As a 2nd year student I manage my money pretty well but I still get quite a few problems when I’m not firm with myself of whether I really need something or when I decide to splash out. Here’s my list of how I manage to save money at university despite these slight setbacks:
- I often shop in the evening/afternoon when I’m on my way home as I can utilise the reductions of the day. Most times this just means getting a reduced meal deal offering. But sometimes I get lucky and find some mince or other meat which I can freeze for a later date. I also try to use own brands as most of these are a lot cheaper and don’t taste much different anyway. Also poundland, wilkos etc are really good for shelf products and cleaning!
- If my loan comes in a lot earlier than when I need to pay rent I place it straight into my savings account so 1) I cant spend it and 2) because it may earn interest (rarely). This works well as unlike a lot of my friends I don’t go out and blow my loan and then need to use money I don’t have to pay rent.
- To save money on clothes and makeup I often ask for them Christmas or Birthday presents anyway. Sometimes though you need to buy something new and so I utilise TopCashback or Quidco to save. Student discounts are also really good to save a bit of money so always ask!
- Getting loyalty cards is also great. For example I use Subway a lot as it’s on my way home from work when usually I don’t want to cook. In this case every so often I get one for free which is a good as I would be buying it anyway. Don’t get loyalty cards though if you’re only using them because you have one as this isn’t really saving you anything.
- You may have access to free prescriptions and dental care with a HC2 Certifcate so enquire at your pharmacist or dental practice to save!
- If you’re living at home for the 3 months of Summer then don’t forget to get your TV License refunded!
- One of the biggest tips though is to budget what you have coming in on how much you can afford to spend per week. Depending on whether you have a job and have a regular income this can be a bit difficult, especially if you’re living off the loan but you just have to be a bit strict with yourself.
What do you do to try and save some money?
