Money is always the big issue when going to university. I know a lot of people that come to the last few weeks of each term and begin to realise they may have gone too wild in Freshers’ week!
By all means I want to have fun as much as the next guy but I also don’t want to live of baked beans for a week and I am sure you don’t either which is why I have come up with 5 tips to help you make your money go further whilst at Uni.
- Work out your weekly allowance. By working out your weekly allowance you can withdraw that money at the start of every week and spend no more than that (ideally). So take your amount of student loan (maintenance) – deduct the yearly amount for your house (including bills if that isn’t included in the price) = then what is left you divide by the number of weeks you will be at uni. I would also suggest maybe taking a couple of pounds off each weeks allowance in case you need to spend a little more each week 🙂
- NEVER TAKE YOUR CARD WHEN ON A NIGHT OUT! This is a mistake a lot of students make as once you’ve had a few drinks you tend to throw your cash about and the next morning waking up to £60 spent on your card is not fun!
- Try and buy in bulk and freeze foods. For example it works out cheaper to buy 5 pieces of chicken rather than 1, so I would suggest doing that and freezing the other 4 to use throughout the weeks.
- Always check the reduced sections in the supermarkets. There are always good deals in the evenings. Maybe on your way home every other day pop into Tesco and see what there is. You may just get a cheaper evening meal!
- Buy fruit and veg in the old market in Cardiff City centre. It’s much cheaper. They tend to have a reduced section there as well and often do bags of mixed vegetables for 50p which would do a few meals. This works out better than buy a whole bag of carrots or potatoes as they will go off before you get to finish the bag but the mixed bags will do you for a week.
Cardiff Market
Overall it is really all about being aware of how much money you have and being sensible. Of course spend a bit more in Fresher’s week but remember – people will still be your friends even if you don’t buy them a drink!
