Feature: Living on a Student Budget

With student loans and grants, it may be tempting to splash the cash during your time at university but if you don’t keep an eye on your bank balance you may find you overspend. St Mary’s University, Twickenham has some top tips to ensure you are a savvy student saver. Keep a list of your expenditures Making a list of what you spend each month will help you keep costs down. Once you take away rent and bills, you will see where you are wasting cash. Whether you spend too much money on clothes, nights out or continuous takeaways, take that step to cut it down. Work during the holidays Working while studying is something that most students do but it may not be ideal for everyone. Try to work around that by picking up work during the holidays. Vacancies usually pick up during the summer season, and roles are often more flexible. It would be a bonus if you got work related to your degree. Leave your bank card at home It sounds like the impossible since everything is paid by card these days, but if you know you are not likely to use your bank card leave it at home. Set yourself a maximum of what you want to spend while you’re out and take no more than this, plan what you may need to pay for food and travel. Setting a realistic limit means you won’t unnecessarily over spend, and you may even come home with some change! Here are five student budget apps suggested by the Telegraph. Buy value brands over name brands Heinz baked beans may be your favourite but it may be kinder for your bank account if you buy value goods from the supermarket. Certain items from the value ranges have been found to be better quality than brand names but if you really can’t do without McVities biscuits or Kellogg’s Coco Pops than its better to buy these when they are on offer. Only take advantage of supermarket deals for items you use regularly and will last longer, i.e cleaning goods and dry foods. Invest in staple clothing items That new top may look good but before you go to the cash desk ask yourself, is it worth it? How many times will you wear the top? If you purchase it will it affect your other living costs? Invest in items that will go with anything (such as short and long sleeved tops in a variety of colours and a standard pair of jeans) and clothes you may need for formal events (clean white shirt, black suit trousers/skirt). Take advantage of student discounts The NUS Extra card offers 160 discounts on food, clothing and leisure and costs only £12 for the year. Student Beans and Student Money Saver also offer a great variety of offers, discounts and budgeting tips. Certain deals are exclusively for students so take advantage! If you do find that you struggle to control your finances, do not take out a pay day loan. Please seek advice from St Mary’s Student Funding Service who you can contact on studentfundingservice@stmarys.ac.uk.