a fee from the ATM you use abroad.
These fees add up to become a big chunk of your budget. So, pay attention to the fees, and by withdrawing more money, less often, you’ll be saving some good money.
One of the biggest money grabbers is eating out. A meal, plus a drink and maybe even a sweet treat to finish it off, end up costing a lot of money. Luckily, at Keats School, our meals are included in tuition.
This means you’re saving money on breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day. But, on the weekends, when you’re on your own, pick the cheaper restaurants. Pick the cheaper food options and stay away from spending a lot of money on drinks.
They go down fast, and your bill goes up fast.
Adding an international phone plan to your existing plan could cost you an arm and a leg, and forgoing that is one way to budget your money. Many international students recommend downgrading your phone plan to remove data and have it solely connect to wifi when available.
This could save you a lot of money every month. Some even cancel their whole plan and stay in touch with friends and family via a computer.
If you’re not ready to cancel your plan, Keats School provides a sim card for all students once they arrive in Kunming. This will help you stay in touch with your friends and family while you’re out exploring China.
You’re not going to need your magazine subscription to Mechanical Engineering while you’re away. Cancel your subscription and save some money while you’re a Mandarin language student. You’re not going to need your gym membership while you’re abroad. Cancel your membership and save some money. Plus, Keats School has a gym for all students to access.
You could even go as far as canceling your Netflix, Spotify, Apple Music, and your home internet. Some or all of these things are extra payments that you could minimize.
A straightforward, practical way to save money while living in China is to have a no-spend day. It’s as simple as the title reads. Spend no money for one day a week. That one no-spend day will allow you to save a couple yuan.
If you choose the intensive one-on-one Chinese program, it is an all-inclusive program, including accommodation and meals. Therefore, you can actually learn Chinese in China with Keats while spending no money at all for one day. This can help you fully immerse yourself in Chinese language studies.
Many products in China are cheap and of good quality, so sometimes the students get fascinated with all the great things in China. Please make sure that the thing you buy is really in urgent need or the gift you would like to give to your family or friends. If not, don’t spend on things that you don’t need.
Now that you know it’s possible to study abroad and save some money, it’s time to apply to Keats School. At Keats, we have eight different Mandarin language courses. Each course is customizable to you and your language needs.
To learn more about our courses, visit our courses page. To apply to Keats, start your online application today.
I have studied at Keats for 2 semesters. I highly recommend Keats School. If you are very interested in taking a Mandarin course in China, I would suggest you come to Kunming. Kunming people are very friendly. The weather in Kunming is great. So I recommend that you study Chinese at Keats in Kunming.
Last year I started studying Chinese at University. The reason that I came here is that currently, I’m preparing for the HSK 5 test. Also, I heard that this is one of the best schools to study Mandarin in China. After I came here I realized that Kunming is a pretty cool city to live in and with regards to the teachers’ teaching methods, I think they’re very professional. And I think the language environment is good so now I’m ready to take the HSK 5.
I took the one-on-one Intensive Chinese class for 6 hours a day. The classes are very interesting. The teachers are caring and the content the teacher teaches me is suitable for my level. It is an easy way to learn Mandarin. I have a lot of time practicing Chinese in class. The food is great here. I have improved my Chinese through this program at Keats.
I think Kunming is a great city, the weather is really good. I really like Keats school and found it is very organized. The teachers here are very good. They have a coffee shop and new classrooms, a new lounge area here now, so you can chill out with your friends and practice your spoken Chinese with natives. If you’re considering coming to Keats to study, I would really recommend it. It’s the best place to learn Mandarin and I think it will be a great experience for you.
I’ve had an amazing time at Keats. I am amazed at how much I’ve learned over the last 3 weeks and I will be really sad to go. We are already planning on our next trip of coming back because we had such a fantastic time here. They really tailor the Chinese language course to you and your individual needs.
The place is very cool. I am with a great group of people in my class, so coming to classes is very enjoyable. It is fun, we have a lot of discussions, games, activities. Our teachers are also very good, very supportive. Learning Chinese is intimidating at the start because you have so many questions. But I would advise coming to Keats because the atmosphere for learning is great. It is very relaxing. I would recommend the school.
We use a lot of games to learn grammar and new words. We have really good teachers, really patient. She helps us a lot. Our class is really nice and we have people from all over the world, different countries. We often discuss topics in Chinese in our class. I live in the dorm of Keats. It is very convenient. I don’t have to spend time traveling. You can just focus on learning Chinese.
Kunming’s scenery is very beautiful. It is the best place to study Chinese in China. My favorite learning method at Keats School is one-on-one because it is suitable for everyone. My teacher is very good, very caring, and lovely. My life when learning Chinese in Kunming is very good and the weather is very good. The air is very good. It is good for the elderly’s body.