Student MoneySaving Club!

violetviolin

freebie_junkie wrote: »

a few more tips:

buying frozen/ canned veg that you can use a bit at a time saves dosh, as does a 'cook-up day' once a fortnight/month when you make loads of your fave dishes, and then freeze portions of them in them little tub-its (10 packs from poundland) remember to label each thing with what it is and the date and eat it up within a month for most stuff.

Every time you get money out, also get a mini statement and carry it ound in your purse/ wallet. If youre tempted by soemthing expensive, you can have a little look at your balance and also if your DD's etc. have come out and that will help you decide if you can afford it or not, plus you'll always know how much dosh you have in the bank

thanks! those are really cool ideas! what meals did you like to freeze?

violetviolin

my idea for people is a bit weird, but i just remembered... when i'm at uni i can feel a bit homesick or lonely, and i think looking back i'd buy myself something to perk me up, and whilst this can be nice, it might be good to think of a cheap treat or have something that costs nothing to cheer you up. hearing from my friend on the phone really helped, and receiving a letter was like hearing from the queen!!!! and looking back, i seemed to have an addiction to milky way bars, which perked me up a bit (weird huh!!) and weren't too pricey.

freebie_junkie

violetviolin wrote: »

thanks! those are really cool ideas! what meals did you like to freeze?

i still do it!

veggie pasta sauce, savoury rice (with bacon bits for oh), poatoe patties (again with bacon bits for oh), egg fried rice, chickpea burgers, veggie shephers pie, spinach and feta quiche, mini soya and onion pot pies, mini cheese pies, blue cheese and rice stuffed baked mushrooms, mushroom and rice stuffed baked peppers

i can do 2-3 boxes (2 portions in each) of all that for about £20-£25 and thats a bit more expensive for me becuase wf flour is £2 a bag! i definately reccomend gettign into soya mince and chickpeas, theyre so cheap compared to meat! (not that im just veggie to save money!)

freebie_junkie

theres probly more but i cant think right now! as you can see, they all have over-lapping ingredients which keeps costs down and also prep time

violetviolin

ahh woww! so you just make all that on one day and then freeze it? i'm not that hopeless with cooking but don't know how to freeze stuff... do you let it all cool and then put it in the freezer? how long does it keep for? then how do you heat it back up again?

freebie_junkie

yeah i make it all in an afteroon, put the telly or radio on in the kitchen, get all me stuff out and go for it!

you need to let it totally cool otherwise it might put all your other stuff off! label it up with teh date and contents, eat it within a month of that date and teh night before you want it, put it in the fridge to defrost. i re-heat sauces and rice dishes in the micro once its defrosted or if its chickpea burgers etc. i just fry them from chilled. be careful not to re-freeze anything once thawed.

freebie_junkie

i also reccomend taking your own cans of pop/ snacks to uni to avoid using the expensive vending machines (of course a packed lunch too!)

e.g. at asda cans are 3 x 6 packs for £3, plus you can take off 10% of your bill using any vouchers as long as asda stock the items, so 15p each instead of 60p+ each.

you can get lots of extra coupons to use gainst shopping by signing up to pampers, huggies, l'oreal etc.

violetviolin

thank you! that's really useful, i'll definitely try this as at uni i was often too tired to cook in the evening properly (not that i did any strenuous work just a bit of a long bus journey home and laziness!)

and about the other coupons, how do you get them? i also like going to qualitysave or somewhere like that (maybe aldi etc) that have cheaper versions of food and drink, hehe

Swirlywurly

Hello everyone

I hope there is room for one more!

I'm about to start my fourth year of my course (6 year course) so i'm about halfway through now! Have always been a bit of a money saver, i had my first job at 13 and have tried to save ever since.

Lots of good advice on this thread, unfortunately i have been ill every year in the summer meaning i couldn't work! I work in the halls of residence at my uni as a warden which means i work all year round (works out as 1 in every 10 days roughly) but my rent is very heavily subsidised instead of getting a wage. As my course is year round anyway it works out well for me.

Have just set up online banking in an attempt to keep better track of my savings!

Good idea for a club.

I also have an ISA that i pay in when i can

freebie_junkie

violetviolin wrote: »

thank you! that's really useful, i'll definitely try this as at uni i was often too tired to cook in the evening properly (not that i did any strenuous work just a bit of a long bus journey home and laziness!)

and about the other coupons, how do you get them? i also like going to qualitysave or somewhere like that (maybe aldi etc) that have cheaper versions of food and drink, hehe

we shop at tesco for extra points (maximise vouchers by joining teh wine club, food club, parenting club and healthy living club and using the h&b vouchers to get your toiletries more than free), asda for my wf food and pop and other stuff you cant get elsewhere coz we get 10% off, a fellow market trader for cleaning products etc. coz he does me a good price on everything, the health food shop for the chickpeas and soya mince, then everything else from aldi which is our local shop

Occasionally we also go to costco to have a stock up too, when they send round those savings vouchers.

it certainly pays to shop around!