By Michelle Lillywhite

2nd year BU Student, BA (Hons) Social Work

Ok! So you have limited funds but a whole term’s worth of fun ahead of you. How do you make sure you get to the safety of the next finance payment? Hopefully the tips ahead will keep you ahead of the crowd!

Going out

Really simply, you need to know your budget for a night out and if you can only afford £20 then only take that with you. It’s too easy to start paying on your card for ‘drinks for everyone’ when you and your mates have been owning the dance floor all night!

If you are heading out with friends then share a cab and split the charge – plus there’s  a local cab company who offer students a 10% discount when you use their vehicles – which means a bit more in your pocket!

Discounts

Know your discounts and make sure you use them! If you buy an NUS card you have a massive amount of national discounts available to you, so check out their website to see what you are likely to use (http://www.nus.org.uk/en/nus-extra/discounts/). You might think that the discounts they offer aren’t something you are likely to use so it might be that this option isn’t going to save you money – really have a think before you spend your money!

In Bournemouth we have many local businesses that want your business and will offer you a saving just by showing your BU card – either look for signposts in stores or simply ask.

Shopping

Really simple tip of not doing food shopping on an empty stomach is simple but you will be amazed how much else you buy to feed your hunger! Plan what you are going to eat and make sure you have one good meal a day (or two) in the freezer. Also, splitting the cost with friends for things like cleaning products and loo rolls. Also if family don’t know what to give you for Christmas and birthday,supermarket vouchers, while boring, can be a life saver too!

Uni Supplies

Books can be a big expense and you will always have people trying to sell second hand books. As long as they aren’t too out of date then these can be a great way of saving some money. Auction websites are a good place to look for second hand books. The uni library get in copies of all the books on your reading list, so you can borrow them from there, or work from a reference copy in the library,

Budgeting

However you manage your money, it’s best to try and budget for what you have to spend each week so you know you can make it to the end of term and not have to miss out on anything J