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University of Central Lancashire

Preston

Students: Cost of living tips

Saving Money at University 💸

It's hard to know where to start when it comes to saving money as a student, here are some tips to help you with the cost of living:

Student budget calculators - There are some great online budget calculators like UCAS budget calculator and Save the Student's rent calculator that will help you save money and keep track of your finances.

Create a monthly budget - Firstly you will need to work out how much income you'll have each month helping you set limits to your spending. Once you've worked out how much money you've got coming in each month, you can work out where you'll be spending it.

As a student, you are likely to spend money on:
-Rent
-Bills
-Food shop
-Transport (Car fuel, insurance)
-Course materials
-Nights out
-Takeaways
-Social activities
-Subscriptions
-Personal care (haircuts and beauty treatments)

It's important once you know your monthly income to deduct your essential expenses (rent, travel, bills), this will leave you with how much money you've got to spend on non-essential things.

Money-saving top tips

Shopping second-hand - have a look on places like Facebook Marketplace and in charity shops for some second-hand home furnishings and kitchenware, you'll likely have big savings.

New love for old clothes - apps like Vinted and Depop are great for buying brand new and second-hand clothes for discounted prices. You can also easily sell clothes on these apps to make some extra money.

Student discount - one great perk of being a student is having access to amazing student discounts. Have a look on sites like Student Beans or Unidays to see which retailers are offering student discount, you'll find that many places do.

Discounted food - check out the reduced food aisle for some great bargains, you are likely to see more discounts during an evening shop. Freezing food is great for those items you won't eat in time, do remember to check it can be frozen, this will help you save money on future meals.

Our Content Creator Haya also has some great top tips to share to help you make the most of your budget!

[video="youtube;nz_XPYhg36E"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz_XPYhg36E[/video]

You can also visit our cost of living support hub to learn more!

What are your top money saving tips?

Reply 1

UCLan Student

Official Rep

Hi everyone!

I'm one of the current students at UCLan and wanted to share some of my top money saving tips! Budgeting is really something I learnt the hard way at university but once you get the hang of it, it's a lifesaver!

Bank accounts
Shop around for different student accounts as many will offer perks like railcards when you first join up! I personally found
Monzo really helpful as I could have different pots to keep track of things like rent, fuel, money for food and money for socialising!

Discounts
Places like Unidays (or Blue light for the NHS discount) are great when your looking to buy anything from shoes, to clothes to things to make your flat feel a bit more like home! Whenever I'm buying online, I always double check to see if there is a discount code available!

Weekly bits & Cost of Living
I have my student finance set to come into one bank account and every week, a set amount goes on a standing order to my normal bank account - think of it as like giving yourself a wage each week! This really helps you to stop over spending and stay within a budget as things can quickly add up otherwise. I'm really lucky that Preston was recently voted the most affordable student city to live in as a student which has definitely helped when it comes to budgeting!

I hope some of these tips help and let me know if you have any below!

- Rebecca, 4th Year at UCLan

University of Central Lancashire

Preston

Managing your money as a student can sometimes feel stressful.

To help you navigate this, Agneta has shared some advice on what you should expect to spend monthly on average as a student, along with some budgeting tips. 💷

Hope this helps, let us know any budgeting tips you have as a student. 😊

Reply 3

UCLan Student

Official Rep

Hello,

Budgeting as a student can be quite stressful, so when I am planning my monthly budget, I use the the 50-30-20 budgeting rules, where 50% of my income is for rent, bills, and necessities. 30% for wants like dining, spending time with friends ,and finally the last 20% is for savings like travelling, investment ,and buying things.

I also use apps like Goodbudget to track everything.

Here is a video, I made sharing my top cost of living tips :smile:

https://youtu.be/nz_XPYhg36E?feature=shared

Hope this helps,
Haya - MBBS5

Reply 4

UCLan Ambassador

Official Rep

We know the rising cost of living is a worry to many, and it's natural to wonder whether coming to university is a good idea in these difficult times 😟

To make the right choice for you, it's important to know what support is available for students, and to discover how fees and finance actually work 💷

Visit our website to learn more 👉 Cost of living at university - UCLan

(edited 3 months ago)

Reply 5

UCLan Ambassador

Official Rep

Student cost of living support 💷

If you're a UCLan student, did you know you have access to a range of support to help with your finances 👇

Financial advisers
Based at the Student Centre on our Preston campus, our experienced Student Support team can help you with:

•

Advice on managing your living costs

•

Paying your student fees

•

Budgeting and saving tips

Various recourses

•

Hardships funds

•

Referrals to local foodbanks

•

Emergency food vouchers whilst you apply for longer term support

•

Advice and support from our Student Support Team

Scholarships and bursaries
We have a number of bursaries and scholarships available to support you whilst studying with us which you can learn more about here.

Careers support
Students and alumni can access advice from our expert careers team who are here to offer a wide range of support including:
✍ CV review & advice
💭 Help explore career options
👋 1-2-1 appointments with the team

Daily careers drop-ins

Students have access to daily drop in sessions with our friendly careers team who are located on the Upper Ground Floor of the Preston Campus Student Centre:

•

9.30am - 4.30pm Monday to Thursday

•

9.30am - 4pm Fridays

If you would like further information on anything mentioned above or if you have any question, please do reach out 😊

^Sarah

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

I know that freezing food is a really good way of saving money, but what do I do if I don't have a freezer? I always end up throwing away vegetables because they've gone bad after like 5 days

Reply 7

UCLan Student

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

I know that freezing food is a really good way of saving money, but what do I do if I don't have a freezer? I always end up throwing away vegetables because they've gone bad after like 5 days

Hey, this is a great question and something I struggled with last year. In the end, I ended up just buying what I needed for the next 2-3 days and nipping to the shops during the week to top up! I found I cut down on food wastage this way!

I hope this helps!
-Rebecca, UCLan