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Living at uni on a student budget

Hi all I'm new on here! And will be in my first year in September at uni.

My my question to you guys is about budget and managing your money.

After my accommodation is paid off I will have about £470 left of my maintenance loan to live off. I will hopefully of saved about £900 by the time uni rolls around to add to this. This should give me about £1370 for the year.

I will abously have to get a job to support my self, but can it be done on such a tight budget? My parents will help were they can but I want to go this alone and stand on my own two feet.

What are your experiences, and is anyone else also worrying about money intheir first year?

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Due to being in a low income family I luckily don't have to worry about budgeting to much as I get high student finance, but my family have lived off an extremely low budget all our lives so I am used to budgets and not having luxuries. For a single person if you really try your best to budget and not splash out on brands or be too fussy on food you can easily do a weekly food shop for £10-15 I usually spend just under ten pound a week on food.

You need to start setting up a budget now and looking at how much things are going to cost you so it comes as less of a shock in September.
Original post by SophieSmall
Due to being in a low income family I luckily don't have to worry about budgeting to much as I get high student finance, but my family have lived off an extremely low budget all our lives so I am used to budgets and not having luxuries. For a single person if you really try your best to budget and not splash out on brands or be too fussy on food you can easily do a weekly food shop for £10-15 I usually spend just under ten pound a week on food.

You need to start setting up a budget now and looking at how much things are going to cost you so it comes as less of a shock in September.


under £10!? what do you buy?
Original post by SophieSmall
I usually spend just under ten pound a week on food.


How the heck are you able to get all of the nutrients you need/not be hungy on less thaan ten pounds a week?

To the OP: it will be doable, but as has been said, you will have to budget carefully. Once you have the hang of this you should be fine. Looking into a part time job is a good idea as well.
Original post by brownsugar-xx
under £10!? what do you buy?


Lots of frozen veg every few weeks, frozen mixed fruit pot every few weeks, bags of frozen chicken or fish every few weeks, pasta is incredibly cheap as is pasta sauce. Greek yoghurt to mix with things such as fruit can be super cheap. If you're smart about it it really isn't hard.
Original post by SophieSmall
Lots of frozen veg every few weeks, frozen mixed fruit pot every few weeks, bags of frozen chicken or fish every few weeks, pasta is incredibly cheap as is pasta sauce. Greek yoghurt to mix with things such as fruit can be super cheap. If you're smart about it it really isn't hard.


so buying in bulk is the key, very interesting, Thanks for the information :biggrin:
Original post by brownsugar-xx
so buying in bulk is the key, very interesting, Thanks for the information :biggrin:


Yes :tongue: also tinned chopped tomatoes are you friend you can get them as cheap at 30p a can and they can be the base for SOOO many dishes such as chicken casseroles.

It is also important where you shop as well, I often make sweet potato wedges. Bag of sweet potatoes in aldi 69p bag of sweet potatoes in tesco £1.50 ...it makes a big difference and often people are spending way more money than they need to out of sheer laziness
Original post by alone-in-kyoto
How the heck are you able to get all of the nutrients you need/not be hungy on less thaan ten pounds a week?

To the OP: it will be doable, but as has been said, you will have to budget carefully. Once you have the hang of this you should be fine. Looking into a part time job is a good idea as well.


replied the answer to the other poster brown sugar :smile:
Original post by SophieSmall
Yes :tongue: also tinned chopped tomatoes are you friend you can get them as cheap at 30p a can and they can be the base for SOOO many dishes such as chicken casseroles.

It is also important where you shop as well, I often make sweet potato wedges. Bag of sweet potatoes in aldi 69p bag of sweet potatoes in tesco £1.50 ...it makes a big difference and often people are spending way more money than they need to out of sheer laziness


unfortunately i hate tomatoes so thats a no go for me but thanks for the tip anyway :smile:

Yes thats a good point, i'm planning to go shopping mainly in aldi/lidls. I know i'll be buying a giant bag of onions and potatoes because they're in most dishes i make. I'm hoping the 89p curry sauces in lidls taste okay.
Original post by brownsugar-xx
unfortunately i hate tomatoes so thats a no go for me but thanks for the tip anyway :smile:

Yes thats a good point, i'm planning to go shopping mainly in aldi/lidls. I know i'll be buying a giant bag of onions and potatoes because they're in most dishes i make. I'm hoping the 89p curry sauces in lidls taste okay.


