You need to be on the ball whilst you’re at university. Everyone has different financial circumstances (in particular the flexibility of the bank of mum and dad!), and you’ve got to be savvy when it comes to yours. Of course, we’re all for a great time - we just want to make sure that you don’t have any regrets if you do come out with a bit of debt. Better to have partied on a (small) loan than never to have partied at all!
Some tips and suggestions to put your mind (and your bank manager’s) at ease:
budget
If you hear party bells ringing when you receive your first student loans instalments letter, indulge in that state of serenity as you feel loaded for a few moments. Half an hour later, make yourself a cup of tea and get out your calculator. You’re going to create a budget for the year ahead! The first instalment can seem like a sufficient amount to live off but rent, study books, partying, clothes and travel soon consumes most of your loan. You’ll be a lot less stressed about your finances if you know how much weekly disposable income you’ve got left after paying for the essentials. Click here for a template budget.
rent
Check if your university or landlord offers a discount on rent if you pay for the whole year in advance. You could arrange a payment plan with your parents if they agree to pay upfront on your behalf. This doesn’t apply to those lucky people whose parents have offered to fork out for rent and bills!
Beware of naughty, selfish housemates who forget to pay rent on time or stop paying altogether. You may be liable for their rent – always check tenancy agreements carefully and look out for harsh conditions like this. Some universities provide an accommodation service that advertises reputable landlords.
Some landlords expect you to pay rent over the summer months when you might not be there, but you could advertise your spare room to students whose course runs into the summer, e.g. medics or dentists.
Remember that students do not need to pay council tax so usually they just need you to forward a copy of your student status to avoid paying this tax.
Student houses are a burglar’s favourite as they are usually full of some fairly expensive gadgets and are often left for long periods unoccupied. You may not be able to prevent the lowlifes stealing your stuff, but if you have contents insurance you’ll at least be able to claim for new stuff. As you build up no claims (fingers crossed!) your premium will fall and if you buy with your friends you may get a discount.
bills
Set up a joint account with housemates from which you can pay all your bills. If you offer to pay a bill each it can become unfair and someone will lose out. It’s far better and fairer to calculate how much gas, electricity, water, TV licence, internet and phone will cost you each month and for each person to contribute their share. You might find there’s a bit left over at the end of the month for a house party!
Remember to compare your current providers’ charges with others as you might be able to save a fortune on bills – don’t assume you have to stay with previous providers, although you may need to seek permission from your landlord depending on your tenancy agreement. There is also a discount if you sign up for dual fuel deals and online, check these out!
If your landlord agrees, a water meter is often a good way to cut your water bills, as people in smaller properties subsidise large households to water their gardens. Ask to switch and providing you don’t take hour long showers every day you should save!
For most houses, high speed internet access, home phone and digital TV are a must. Sky does the rounds of your friendly student neighbourhood in early September offering a large package for a small price. Exercise a bit of caution, as the rates usually increase after 3 months (and you’ll be tied into a 12 month contract) and you may feel that £50 a month is a bit steep for QVC, Live Darts and 24hr Friends repeats. It may be worthwhile togo for a Phone/TV/Broadband package and make savings over individual deals. Also consider asking your mates at other unis to sign up for internet phones such as Skype or Tesco internet phone as the calls are absolutely free!
food
When you plan your budget (step 1!), work out how much you want to spend on food each week and stick to it. Plan your weekly menu before you go food shopping so that you only buy what you need for each meal. Steer clear of ready meals, buy basic ingredients for each meal and lots of lovely fresh fruit and veg and cook up a storm!
When you know that you’ve got a hectic week ahead, cook large batches of food instead of one portion and freeze portion-sized amounts for later in the week. Bolognese and chilli are great for this – all you have to cook on the night is the spaghetti or rice and just defrost and heat the sauce.
When you plan your menu for the week, set out to cook meals that require fresh ingredients at the beginning of the week and keep less perishable items for the end of the week. This will save throwing away mouldy perishable items.
