Studious Savers

Just a fellow university student trying to spread my (admittedly limited) wisdom to hopefully save you a few pounds! Inbox me with any tips and tricks that you know to help this ever-expanding encycolpedia of money saving tricks!

[penny-by-penny]

416 calories for this whole huge meal! This will literally only cost you a couple of pounds and when you buy all of the ingredients separately, you'll get at least two portions out of it!

An awesome idea for students with not much time on their hands!

[penny-by-penny]

An awesome cheap recipe for a lovely filling thick soup that you can make in batches and freeze!

[penny-by-penny]

Housing!

If you’re about to begin your first year of university and want to get the best value for your money, make sure that you go private with your housing! From mine and many of my housemates’ experiences, we’ve come to realise that university-owned accommodation is an absolute rip off! For example

- In my university owned accommodation, for £106 a week, I get:

*A single bed *A small room *A washing machine *All the standard kitchen equipment *One bathroom containing a toilet and a shower, one shower room and one separate toilet.

In my privately rented accommodation, for £100 a week, I get:

*A double bed *A much bigger room with it’s own fridge *A washing machine and a tumble dryer *Standard kitchen equipment *A lounge area with a TV  *Two shower/toilet rooms, and one individual WC. *This accommodation is also massively closer to my campus, which is a plus if you want to stay near your university but don’t want to live on the campus itself.

Another plus of going private is if you have a partner that you wish to stay over, as in university owned accommodation they’re only allowed to stay around 4 nights PER TERM, whereas in privately rented they can stay an average of two nights PER WEEK!

[penny-by-penny]

The shopping basics...

Here’s some ideas to get any new university student started on the track towards saving their money and sticking to a budget.

1. Buy own brand food and essentials! They’re often just as good as branded items, and half the price! There’s nothing to lose when opting in for the cheaper options.

2. Make sure that you ALWAYS take your own bags shopping with you - even if it means buying a few bags for life the first time you go on a shop. You don’t realise how much you can save, and a plus - you’re doing your bit for the environment.

3. Look for reduced items. This is especially useful if they’re good that can be frozen. I always buy reduced sliced bread and then freeze it, it’s still perfectly fine for making toast with in the mornings! And why stop at bread? You can buy and freeze almost anything, just make sure to check that the item has a label saying “suitable for home freezing” on it, and Bob’s your uncle!

3,5. I’m adding this additional point as this will only really work if you live near to a supermarket. This step consists of having a nosey at the reduced section every day if you have the time, instead of doing a whole week’s shop in one day. This way, you’ll often be able to buy things to cook that night that you’d pay three times the price for normally. 

4. This one really is important, and will stop you from buying too much unhealthy food and snacks. DON’T SHOP ON AN EMPTY STOMACH! You really will feel the benefit if you shop after eating, as you’ll make healthier and cheaper decisions.

That’s all for now, feel free to give me a message if you’ve found anything useful or want to suggest your own ideas!

[penny-by-penny]

New Ideas...

Hi everyone, welcome to my new Tumblr!

Whether you’re a regular user or have just come for a mooch around, take a look at any tips and tricks that I share with you!

I’m excited to be sharing my ideas and anything that I’ve found useful for saving a few pennies with you all.

[neighborhoodmemes]

Me 🍕irl