You hate tomatoes!? back demon back! :tongue:

What about kidney beans? Can get them super cheap too like 19p a can.
I'm not a massive fan of curry so I can't comment on the sauces as the only curries I eat are my sisters home made ones.
Original post by SophieSmall
You hate tomatoes!? back demon back! :tongue:

What about kidney beans? Can get them super cheap too like 19p a can.
I'm not a massive fan of curry so I can't comment on the sauces as the only curries I eat are my sisters home made ones.


I LOVE ketchup and pizza tomato sauce, i just usually find tomato pasta sauces and stuff similar too sickly sweet and gross :laugh:

I'm not sure if i've ever had them but they sound quite nice so thanks for the recommendation :biggrin: well i'm asian and i'm worried about missing my mums homecooked curries. It would make a cheap meal anyway theres options if im desperate.
Original post by brownsugar-xx
I LOVE ketchup and pizza tomato sauce, i just usually find tomato pasta sauces and stuff similar too sickly sweet and gross :laugh:

I'm not sure if i've ever had them but they sound quite nice so thanks for the recommendation :biggrin: well i'm asian and i'm worried about missing my mums homecooked curries. It would make a cheap meal anyway theres options if im desperate.


Hmm you could buy tomato puree which is the type of tomato stuff that is usually on pizzas, you can get a tube from aldi for I think it's either 29p or 49p so you could make your own pizza bread :tongue:
Original post by SophieSmall
Hmm you could buy tomato puree which is the type of tomato stuff that is usually on pizzas, you can get a tube from aldi for I think it's either 29p or 49p so you could make your own pizza bread :tongue:


That's actually a very good idea. I planned to buy some frozen pizzas when i got lazy and since they can be like a pound.
Original post by brownsugar-xx
That's actually a very good idea. I planned to buy some frozen pizzas when i got lazy and since they can be like a pound.


I'm guilty of doing this sometimes :tongue: but i'm always disappointed when I eat them because they are poop. :frown:
Original post by SophieSmall
I'm guilty of doing this sometimes :tongue: but i'm always disappointed when I eat them because they are poop. :frown:


i know what you mean ;_; though there are some really nice ones out there but ofc they cost a bit more. Can never compare to fresh pizza tho :sogood:
Original post by brownsugar-xx
i know what you mean ;_; though there are some really nice ones out there but ofc they cost a bit more. Can never compare to fresh pizza tho :sogood:


That's true :tongue:

Also another great thing when you're on a budget is the reduced isle in shops, learn when they usually mark things down and pop in then I've had some awesome deals. I once got a tesco big night in BBQ hickory chicken pizza for 97p :biggrin:
Original post by SophieSmall
That's true :tongue:

Also another great thing when you're on a budget is the reduced isle in shops, learn when they usually mark things down and pop in then I've had some awesome deals. I once got a tesco big night in BBQ hickory chicken pizza for 97p :biggrin:


Oh yeah that's a good idea! Do you freeze bread btw? like if you got bread in the reduced aisle it's obviously gonna go off soon but if you freeze it will it be okay?
Original post by brownsugar-xx
Oh yeah that's a good idea! Do you freeze bread btw? like if you got bread in the reduced aisle it's obviously gonna go off soon but if you freeze it will it be okay?


Yeah i always freeze my bread because i never use it in time before it goes mouldy.
Original post by SophieSmall
Yeah i always freeze my bread because i never use it in time before it goes mouldy.


Thanks for the help :tongue:
We used to do £5 a week for two. Supermarket sell the fresh products cheap in the night so we used to shop at midnight.

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