Seven essential money-saving tips for students

Learn how to cope with the hidden costs of University, with these fantastic tips.

If you’ve just started University, then you’ve probably learnt a few valuable lessons already - pasta is a great accompaniment to just about anything edible, value-priced Vodka gives the worst hangovers imaginable and living by your own means isn’t cheap.

Finding your financial feet can be a real challenge when you’re at University, as even if you have a student loan, it sometimes doesn’t stretch as far as you would like it to.

What’s more, there are also loads of pesky extra hidden costs that viciously pop up and bite chunks out of your budget, when you’re least expecting it.

Here, I’m going to take you through some top tips on beating the nasty hidden costs of University, leaving you to focus on making the most of your time as being a student.

Before you go

When you start your academic adventure, the last thing on your mind is going to be budgeting. But if you set out a clear money management plan at the beginning, you’ll be laughing at the end.

When I set off to University, I made sure that I sorted out all my finances at the start of term. I had researched and applied for all the relevant grants and bursaries in the summer and I had a plan of how much money I would be spending against how much I actually had.

If you haven’t already got a student bank account, the first thing you should do is go ahead and open one. Most of them offer interest free overdrafts which can help fund your living costs through University, so make sure you check out this article about the best student bank accounts to find out more.

Home insurance

The first thing you’ll probably consider, when moving to University are accommodation costs and bills but you should also think about home insurance and content cover.

While I was at University, I knew a couple of friends who learnt the hard way about the costs of not having content cover. They were burgled and all of their expensive gadgets were stolen and, because they didn’t have insurance, they couldn’t claim for any of it back.

Our home insurance comparison centre, here at lovemoney.com, compares all the best deals around, so check it out if you’re in doubt at which cover to get.

Transport

If you’re planning on driving to and from your campus, then you’ll have to research parking costs before hand, as some Universities don’t even let students park on campus and others charge extortionate parking fees.

A way to get around this, is to directly appeal to the residents living in the area surrounding the University. One of my friends at University was fed up with paying ridiculous parking fees at the University campus, so posted a letter to all the houses nearby, asking to rent out their driveways, so she could park there while she was at University.

She soon got a positive reply and paid a much cheaper fee to the resident to use their, otherwise unused, driveway.

You should also consider using public transport and if you’re going to be using the train a lot, then it you should definitely invest in a young person’s rail card that saves you 1/3 off rail travel.

Moving accommodation

Another key cost that gets overlooked is the price of moving house, when it comes to switching accommodation at the end of the year.

If you don’t have a vehicle at hand and you’re unable to get any help, then using a moving company is probably going to be your only option.

Unfortunately, these are quite expensive although there are some specialist student removal services available. Student Movers, specialise in small moves, so they’re ideal for a student moving accommodation.

Another excellent service is Uni Baggage, a baggage moving company that collects your bags from University and then delivers them to your home from just £12.

This is a great idea to save you lugging all your baggage on long distance train journeys and it also saves your parents coming all the way to pick you (and your army of bags) up from University.

Storage space

Some students overlook the fact that it’s often difficult to find somewhere to store all your belongings when term time comes to an end.

For instance, if you own all your furniture in your accommodation and are planning to move into somewhere new, you’re going to need somewhere to keep your furniture until you can move into the new house.

If you find yourself in this situation, then Safestore could help you out. Being a storage company that caters for students, they offer a 20% discount and are really flexible with the amount of time you need to use them for.

Shopping

Not so much a hidden cost, but some students underestimate the amount of money that their weekly shopping takes up.

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If buying food wasn’t enough, students also have to spend out on cleaning products, essential toiletries and studying material.

This article gives some great tips on how to get the cheapest food bills and if you live in a house with other students, it can be worthwhile to buy your shopping online and split the costs.

Another way to combat your menacing food bill, is to consider how you buy.

If you can get a 0% purchases credit card, then this will give you an interest free period (up to 13months) in which you can buy things, such as your food shop, with no extra added costs.

This is great if you’re struggling for cash and waiting for your next student loan instalment but just make sure you pay off your card before the interest free period ends, otherwise, you’ll be stung with huge interest rates.

Check out our 0% purchases credit card comparison centre to see the best cards on the market and if you’re worried about your credit rating, read this article that gives great tips on how to boost your score.

Discounts

Of course, one of the main perks of being a student is enjoying fabulous student discounts.

I used to ask everywhere and it’s surprising how many companies do special deals for students.

Two of my favourite student discount websites are Student Beans and Student Discounts.

So there you are, now you the know the hidden costs of University can be easily beaten you can focus on your studies (and parties.)

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