Student life’s all about fun – ok, it’s a little bit about education as well, but mainly it’s about fun. So to ensure it stays fun you’ll need to manage your money in such a way that it doesn’t all run out by the end of Freshers’ Week. To help with that, here are a few tips on getting the most from your student finances.
1. Budget
Making a budget’s the easy bit – it’s just totting up numbers (easy for students of sciences; arts students, grab a calculator!). The hard bit is sticking to it. This requires discipline – not a word you want to read now you’ve escaped your parents, but still a necessity if you want to avoid a life of abject student poverty. A budget will show you just how much money’s left in the pot once you’ve accounted for all your essential payments.
Make two lists: In List A, add up all your income (e.g. student loan, savings, earnings if you have a part-time job); in List B, total all your outgoings (expenses such as rent, food, bills). What’s left over once you’ve subtracted the total of B from A is what you have to spend on yourself – useful, if only to give you an idea of how much it’s safe to blow during your next visit to the student bar.
Too lazy to make your own list? No worries, UCAS has a handy budget calculator. And don’t panic if your budget looks a little tight, just keep reading for more money-saving, budget-stretching tips.
2. Open a student bank account
Banks and buildings societies want your money. They want it so bad they’re willing to give you a better deal than they’d give to normal people (non-students). Therefore, do yourself a favour and grab a good student bank account, preferably one with an interest-free overdraft, a decent in-credit rate, and online banking. Lenders will sometimes even pay you to bank with them: Abbey’s Student Account, for example, currently gives you £50 at the end of the first month.*
3. Flash your student card
Sensible businesses in university towns will offer a discount for students. Shops, cinemas, restaurants, hairdressers, and loads of other businesses are clued up to the mighty combined buying power of the British student, which is why you should always flash your student card to see if you can bag a bargain.
4. Check for hot deals online
Those companies that don’t offer student discounts, may offer discount vouchers online. Restaurants are particularly clued into this, and at any given time you should be able to download money-off vouchers for you and a mate (or mates) to go and enjoy cheap eats.
But why stop at food, virtually anything can be found online for cheaper than you’ll find on the high street. Of particular interest could be used student books (try here and here) or laptops here. And if you find a great online deal, see if you can save even more by buying it through a cashback site such as Quidco.
5. Travel
If you haven’t heard of Megabus, now you’re a student you soon will. It’s a national coach service that’s way cheaper than the train, even with a young person’s railcard. If you book far enough in advance, you can find one-way seats from just £1.50. In a fight back, National Express now has regular special offers with drastically reduced fares, so be sure to check them out also.
Too posh for the bus? You can find occasional good deals on the train (especially if you book more than a decade in advance), but if you’re under 26 (or older, as long as you’re a full-time student), make sure you get a Young Persons’ Railcard. It costs £26 a year and gets you a third off rail fares.
6. Don’t Smoke
At the risk of sounding like mum or dad, nothing eats through a student loan quicker and more pointlessly than a 20-a-day habit. Apart from the obvious health risks, a pack of ciggies will cost you around £5.50 a day – or £2000 a year. That’s a hell of a dent in your student loan.
7. Don’t bury your head in the sand
Finally, surviving on a student loan can be a struggle, so if you do get yourself into debt, don’t ignore the problem as this will only make it worse. There’s plenty of help out there if you know where to look. Your university should have someone on hand to offer advice on all sorts of problems, including debt – check the college notice board or website for details. In addition, you can seek advice from the National Debtline or Citizens Advice Bureau.
The important thing is, don’t let being broke turn your hair prematurely gray with worry. The trick is to manage your finances and make your money last. Hopefully, some of the above tips will help you to stay happily fed, housed and entertained for what will be looked back upon as some of the happiest years of your life.
*Information correct 10 September 2009
We all know that feeling when a week before payday you're already out of cash, and often it's the little things that add up and sting us. With our cost calculator tool you can get an idea of how much you might be spending on bits and bobs.
