Smart budgeting: how students manage Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Nasional (PTPTN) funds amid rising living costs

Managing money has become a challenge for students with a rising in the cost ofliving. PTPTN is an important financial assistance plan for many Malaysian students in Diploma programmes, but the funding is usually insufficient to cover living expenses. One study of the influence of cost of living on students reported that money matters are discernible as a main factor which influences students' well-being, whereby B40 group is badly affected by financial insufficiency (Shamsuddin et al., 2024). The objective of this paper is to highlight the financial challenges among students and how to overcome the challenges.