Set a weekly budget, try and plan meals ahead and cut down on the takeaways. Frequent visits to pick up a few bits can quickly add up.Īvoid brand names – choose own brand alternatives – and look for special offers and store cards. To make savings, try and avoid the smaller ‘express’ supermarkets and do fewer but bigger weekly shops. Foodįood is another essential weekly spend. If planning on taking a car, look on the university or local council website to find out the parking situation. Find out moreįor your chosen university destination, look up the local bus or rail network and find out the cost of a monthly student pass. For longer journeys, try and book in advance as you can often get better deals. Buying monthly bus passes can also help to keep costs down. In smaller cities or campus universities, walking or cycling can help you to save on travel expenses. If you do take a car to university, then as well as petrol and parking costs, you also need to factor in insurance and maintenance. Budget for travel will depend on how far you need to go to campus every day, your geographical location, and other factors such as home visits, day trips and whether you own a car. Now you’ve got your accommodation sorted, another big expense is travel. You can also check the cost of a rented room in a shared house close to the university through various local student estate agents. You should be able to look up the cost of halls of residence on the university website. Select a university you’re interested in attending. The cost of private rentals varies around the UK, with London prices far outstripping those of other cities.įinally, you could also decide to save money by staying at home and commuting to university – this article should help you weigh up the pros and cons of this option. This is generally more suited to second- or third-year students who already have friends to share with. The other option is private accommodation in the form of a student house or flat. Halls also usually cover all your utility bills, such as heating, electricity and often internet. But it’s also one less weekly cost to worry about. You’ll generally pay up front at the start of each term, which does take a big chunk out of your budget. This article explains tthe differences between university and private halls. These are specially designed accommodation blocks on or near the campus. One is university halls or private halls. But there are two general options when it comes to choosing your new home. It’s a little difficult to give an accurate figure for the cost of accommodation as it varies widely from city to city. Paying for somewhere to live will be the biggest outgoing. You could also check out the money and finance forum on our sister site The Student Room to see what money-saving tips students are sharing. It will also give you an idea of how much you might have left over to have a little fun. It’s a good idea to have a rough idea how much the various essentials might cost so that you can start to plan a budget.
Managing your finances is all about understanding which costs you should expect to encounter, and which you might be able to avoid. It might sound a bit boring but thinking about budgeting and learning how to fend for yourself are a big part of the university experience. There’s a lot to think about – making friends, discovering new cities, different study challenges. Starting a new life away from home at university is very exciting.
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