{"id":14391,"date":"2015-06-05T11:41:13","date_gmt":"2015-06-05T11:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/postgraduate\/?p=1417"},"modified":"2015-06-05T11:41:13","modified_gmt":"2015-06-05T11:41:13","slug":"re-adapting-to-a-student-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/2015\/06\/05\/re-adapting-to-a-student-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"Re-adapting to a student budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"alice-white\"<\/a>Unless you\u2019re Jessie J, the sad truth is that it is all too often about the money.<\/p>\n

Getting the most out of your university studies takes hard work and dedication, of course, but you won\u2019t last beyond a month at university if you can\u2019t budget and make your money go further.<\/p>\n

I had been earning a good wage for four years before I returned to university, and it\u2019s been a struggle to get back into the mindset of scrimping and saving. It helps to remember that it\u2019s not for a long time, but it still is important to take seriously \u2013 the more money you can save, the less time you need to spend earning it, and the more time you can dedicate to your studies.<\/p>\n

So here are some of the main areas I think can help to transform a tight student budget:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Know your direct debits<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    This is one of the most valuable things I have learned \u2013 I\u2019ll be mid-month thinking I\u2019ve got plenty to last until payday, when suddenly I\u2019m down to \u00a30 and I don\u2019t know why. As well as rent, regular bills such as your mobile phone, TV licence, energy bills, contents insurance, or loan repayments can come out of your account at any time during the month, so make sure that you\u2019re prepared.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Be ruthless<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Following on from point 1, be ruthless with your memberships and direct debits. You\u2019re not earning like you used to be, so stop trying to live like it! Is that magazine membership really necessary, and can you live without that new pair of shoes every month? Probably.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Sign up!<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        On the flip side there are some memberships that are worth signing up to \u2013 NUS Extra will get you 10% off a lot of things, and if you\u2019re a music junkie then signing up to Spotify will mean you don\u2019t have to buy every album. Also look into getting a Railcard if you are aged 16-25, or in full time education.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Time of the year<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Thankfully I don\u2019t have to buy all my friends and family presents every month (I know, I\u2019m mean), but when Christmas and birthdays roll around it can really knock the budget sideways. If you can, try and save up a little bit every month that is put aside for Christmas. This also works for an MOT if, like me, your car insists on needing \u00a3500 of work done every other year.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Be smart<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Obviously you\u2019re already a clever clogs because you\u2019re at uni, but try to be smart about how you spend your money. If it\u2019s a nice day then consider walking to uni rather than taking the bus \u2013 not only will you save cash on the bus ticket, but the daily exercise is much cheaper than a gym membership. Buying a bike is also a great investment, as that \u00a3150 will mean never having to ride the bus again.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Food<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Remember the days when you\u2019d order in an impulse takeaway and buy twice as much as you could physically stomach? Well now you need to shop cheap and waste nothing! Lidl and Aldi are a student\u2019s best friend (who doesn\u2019t love those cereal mascots?) and tinned foods are always useful to stock up on for when money is tight, and they\u2019ll last until the year 3059. I find it good to plan meals a week at a time, and try to double-up on ingredients so that you can buy in bulk. For example, I\u2019ll have a week when I buy a big load of chicken, which can go in a pie one day and fajitas the next. The next week I\u2019ll have minced beef, which I\u2019ll use to make lasagna, a cottage pie and homemade burgers.<\/p>\n\"cottage-pie-ed\"<\/a>\n

                \n
              1. Be a tourist<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                I\u2019m afraid your regular vacation has now become a staycation, but you\u2019re studying in one of the most popular seaside resorts in the UK \u2013 so make the most of it! If you\u2019re looking for something cheap to do there\u2019s plenty around the Bournemouth area; take a trip to the beach or the pier, visit Sandbanks, go to the Russell Cotes gallery and museum, or venture out a bit and visit Dorchester, Stonehenge or the Jurassic Coast. You don\u2019t have to go to London to have a great day out.<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Recycle<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  I\u2019m not talking about green bins and brown boxes \u2013 I mean things such as your course books, clothes, games and DVDs. SUBU offers a second hand book shop where students can buy and sell course books, so make the most of that. Shops such as CEX will offer cash or store vouchers for your DVDs and games, and if \u2013 like me \u2013 you spent most of your full-time wages on clothes, consider doing a car boot sale. I once made over \u00a3200 and had a good clear out at the same time, plus it\u2019s a day out. Sort of.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Don\u2019t worry<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Finally, if you\u2019re really struggling and need some help, then go and talk to SUBU \u2013 there is a financial hardship service to help you in the short-term. They will also be able to point you in the direction of further help should you need it.<\/p>\n

                    By Alice White<\/strong><\/em>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    Unless you\u2019re Jessie J, the sad truth is that it is all too often about the money. Getting the most out of your university studies takes hard work and dedication, of course, but you won\u2019t last beyond a month at university if you can\u2019t budget and make your money go further. I had been earning… Read more » about Re-adapting to a student budget<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1096,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1658,1663],"tags":[877,1696,130,48,137,2185,2186,354],"class_list":["post-14391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-archive","category-postgraduate","tag-bournemouth","tag-alice-white","tag-bournemouth-university","tag-bu","tag-money","tag-postgraduate-student-budget","tag-postgraduate-study","tag-student-budget"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1096"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14391\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microsites.bournemouth.ac.uk\/student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}