Student savings!! Help & Advice!

EmsiWemsi

Hi all

Im going into my 2nd year this September, and we've just got our first house - exciting stuff! :beer:

4 of us are sharing (1 guy and 3 girls - lucky him, lol!)

I was wondering if anyone knows of any cheap ratings going, i.e.
- Electricity Bills
- Gas Bills
- Internet & Phone etc

We've never done this sort of thing before so we don't know what to expect.

Also, if you have any further tips/advice on ways to save in student houses, give us a post

Much appreciated x

lizzielondon

not exactly a way to save...

set up a cleaning rota and stick to it- will save you an end of arguments

i.e.

week 1:
person 1: kitchen
person 2: bathroom
person 3: living room
person 4: hallways

and then rotate (this worked for us, you might want something different)

you might not think you need it now but until you live with someone sharing space you get to know their um habits lol

atypical

EmsiWemsi wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone knows of any cheap ratings going, i.e.
- Electricity Bills
- Gas Bills

There's no one provider which is cheapest for 2 main reasons: energy is priced differently at a local level and the structure of the pricing means that it depends on the amount of energy you use.

You're best using a comparison service. There's an article on them here.

EmsiWemsi wrote: »

- Internet & Phone etc

This is a lot simpler, there's a good post about the different options here.

Oldernotwiser

More important than the gas/electricity provider is to come to an agreement on the frugal usage of it.

The_One_Who

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

More important than the gas/electricity provider is to come to an agreement on the frugal usage of it.

And on how it will be paid!

The Housing section of the forum will have some some good tips on money-saving in flat/houseshares.

lizzielondon

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

More important than the gas/electricity provider is to come to an agreement on the frugal usage of it.

we each had a bill put in our name

internet
gas/electricity
tv licence
and um something else i can't remember lol ?

and then made up the difference if needed- but we trusted each other might not always work

adelight

The easiest thing to do is to just stick with the provider the house is already with! And be frugal with energy! Don't use fans if you're hot, put on more clothes before the heating, don't leave lights or laptops on overnight.
Cook together, batch cook, bulk buy.
Photograph everything in the house and make an inventory with dated pictures, especially of any damages like stains in the carpet or chips in walls so you won't get conned out of your deposit at the end of the year. So many students are ripped off paying 400+ each in deposits and don't get them back.
Make sure the house is secure, so many friends neglect this and have laptops, tvs etc stolen and that is not fun! And DO be wary of who your friends allow in the house if you don't have locks on the doors. You might trust your friends, but would you trust their new boyfriend to be in your house alone or their drunk course mates?

I'm the one girl in a house with three guys to keep in check! Cleaning rota is a must! As are the sunday dinners together

Oldernotwiser

lizzielondon wrote: »

we each had a bill put in our name

internet
gas/electricity
tv licence
and um something else i can't remember lol ?

and then made up the difference if needed- but we trusted each other might not always work

But more important is to check that someone doesn't have the central heating all night or run supplementary electric heaters in their room.

Lokolo

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

But more important is to check that someone doesn't have the central heating all night or run supplementary electric heaters in their room.

I was incharge of the heating in my house. Only if our little friends halve in size did we turn it on

Jumpers were made for a reason!

atypical

adelight wrote: »

The easiest thing to do is to just stick with the provider the house is already with!

There's no harm in changing provider if they'll work out cheaper. Especially when you consider cashback for switches goes up to £62, there was a time when one provider offered £110.

mumps

Lokolo wrote: »

I was incharge of the heating in my house. Only if our little friends halve in size did we turn it on

Jumpers were made for a reason!

It is important not to waste but not worth making yourself ill to save a few quid.