It’s been a whopping 10 years since I left home and headed off to University to live as a student. It was my first time away from home and the first time I had to really take responsibility for myself and my finances. And it was not easy! Although I felt incredibly grown up at 18, looking back I was incredibly naive. And budgeting was one of the toughest things I struggled with as a student. Especially as it was the first time I’d ever had an overdraft. This is why I wanted to share my experiences of managing my money at University and hopefully help some of you not make the same expensive mistakes I did!
Very early on at Uni I fell into the trap of relying on expensive convenience food. As I lived in catered halls, I shouldn’t have needed to spend money on food, but I did. I mean who can resist the lure of cheesy chips or a slice of pizza at the end of a night out. Or a cheeky pub lunch at the weekend with friends. But when you’re a student on a limited budget, these luxuries can seem a little excessive. So after the first term, my friends and I changed from eating out in pubs to making food at home and it saved us a small fortune. Those pub burgers and roast dinners can really add up!
One of the other ways I learned to save money at Uni was by pre-drinking and playing drinking games before we went out. Now the drinks in my student union were not expensive. But it was fun and certainly cheaper to play some drinking games before a night out. I lived with 20 other students in my accommodation so there was always a party going on in someone’s room.
At Uni it seemed to be fancy dress every other night of the week. And who doesn’t love fancy dress? But trying to find a new costume for a night out can almost be as expensive as buying a new outfit for a night out. Although most of my fancy dress attire could be found on the rails in Primark, I also found some great bargains in charity shops and by asking friends if I could borrow some of their outfits. It definitely helped me save some money while not missing out on the fun!
So these are some of the ways I managed my finances while at University, how did you manage yours? If you’re looking for other ways to save money then check out the TSB Savy Students Guide.
This post was written in collaboration with TSB Student Accounts.