Emma Nummelin, Anton Holm and Iris Pitkäkoski are students who also work at Nordea. We interviewed them about how they manage their personal finances, finance their studies and save.
For those planning their monthly budget, we have also compiled some concrete estimates of a typical student’s income and expenses.
We interviewed students about money management and working while studying.
Duration: about 12 minutes.
The management of your personal finances starts from identifying your income and expenses. It often requires writing down concrete amounts and placing them side by side.
“When you know how much money you have coming in, your day-to-day expenses are easier to plan,” says Emma.
We have compiled calculations of a typical student’s income and expenses to help you plan your finances.
General housing allowance will no longer be paid to students after 31 July 2025. The majority of students can get the student housing supplement from the beginning of the autumn term 2025.
For further information on the changes, please visit Kela’s website.Opens new window
With students, income typically consists of the financial aid for students granted by Kela, which in turn consists of the study grant, student housing supplement and state guaranteed student loan. In addition, many students work either alongside their studies or in the summer.
If you receive financial aid for students, you have a personal annual income limit that depends on the number of months during which you receive financial aid in a calendar year. You can earn up to 1,118 euros in personal income for each month of financial aid.
| Financial aid component | Amount (euros per month) |
|---|---|
| Study grant | 279.38 |
| Student housing supplement (as of 1 August 2025) | |
| Greater Helsinki area | 296 |
| Other cities | 248 |
| State guarantee for a student loan | 850 |
| Personal income | |
| Per financial aid month | 1,118 |
| Source of income | Greater Helsinki area (euros per month) | Other cities (euros per month) |
|---|---|---|
| Study grant and housing supplement | 575.38 | 527.38 |
| Study grant, housing supplement and student loan | 1,425.38 | 1,377.38 |
| Study grant, housing supplement and personal income | 1,693.38 | 1,645.38 |
You can use Kela’s calculatorOpens new window to check the amount of financial aid you are eligible for.
We have compiled some estimates of what student life could typically cost. The figures in the table are based on the reference budgets for men and women under 45 living alone, published in 2024 by the Centre for Consumer Society Research.
| Daily expenses (euros per month) | Student |
|---|---|
| Food | 335–377 |
| Data communications and home entertainment | 77 |
| Household appliances, furniture and other durable goods | 42 |
| Non-durable household goods | 9 |
| Clothes, shoes, bags etc. | 51–65 |
| Personal hygiene | 34–42 |
| Healthcare | 24–34 |
| Hobbies and leisure | 54 |
| Electricity and insurance | 44 |
| Transport (euros per month) | |
| Public transport (within the city) | 62 |
| Regional public transport | 120 |
| Bicycle and equipment etc. | 9 |
| Accommodation (euros per month) | |
| Greater Helsinki area | 965 |
| Rest of Finland | 641 |
| Total (euros per month)* | |
| Greater Helsinki area | 1,739–1,749 |
| Rest of Finland | 1,415–1,426 |
*For transport, the totals only include public transport within the city.
The biggest expense for students is accommodation, and that’s why the first thing to review is how much you want to pay for your home. Should you live on your own or share a flat? Should you move into a student flat or rent from a private landlord?
As a student, you should learn to identify where and in which situations you will spend money and what spending needs you have. Emma, Iris and Anton share savings tips that they have found useful:
Read more about our benefits for students
Nordea Mobile contains good financial management tools, which help you track your income and expenses, create budgets and set savings goals.
“I can use the Insights tab in Nordea Mobile to see how much money I have to spend, and by categorising my expenses, I can see in a tangible way what I have spent my money on,” says Emma.
Nordea Mobile offers numerous tools for managing your finances, which will help you get a full overview of your financial situation:
For students who are 18 or older and live on their own in the Greater Helsinki area, the study grant and housing supplement total 575.38 euros per month. After rent and other essential expenses, it’s inevitable that there is little money left.
“Rents are high in the Greater Helsinki area. If you don’t have any other income, you maybe have twenty or thirty euros to spend on other things,” Anton says.
Because of this, many students finance their studies with a student loan, by working or by combining both of these sources of income.
Anton has spent most of his student loan on day-to-day expenses, but he has also been able to put some of it aside. During certain periods, the student loan has enabled Anton to focus on his studies better.
Emma has chosen to work while studying to get money and to gain experience.
“By having a stream of personal income while I study, I have been able to secure my daily life, and I haven’t needed a student loan,” she says.
Iris, who works part-time, has continued to draw down her student loan.
“My student loan works basically as a buffer, and I can sometimes use it to enjoy life.”
We have made indicative calculations on how taking out a student loan for 1, 3 or 5 academic years affects subsequent loan costs.
Saving may feel difficult for someone who is beginning their studies. It’s not impossible, though – even for a student.
“When you track your spending closely, you often find things you can save on or not buy at all,” Emma says.
How should you go about it then? You have many options available to you. If you’re dreaming about owning a home, an ASP account is a good option for you. If you want to put money aside for your future, you should consider saving monthly in an investment fund. Or if you want to build a financial buffer, we recommend you consider opening a PerkAccount.
For example, Iris invests some of her money monthly in a fund and puts some in her PerkAccount, which works as a buffer for unexpected expenses.
One handy way to control your spending is to have two accounts: a current account and a PerkAccount. You can move money between these two whenever you need to.
“By keeping the majority of your money in a savings account that has no card linked to it, your money will stay safe even if you lose your card,” Iris advises.
If you haven’t had enough time to build a buffer, you can also get a little wiggle room for unexpected expenses in your daily life, such as buying a new washing machine, by applying for a credit card for students.
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