Money money money!

What are you going to miss most once you’ve left home? I am sure you all have your own views but for me, it’s all about my mum’s Sunday Roasts. In the house I lived in last year it just didn’t happen, but eating on a student budget needn’t all be doom and gloom. First of all, beans on toast is highly underrated. Add a bit of butter, grate a little cheese on top and voila you have a meal fit for a king. Well… maybe not a king, but a student definitely.

On a serious note though, there are many ways to cut costs and save your money for the more important things:

• Where possible you should always try to shop as a house/flat – is it really necessary for there to be 6 cartons of milk in the fridge?
• Try to shop for a whole week rather than for each individual meal – this helps you to take advantage of all the special offers.
• Shop around – some supermarkets are cheaper than others and don’t be scared off by the local butchers and fish markets (old Portsmouth).
• Avoid takeaways – I’m the first to want a curry after a big night out but be careful. Takeaways may seem cheap, but it all adds up.

Going out?

In Portsmouth you're spoilt for choice with places to go out with your friends and to meet new people. First and foremost you have the hive of all student activities – the Students’ Union. Portsmouth students can find a selection of student nights and specials all over the island that run throughout the week. It can become expensive on weekends so make sure you seek out those deals and don’t spend your entire loan in the first 2 weeks. However, it’s not all about going out. Don’t be afraid of staying in with a group of mates, cooking yourself a nice meal, and sharing a couple of quality bottles of wine from Asda’s finest £3 range.

Rent

Now for some more serious stuff, Rent… Aaaagghh! No it’s not that scary really. You know how much it is going to be, and you know when it has to be paid. So, all you have to do is remember when it is due and make sure you have the money in your account to pay it. Most landlords have the facility for direct debits in place, or you can pay upfront as soon as you get your loan to avoid the worry.

Budgeting

Learning to budget and manage your monetary funds is an invaluable life skill you will develop whilst at university. But it is a learning curve; so don’t get too down if you struggle at first. There is always the student finance team in the Nuffield Centre to advise you how to cut some corners and help you save a little.

Textbooks: a necessary evil?

Speaking of cutting corners… Textbooks! Some textbooks can be really expensive and if you’ve got to buy a lot of them it can quickly start to eat large chunks out of your loan. However, a lot of the course texts will be the same as last years and so you will find second and third year students selling their old books on the cheap. Take a look in your faculty building on the notice boards for some real bargains. I would recommend having a good look at the textbooks before you buy them. Have a look in the library. Is it what you are really looking for? If possible try and share textbooks with your classmates, especially if you are working in a group. Do you really need one each?

Overdrafts, credit cards and "free money"

Finally, contrary to popular belief an overdraft is not, I repeat not, free money. And credit cards are only there for dire emergencies – the interest rate is horrific and can very quickly chew a big hole in your money and sanity!

More information...

There's loads of information for cash-strapped students available on the web. We particularly like this site though:

• TheSite.org.uk's student money pages