Look out for special offers but don’t go crazy for them! It’s so tempting to buy items that you wouldn’t normally buy just because it’s BOGOF or 50% off, but only buy things that you’ll definitely use. Look out for supermarket own label items, which are invariably cheaper than brands, or compare prices with a local grocer who may be surprisingly cheap for fruit and veg. Supermarket loyalty schemes offer money off vouchers, but check out online offers, as they may give you much more than the value of the voucher in the supermarket!
Plan trips to the supermarket or register for online shopping to buy items that you are likely to share with your housemates e.g. washing stuff, toiletries, bread and milk etc. If you take it in turns to cook for each other, work out a weekly menu in advance and share the cost of the ingredients.
Most departmental canteens are pretty naff, but you could spend £4 each day on lunch (a whopping £20 each week!). Much better is to spend a couple of quid extra at the supermarket and make your own delicious sarnies or salads!
drink
Instead of going out at 6 or 7 p.m. and spending an extra £15 at your local, why not get some drinks in at home and persuade your friends to go out a bit later. There are so many cheap versions of branded drinks that a bottle of the good stuff will probably cost you less than a few shots at your local bar.
When you’re out, take advantage of student nights that offer you free/cheaper entry and special offers on drinks. Always get a licensed cab home and share with as many friends as you can to make the fare cheaper.
Many student pubs have loyalty cards which cost next to nothing but offer up good discounts. Make sure you purchase one early and get drinks with offers on!
ents
Keep an eye out for special events in the area, free late night openings and special university organised outings to clubs, galleries and museums. Most clubs are cheaper midweek, what else were 11am starts designed for!
Most cinemas offer student discounts and universities often offer free film screening nights (usually run by a shady student showing dodgy bootlegged copies!).
books
We realise that shiny new books look very nice on your shelf, but if you can divvy up your study list with course buddies (particularly if they live in the same halls as you), you’ll save a fortune. Most textbooks cost around £25 and with a couple of books per module, this can amount to hundreds very quickly.
Buy books secondhand (check out our useful sites page) – many books will have only been read a few times so they’ll be in good shape. You don’t always need the latest edition - usually an updated edition just means that a couple of paragraphs have changed (unless you’re studying a very changeable subject like law).
At the start of term the following year, sell your textbooks from last year. Study lists rarely change from year to year, and not only will you be doing the year below you a favour by offering them cheap secondhand books, but you’ll get some money to buy your books this year. Advertise your books around uni or use a site like Amazon where the extra cost in postal will be offset by millions of people having access to the advert!
shopping
It may be tempting to go shopping when you only have six hours of lectures a week and coursework deadlines are still a couple of months away, but why bother when you can borrow your housemates CDs or DVDs, and swap clothes with your best friends to freshen up your wardrobe!
Collect any discount cards you can, including NUS cards and Snapfax, which offer discounts in local shops to your area, so you can save on pizzas and haircuts as well as in big name stores.
Allocate a proportion of your budget each month to treat yourself. You can shop online at our f-mall, where you’ll get cashback credited to your current account, savings account or your student loan account. There are also plenty of student offers on the high street where you can get big discounts and special offers.
presents and other necessities
As you find your friendships groups rapidly increasing in size, so will be your need to buy birthday and Christmas presents (there will always be someone having a birthday!). Unless you’re a total skinflint you’ll need to get something, but by clubbing together with mates the lucky person will get a nicer pressie and you’ll spend less. Secret Santa’s are also good way of saving money, but with each person receiving one nice present from a mystery person.
Some people will consider a beauty treatment or two a necessity. You know who you are and you are probably not opening your bank statements right now! Wise up and remember most local tech colleges have beauty classes where you can get a trainee do a treatment gratis! It could be worse- if we didn’t have flight simulators you would be having trainee pilots taking you to Majorca!
Keeping fit is important to stop those pints hitting you waistline. Most gym memberships cost at least £30 quid a month but if you get a passport to leisure you can use council gyms from as little as £1 a time!