Fifteen Money Saving Tips for Students

• Always ask for student discounts: Make sure you always carry your student card on you, and when you buy something, always ask if the shop offers student discount. A lot of places do but it’s not necessarily obvious so it’s definitely worth asking.

• Plan your meals: Before you go food shopping, think about what meals you’re going to want to make that week. Make a list and stick to it; only buying the things you need. Personally, I didn’t do this in my first year but have started now and am saving quite a bit of money on food.

• Pre drink at home: If you’re going clubbing, don’t buy all your drinks in the club. Buying from a supermarket or off licence and drinking before you go out will save you loads of money compared to drink prices in clubs.

• Look for discount vouchers: This is particularly good if you’re going out for a meal. Search something along the lines of “restaurant discount vouchers” in a search engine and you should find a few sites that provide free printable discount vouchers. Just search the restaurant you’re planning on going to and you might get lucky… Or just decide where you’re going based on where you can get a discount!

• Check out Money Saving Expert: Visit www.moneysavingexpert.com for Martin Lewis’s expert money saving tips. You can also join a mailing list to have news from the site emailed to you weekly.

• Try the drop a price level challenge: So, for example, if you normally buy Tesco middle range baked beans, try dropping down to Tesco Value. I read about some research into this once and it was found that when people do this, they tend to find the lower level product to be just as good as their original product. Obviously there will be certain products you just can’t shift on, but if you do this on a few, imagine how much you can save across the span of a year.

• Budget: Work out roughly how much you can afford to spend each week after accounting for rent, bills and so on… And try your best to stick to it! If you spend below budget one week, save the left over money and treat yourself at a later date.

• Walk: If something’s within reasonable walking distance, then walk it! This will save lots of money compared to getting buses or using up valuable petrol if you have a car.

• Get all the financial help you can: On top of your loans and grants from Student Finance, there are various other places you can get financial help from. Check out what bursaries and scholarships your university offer that you might be eligible for. Also, see if there are any charities or other organisations in your local area that might be able to help you out. For example, in my area we have a trust that can provide residents with reimbursements of up to £250 across the span of the degree for books and so on that have been bought for study purposes.

• Buy economy packs: When stocking up on things like pasta or washing powder, buy big packs if you have the space to store it. It’s more economical than buying smaller packs more often. Also, look out for things that are on offer if you buy more than one. If you don’t need more than one, get in anyway and freeze one if you can. This is also useful when you think you’ve run out of food, then realise you have something waiting for you in the freezer!

• Don’t buy it unless you need it!: It’s ok to treat yourself sometimes (after exams perhaps), but try to avoid buying things you don’t need.

• Get rewards when you shop: Depending on where you shop, get yourself a Tesco Clubcard, Nectar Card, Boots Advantage Card, Co-op Card and so on. These give you points every time you shop, which can later be spent in store or exchanged for other rewards.

• Look out for cheaper places to buy: If there’s more than one supermarket you visit, work out which is cheapest for the things you buy most and try to shop there whenever you can. Sometimes it might be worth the effort of visiting more than one shop if different places are cheaper on different products. Also, look out for markets and stalls where you might be able to get things like fruit & veg cheaper than in the supermarkets. Shops like
Poundland are also a great place to find bargains in some items.

• Shop online at places like Amazon and eBay: Amazon can be great for getting text books, DVDs and so on for a lower price than you’d normally pay. Also try eBay for things like clothes. If you see something you like in a shop, it’s worth checking out eBay to see if anyone’s selling it for a good price in your size – I myself managed to bag a Jane Norman dress for about £7 including P&P last year – bargain!

• Go Contract: If you’re on pay as you go, it might be worth looking into getting a mobile contract. You’ll probably find that once you’re away from home you’ll be calling and texting your friends and family a lot more often than you did before, so being on contract might save you money.