The great 'what I wish I'd known before I was a student' hunt

Captain_Starlight

Wow! Wish I'd been as savvy when I was a student! A few things I learnt:
1 There's so much 'designer food' on telly, magazines and so on that the pressure to cook interesting food, all the time, is enormous. Remember that a number of celebrity chefs have tie-ins with supermarkets, so no pressure there, then, to flog expensive ingredients?! The occasional meal of beans on toast won't kill you, and will do your wallet no end of good.

2 Make friends with supermarket/shop staff and be sure to keep telling them you're a penniless student; they're more likely to steer you in the way of cheap deals.

3 Unis charge for use of photocopiers/scanners. Simplest option here is to buy an all-in-one printer/scanner/copier, and use that instead. Also saves time.

4 When you're buying a printer (or whatever), make sure that it'll take compatible cartridges before you buy it. Epson have, allegedly, started to sell printers which will only accept genuine Epson cartridges, which cost a fortune. You're better off paying a bit more for the printer, then buying compatible cartridges.

5 If you buy a lot of stuff off the web, but feel nervous using debit/credit cards online, you can buy top-uppable cards from Shell petrol stations (and probably other outlets). These work just like debit/credit cards, but you have to top them up with cash. Stops the chance of anyone nicking your card/account details, and you can only spend what's on the card.

6 If you've bought expensive text books for your course, but don't need them after, say, your first or second year, sell them while the book's still current! Waiting a couple of years more means that a newer edition is likely to have come out, making your copy out-of-date and you'll get much less for it.

7 If you're in halls or a rented room, and the place is a mess when you move in, take photos of anything you think is iffy - anything broken, marks on walls/furniture/carpets and so on. Then make out a detailed list of the damage/dirt. Keep copies for reference, then put one set of photos and the list - dated - into an envelope and post it back to yourself. When it arrives, put it away unopened. If your landlord/uni then tries to retain your deposit for stuff you aren't responsible for you can prove (postage date stamp, envelope intact) that the damage was there before. OK ... very anal, but could save you hundreds of pounds, especially if you're relying on the deposit being returned at the end of the year.

goodzorr

To save on phone bills, get your parents on MSN! My Mom uses MSN to talk to me at uni every now and then, and its also led to her friends getting MSN too (winners all round!).

A weekly shop thats delivered to you door is also a great idea, especially if three or four friends chip in too, the cost of you all getting the bus there and back is more than the £5 it costs for delivery.

With the laundry, get together with a couple of your friends, and do the washing together. It's much more cost effective for three people's whites to be in the washing machine than one persons! And for example if there is a colours, whites, and darks load, then you're effectively only paying for one load rather than three.

I didn't have a job in my first year,but it's the top of my priorities for the second year, I wasn't financially crippled in any way, but it gives you a bit more peace of mind, knowing that there is a constant source of money coming in.

OnTheBrink_2

The most significant thing I wish I knew when I started is that YOU CAN NEVER GET MONEY WHEN YOU REALLY NEED IT!!!!!

It is so easy to get into debt as a student, especially in 1st year. When you start you get offered money from everywhere and with so much going on its easy to spend alot. Anyone taking this money needs to know however, that when they start to get stuck in year 2 or 3, it is nearly impossible to get help. Once you have no money and struggle to pay bills, then miss a couple of payments you are pretty much screwed! I was really stupid in 1st year and I'm only just getting sorted at the start of my 4th! Make sure you have access to money at all times, though don't spend it unless you have to (or unless it's an occasional treat).

My main tips are:
1 - Pay off everything on time. Obvious, but I still mucked it up!
2 - Don't ingore your bills and statements, make sure you know when you might run out of money and allow time to sort it out.
3 - Get internet banking. It makes it so much easier to keep track of things.
4 - Don't go out all the time, pick your days. Otherwise you'll be skint and fat and have to do lots of work to catch up!
5 - Be VERY careful who you move in with. Remember that while 1st year is mad, you'll have to settle down a bit in 2nd year. Make sure they intend to do the same!
6 - There are loads more, but one other important thing is only budget with what you have NOW. Never rely completely on recieving money on a certain date. So much can go wrong, and the Student Loans Company are rubbish! I haven't had money on time for 3 years now and it can be really difficult.

