I don’t know about everyone else but I have to say one of my biggest worries about going back to university was the money side of things. The endless questions would whirl around in my head. Will I have enough to pay the bills, for food, childcare, and the endless list of other things you find need paying for out of the blue, like the car. And for me not having the car just isn’t an option.

Then as if I had manifested it was the BU bursary, that seemed to appear from nowhere but answer my calling for a helping hand. Now, this was a happy surprise for me when I first started at Bournemouth Uni but for some of you, it may have been one of your reasons for choosing to come to BU or you may have been aware of this and seen it as an added bonus to where you always wanted to come.

When I started at Bournemouth University I suddenly got an email stating that I was going to receive my prepaid card and that I would be receiving £800 through the BU Maintenance Bursary. My face must have shone I was beaming so much. The email went on to explain that this money would be sent in equal payments over the uni year, straight to my new spree card.  I was sent my login details for spree card and I could see how much I had on the card and where I have spent money on it. This was great to help me manage the extra money.

One of the other major wins for me was getting cash back from some retailers such as Asda and Argos. For my family knowing that every month we had this extra money to keep buy for food was a real godsend. As it was on another card I would only use this for food when we needed it and therefore when I did need it we had enough to buy our food shop.

Knowing that was there was a real relief for us, as at the time my husband was on a lower income and I was not working and still needed to pay for childcare. This card could be used for anything that you may need though so if I needed new shoes for placement I could use this in any store like a usual debit card.

In the end, I had managed my money so well that I used to forget I even had money on this card and was then always pleasantly surprised when I would check the balance. By the end of the uni year I was even able to I’ve myself a little treat from the money that was left over without feeling guilty.

Oh and one final tip. Some of the shops that you can get cash back from also offer student and/or NUS discounts. So use your discount to get that price a little lower and then pay using your spree card to really make the most out of it. Happy spending!