Proud Mum

rog2

LesleyE wrote:

Rog2
Luckily we live nowhere near an IKEA and her father and I have always extolled the virtues of Wilkinsons and Poundland...little of our crockery at home matches anymore so she hasn't got any delusions of grandure!!

We also have Wilkinsons (very good) - don't have Poundland, but we have a very good Woolies and a Factory Shop. However, my daughter really believes that she saved money by going to IKEA, which I suppose she did seeing as petrol grows on trees:D
Bless 'em :rolleyes:

Gemmzie

LesleyE wrote:

Gemmzie, that's a brilliant idea about the Boots card and waiting for stationery until she gets there (takes up less space in the car too!!). I don't know much about Nectar cards can they be used in places other than Sainsbury's?

Debenhams, BP (I use both for petrol), lots of places online

Check their website

LesleyE

Gemmzie wrote:

Debenhams, BP (I use both for petrol), lots of places online

Check their website

Thanks Gemmzie will investigate further

piglet6

Actually, I'd recommend taking more than one of everything to eat with...

I was packed off to uni (many moons ago) with a cheap 4 person set (plate/bowl/side plate/basic cutlery) from Argos (bought with points collected from buying petrol if I remember rightly - which shows how long ago it was as I don't know if they still do this...), + a mug tree with 6 mugs (freebie red Nescafe ones!) and a kettle. It didn't take up much room, but it did mean I could "socialise" with new friends in my room, i.e. we could all have a cup of coffee without having to take turns at having the mug! It also meant that I could feed people without them having to trek their own crockery/cutlery over. This saved me no end of money as I very quickly made friends and three of us ended up "eating" together each evening for the first two years, which saved a fortune on food bills (the three of us lived a very healthy diet, including plenty of fresh fruit + veg, on £10 a week back in the early 1990s!):T . Yes, we ate mostly in my room (because nobody else had the equipment to feed 3) but this didn't bother me and actually meant that my room never felt lonely, whether I was on my own or with others, because it felt "lived in" if that makes any sense?! In fact, several of my friends used to prefer to come and sit in my room because it was "cosier" than theirs...:rolleyes:

The other essential was a corkscrew(!):p - although I didn't bother with glasses; being a "classy bird" I made my guests drink their wine out of mugs...:beer: and nobody ever refused!!:rotfl:

Extras which made me feel better were a few posters/postcards for the walls, a rug for the floor, my own duvet and cover + pillowcase (our halls provided sheets and blankets, not duvets), and a cushion for my armchair. Plus my mum made me a photo collage of all my friends and family (basically took the pinking shears to a load of photos, then arranged them all at jaunty angles overlapping on a sheet of A4 paper and stuck it in a perspex frame) - the idea was that I could shove it in the back of my wardrobe in case I was embarrassed by having photos around (and all my new friends thought I was a baby!) and it wouldn't break - but in fact it was much admired by everybody, and in fact a few "copies" appeared in other rooms as the year wore on...;)

Lastly, because this is turning into an essay, a biscuit tin stocked with a few packets of biscuits helps break the ice over freshers weekend:D . Also, a few tins of tomatoes/beans and a packet of pasta/rice, together with a few basics (herbs/spices, salt/pepper, coffee, tea, sugar) will mean that in an emergency, you know she'll have something to eat (and it always seems to be the little extras like herbs and spices that bump up the shopping bill, but food doesn't taste nearly as appetising without them, which in turn then makes you miss "home cooking":o).

Piglet

P.S. Just in case you were wondering, I also lived in "catered" halls for the first two years, but the food options available were hideous, so don't presume that you can rely on them!!

Tiff_2

LesleyE wrote:

Hi all,
I have been a lurker for ages & have picked up all sorts of tips and wrinkles from you guys, I rave on about Quidco and Piggy points at home...
I was sure that the family thought I was mad until this afternoon when my 18 yr old (soon to be student) daughter came down from her room and said
'You'll be proud of me Mum I've signed up for the MSE e-mail, Quidco and Piggy points'

I was so pleased...:j

That's great. I've tied my 16 year old son to the computer :rotfl: & made him read the different forums. Once a week, I'm letting him be me & to sit down with our weekly budget & work out payments in the hopes of him being so well versed in money saving for when he goes to Uni, that his debts will be as low as possible.
This said, the 1st week's budget allowed for 3 PS2 games, 4 CD's and forgot to include food!:rolleyes:
There again, isn't that typical student behaviour?;)
I must make sure that when the time comes his Uni is one that is several hundred miles from me so that he can't just pop in for food, laundry etc.
Now that's what I call real money saving!! :rotfl:

LesleyE

Thanks Piglet6,
Lots of good ideas there. Somewhere I've read that a doorstop is a good thing to have in the first few days as an ice-breaker, people can't resist having a sticky-beak through an open door... a kettle, mugs tea/coffee and biscuits and she'll have friends in no time !!

rog2

LesleyE wrote:

Thanks Piglet6,
Lots of good ideas there. Somewhere I've read that a doorstop is a good thing to have in the first few days as an ice-breaker, people can't resist having a sticky-beak through an open door... a kettle, mugs tea/coffee and biscuits and she'll have friends in no time !!

Don't forget the corkscrew!:rolleyes:

LesleyE

Tiff wrote:

That's great. I've tied my 16 year old son to the computer :rotfl: & made him read the different forums. Once a week, I'm letting him be me & to sit down with our weekly budget & work out payments in the hopes of him being so well versed in money saving for when he goes to Uni, that his debts will be as low as possible.
This said, the 1st week's budget allowed for 3 PS2 games, 4 CD's and forgot to include food!:rolleyes:
There again, isn't that typical student behaviour?;)
I must make sure that when the time comes his Uni is one that is several hundred miles from me so that he can't just pop in for food, laundry etc.
Now that's what I call real money saving!! :rotfl:

Well done Tiff!
We've worked out that her student loan gives her £110 per week (not including holidays) but we don't know the price of accomodation yet
Her University is a campus one (in your part of the world!) and so there are plenty of oportunities for part tme employment...she's got her sights set on working in the arts centre there!

Mrs_pbradley936

Some things you may not have thought about are a TV licence if the student wants to have a set in their room. Not kidding! The one for the Halls only covers public areas. The fact that other people "borrow" milk, cereal, bread etc. So student should not buy in bulk to save - they will not save because everyone else will raid the supply. There is usually a good cook somewhere amongst them and if several of them chip in about 50p said cook can magic up fabulous, curries, chilli-con carne, etc a plus for the cook is that they never have to wash up. A tip for mum and dad is to be available by phone during the first few settling in weeks but not always ringing them. Also to make sure they do not come home for weekends during the first few weeks because that is when most friendships are formed. If your daughter/son is never around they cannot be included and may not bond with the others too well. That is just as important as financial advice.

Molanole

I was in self catered halls (10 year ago now :eek:) and definitely the best things to have with you on day one were tea bags, sugar, milk, mugs, a bottle of wine and a corkscrew. But the tea making stuff is a MUST mainly because you'll need a cuppa by the time you've helped her unpack all her stuff but also because offering to make your new flat mates (and the accompanying parents) a cup of tea is the easiest way to strike up a conversation without looking like you're trying too hard!