Sami_Bee

Not been a student myself but this is what I learnt from my big sis;

• Don't buy/take a TV beforehand - You'll have to buy a TV licence, in her 1st year all of her flat mates ended up in 1 bedroom watching TV together so she didn't miss out on her fave shows.
• Get a lock for your cupboards (one of her friends shared with a bulimic who would binge on every-one's foods)
• when you're out make every other drink water - good for your pocket as well as your health!
• one of her housemates had a car so he and 1 other would go shopping with a list from others (they saved money coz they only got what was on the list not tempted by offers)
• Her uni (Huddersfield) had a uni mini bus from the uni building that would take you anywhere local for 50p (I'm sure it'll have gone up by now!) so she would get the bus to uni (free with her student pass) then use the mini bus so save lots on taxi /bus fare.
• Some local clubs do a party bus from halls to the club on which you'd play silly games and get free vodka orange if you won!
• get your parents to open a new account with their current bank (one that you can open with £1 and no overdraft) and give you the cash card if you need money in an emergency they can transfer money instantly on Internet banking that you can take out straight away
• If wanting to build up credit score get a credit card but leave it at home (either mum & dad home or your flat) only use it for one specific purchase (maybe your monthly trip home train ticket) and pay it off the same day before you forget about it!!

piskie

Oh! the joys that await you young students!

I'm just going in to my third year of uni and I am TERRIBLE with money, but this year WILL be different;and even if it's not hopefully you can use these tips and avoid the financial ruin that seems to be heading my way rapidly!

Mistake No.1 : IF your parents are nice/rich/generous enough to offer to pay your rent for the first year then firstly - TAKE THEM UP ON IT! Don't get caught up in your new found 'independence' and refuse, it's admirable sure, but you'll only end up begging them for money at the end of the year when they may not be so keen to give it, so take it now! Right, after you've taken them up on this; try not to spend all your money. That may sound too simple but my first year of uni my student loan and student overdraft gave me more 'disposable' money than I'd ever had before and I, stupidly, frittered away my loan, and my whole overdraft. The reason I thought this was okay was because so many of my friends at home and at uni were in their overdrafts too but what I failed to realise was that a - they were probably paying their rent, and b- some of them had super rich parents more than willing to bail them out of the red.

Anyway, as a result of wasting all this money in my first year I spent the first summer home working and trying to pay off my overdraft at the same time as have a great (read: expensive) summer at home.And the repercussions are still being felt this year, Its the end of the summer, I'm still in my overdraft and it looks like it'll be my loan paying it off.again. All this is a very long winded way of saying that even if you're getting money from home, still be careful.you will eventually have to pay off that loan, and that overdraft.So make sure its spent on worthwhile things.

(goodness this is getting to be a long post)

No.2: Don't get an NUS extra card - most places you'd want to shop will take your standard NUS student ID and you'll just be wasting a tenner.

No.3: You can use your student discount online! For example; if you have an HMV student card you can type in the number and get your 10% off, plus they have free postage so if you will buy your music/dvds it can be cheaper to get them online than bus to town and paying shop prices.Similarly, dont be tricked on amazon by thinking that because your favourite dvd is only £3 it's cheaper than places like hmv, remember the postage for marketplace goods.

No.4: www.jointheq.com - pays you in direct debit or phone credit for taking questionnaires online or on your mobile. Easy peasy and you know you'll be procrastinating on the internet anyway so instead of refreshing facebook for the 8 billionth time, take a few minutes and earn some money. (oh and if you do register, can you put in my code : 464344245 and then I'll get some more cash too )

No.5: in my second year I lived in a house with five people and one had a car so we quickly decided to shop together. While this did turn out a LOT cheaper I must warn you its not for the weak of will, or the petty. We went to Tesco once every two weeks and stocked up, spending approx. £100 a go because we could buy in bulk. Also because only two people went at a time it meant that there was much less chance to impulse buy. However...the girl with the car is lovely but super organised and kept me on the straight and narrow when it came to 'needing' that jar of artichoke hearts, but she also took on the role of mother and did sometimes take control a little too far by dictating what we would and would not buy. To begin with this was fine but towards the end of the year she got annoyed about only me or her ever going to the shops and I got annoyed about feeling like I'd lost control over my grocery shopping. So definitely shop as a house - you'll spend £10 ish a week on food instead of £20 and will only sometimes have to top up on fresh fruit and veg in the second week, but make sure that you feel in control and also that everyone contributes to the duties - after the first couple of weeks of uni, shopping for food is no longer an exciting novelty and no one wants to be the only one to do it in a house of five able people.

