Unless you’ve got a trust fund or some incredibly successful online business, the chances are that if you are a student, you are continually short of cash. One solution to this problem is to try and earn more, but there are only so many hours in day and if you’re always too exhausted to study effectively then it rather defeats the point of being a student. Trying to save money might seem like a drop in the ocean but it all adds up and you’d be amazed at the savings you can make over the course of a year. Try these ideas for starters and see what you can save.
- Don’t pay for a T.V. licence – No, I’m not advocating that you do something illegal, there’s more than enough for you to watch out there, without a T.V. licence and without breaking the law. You can’t watch or record live T.V. or watch B.B.C programmes on iPlayer but anything else is entirely legal to watch without a licence. You can connect your laptop to a monitor and watch YouTube or Vimeo or you can invest in a streaming box, like Now TV. B.B.C. programmes on Netflix are also absolutely fine to watch without a licence. And if all that’s not enough to keep you happy, then you probably need to spend more time studying.
- Don’t waste electricity – You know how your parents always used to moan at you about leaving lights on, well they were right. When you’re choosing accommodation, think about how energy hungry the environment is going to be, if it’s a basement flat and needs lights on all the time, it’s going to end up costing you a lot more than somewhere in which you can work using natural light. Cut right down on electrical appliances, sweep instead of hoovering, chop instead of blitzing in the food processor. Don’t leave those chargers plugged in over-night and get in the habit of charging up at uni rather than at home. Switch to LED bulbs, they’re the most energy efficient.
- Eat economically – Don’t live on takeaways, it’s not good for you and it’s expensive. Buy fresh, buy discounted and cook in bulk, as it saves money and time.
- Switch to different energy suppliers – Many people stick with the supplier the previous tenants used because they think it’s easier. However, this means you could be paying more for your energy than you need to. Make sure you have the best deal by comparing different prices for energy online.
- Don’t be such a softy – When it gets a bit nippy, don’t just turn the heating up straight away, wear a few more layers, no matter if you end up looking like the Michelin Man, you’ll be warm.
- Manage your budget – Know exactly where what little money you do have is going. There are lots of useful apps that can help you manage your budget effectively.