No.6: If you feel lonely/depressed/bored do NOT treat yourself to 'tiny' things.This is my downfall,thinking you deserve a present because you feel low.For example, a pot of ben and jerry's is £3.50 and a ton of calories you didnt need, ditto that hat you saw down the road and wanted to feel cosy, ditto those 'bargain' shoes you cant walk in etc etc. If you feel lonely try renting a film with your flatmates, that way you can split the cost and you'll be doing something sociable without having to get out of your PJs.Also, if the local library is near JOIN up, apart from books you can rent CDs and DVDs by the week for much cheaper than blockbuster.Just avoid those fines!

No.7: Share your itunes library, get your friends to share theirs and voila! a whole library of new music without spending a penny!This is especially cool in halls because so many people come up in that little sidebar thing, also a good way to meet people who like what you like.And I'm pretty sure you can choose what to share so you can hide your embarassing albums!

No.8: This isnt really about money but try and strike a balance between getting over small irritations and bottling up months of rage. Its okay to bicker with your housemates as long as you can make up afterwards.If you let it build up you'll only end up screaming incoherently about that washing up someone didnt do in the first month at uni and you'll look a bit insane.

Got cramp in my fingers and really should be thinking about dissertation stuff so good luck!

ladyluck101_2

piskie wrote: »

Oh! the joys that await you young students!

No.4: www.jointheq.com - pays you in direct debit or phone credit for taking questionnaires online or on your mobile. Easy peasy and you know you'll be procrastinating on the internet anyway so instead of refreshing facebook for the 8 billionth time, take a few minutes and earn some money. (oh and if you do register, can you put in my code : 464344245 and then I'll get some more cash too )

Sorry to snip!

I've registered & used your code. Hope thats okay! x

a51_ufo

A lot of Uni's offer Grants and Busaries to students for many reasons check out your uni website or even better ask someone what is available!

I could have received a Opportunity Bursary worth £2000 if I'd known about it sooner! Not all uni's offer this, but an opportunity bursary is money given to students who family have little experience of higher eduction (i.e. your mum, dad, brother, sister have not been to uni). I founf out this was available about half way through my second year - which was too late

lara09

I'm 21 and starting uni in september. Luckily iv done the whole not living with my parents thing so have some experience with budgeting. Someone previously posted about how costly starbucks/costa can be and so should be a treat...totally agree. What i used to do when i was travelling to college in winter was to reuse the cups after my trip to starbucks. Simply rinse it out and the next day put your own hot drink in to take with you....so much cheaper!!! :

bumble_bee_6

I made the same mistake as most people in their first year and bought all the text books. If you do find you need one then try an internet site first like play.com or similar and you can always try and sell them on afterwards.

Learn how to cook a few basic meals as cooking something decent will help your pennies so you dont eat out most of the time. I was lucky and had my mum stock up my freezer with "home cooking" in those chinese take away dishes when ever she visited - apple crumble etc and it helped my money but made her feel like she was helping. If you do want to eat out, try the student union as often cheaper.

A part time job is great, I was actually employed by the university in my first degree, worked at the open days etc and got paid hourly which is one way of getting money. Work in a shop or bar. Sign up to online surveys that take 10 mins but pay in cash or vouchers as every little adds up.

Have a jar that you put some loose change in, 10ps doe example, you'll be surprised how quickly they add up and you might just need them one day in an emergency.

But, the most important lesson I learnt was to budget. Nothing too complicated, I simple did a spreadsheet in excel and had a column with my income for the month and in another column i listed everything that I spent, every day including the rolls from the bakers or that bottle of water. I set the outgoings to be taken off of the income and then I knew roughly how much I had left. I also made a list of my expected outgoings for the month and was then able to calculate how much I had to play with each month, it may sound like a hassle but is one of the best things i have learnt.

But also, university is a fun time!:j

martin71

1 - I wish I'd taken lots of photos. I didn't think it was very cool, but I'm regretting it now (especially now they've invented Facebook.)

2 - I wish I'd kept in touch with everyone straightaway. What's the point of making lots of friends if you lose touch with them?