Help with budgeting & saving.

I'm a nightmare with money - I always start off with good intentions but then end up indulging in impulse buys which add up and leave me short of cash. I've calculated a reasonable budget for next term at uni which should leave me with a bit of extra left over if I stick to it.

Just to get things in perspective, how much, on average, do you guys spend each week at uni?

This doesn't include bills and rent. The weekly sum I am looking for is based on a total of:

-Food & groceries
-Socialising (eg nights out, meals out)
-Items for yourself such as clothes, toiletries, makeup etc
-Travel costs if you take taxis/buses/trains.

I just want to know what everyone else is spending so I can compare my own budget to see if it's realistic enough :smile:

Reply 1

claireestelle

Original post by Bezoar

When i was at uni i spent:
Food £20
Socialising less than £20
Items for myself I'd say less than £20, i buy most of my clothes in primark and any health and beauty stuff is non branded
No travel costs :smile:

So a maximum of £60, i would say most of the time it was below £50 though

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 2

username2459871

Original post by claireestelle

So a maximum of £60, i would say most of the time it was below £50 though

I see! And with that budget do you manage to save up for things such as holidays etc? My main issue is buying lunch all the time... I'm never organised enough to make a lunch every day so all the meal deals and costa teas add up :frown:

Reply 3

claireestelle

Original post by Bezoar

I did go on a couple of holidays during my time at uni so yes i did :smile:

Buy a decent flask for yourself and get into meal planning on you will see a difference soon :smile:

Reply 4

999tigger

You nee to get organised then becayse you dont wnat to be running out of money at the end of term. the big difference is if you get a job.
Learn to shop
Learn to cook

Reply 5

SophieSmall

You need to quit your excuses.

Yes budgeting isn't fun, and yes making your lunches in advance is annoying. But you absolutely can do those things, you are choosing not to.

If you are really that unable to control your spending then you should take out your weekly budget out each week and only carry with you what you are budgeted to be able to spend that day, just that cash no cards. That way you physically can't impulse buy.

But anyway for my expenses.

-Food & groceries £20-25 a week
-Socialising (eg nights out, meals out) Rarely go out, so this comes in at less than £5-10 a week on average.
-Items for yourself such as clothes, toiletries, makeup etc Don't buy these things weekly, but on average probably less than £15 a week
-Travel costs if you take taxis/buses/trains. Buy a bus pass each term £120. saves a lot of money

Reply 6

username2459871

Original post by SophieSmall

You need to quit your excuses.

Yes budgeting isn't fun, and yes making your lunches in advance is annoying. But you absolutely can do those things, you are choosing not to.

Harsh! But I appreciate the kick up the bum

Original post by SophieSmall

If you are really that unable to control your spending then you should take out your weekly budget out each week and only carry with you what you are budgeted to be able to spend that day, just that cash no cards. That way you physically can't impulse buy.

But anyway for my expenses.

-Food & groceries £20-25 a week
-Socialising (eg nights out, meals out) Rarely go out, so this comes in at less than £5-10 a week on average.
-Items for yourself such as clothes, toiletries, makeup etc Don't buy these things weekly, but on average probably less than £15 a week
-Travel costs if you take taxis/buses/trains. Buy a bus pass each term £120. saves a lot of money

What kind of diet do you have? I'm a vegetarian that doesn't eat dairy so I suppose I can cut my grocery spending to less than meat eaters, what do you think?
I don't go out that much either, maybe once a month for birthdays etc, most of my socialising money ends up going on eating out which I probably do fortnightly... I guess that will have to go down to once a month as well

Reply 7

SophieSmall

Original post by Bezoar

Harsh! But I appreciate the kick up the bum

What kind of diet do you have? I'm a vegetarian that doesn't eat dairy so I suppose I can cut my grocery spending to less than meat eaters, what do you think?
I don't go out that much either, maybe once a month for birthdays etc, most of my socialising money ends up going on eating out which I probably do fortnightly... I guess that will have to go down to once a month as well

Lol most people get really offended by my kick up the bum attitude. :tongue:

My diet is pretty good, a lot of home made meals like chilli con carne, stir fry ect. Yeah if you don't buy meat you can very easily budget your food shop around £20-25

Reply 8

username2459871

Original post by 999tigger

You nee to get organised then becayse you dont wnat to be running out of money at the end of term. the big difference is if you get a job.
Learn to shop
Learn to cook

Job isn't feasible for me really as I have around ~22 - 25 hours of contact time at uni a week and when I'm not in uni I'm studying :frown:

I try to shop at the local lidl and cook but due to disorganisation I end up buying lunch from the tesco express round the corner from the library

Reply 9

999tigger

Original post by Bezoar

Job isn't feasible for me really as I have around ~22 - 25 hours of contact time at uni a week and when I'm not in uni I'm studying :frown:

I try to shop at the local lidl and cook but due to disorganisation I end up buying lunch from the tesco express round the corner from the library

I think you are creating your own problem. If you have a budget then stick to it or you will reap the whilrwind at the end. You have no choice because you cant find the time to work or get additional loan facilities.

Stop the impulse buying.

If you cant make your own lunch, then dont have one. Have a big breakfast. A big bowl of porridge will keep you going most of the day.
A piece of fruit and a drink.
That costs pennies.
You talk in your post about saving up for holidays? What's all that about?

You can live really cheaply if you have to.

Reply 10

username2459871

Original post by 999tigger

Very true, I need to stop being a gluttonous fatty

You talk in your post about saving up for holidays? What's all that about?

You can live really cheaply if you have to.

I'm 21 and never really travelled in my whole life. I'm of the understanding one can get a relatively cheap european summer holiday for a week or so, and my friends are always asking me to join them when they go and I refuse because I don't have enough money. But I'd really like to save up next term and join them this summer. They always get money from their parents for holidays but as my parents don't contribute to anything, the only option is to save up. I've tried applying to summer jobs but I keep getting rejected from the get go.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 11

999tigger

Well you could extend your overdraft and get a job for the summer. Ive seen some students on here mentioning they do 2 or 3 jobs to keep going, so if you wnat to make things work, then you can. get a bar job for the evenings then that doesnt ahve to interfere with lectures. You can study most hours. You just have to make the best of whatever situation it is and make the choices.

Reply 12

username1799249

Here is a top tip. Only work with cash and have different purses for different things. So if your food spends are £20 a week withdraw £20 and put it in your grocery purse. Similarly with you social / discretionary spends. Withdraw cash at the start if the week and when it is gone it is gone. Keep your cards in your room and only use them once a week to top up your pots. It also means you can make savings one week in order to have a splurge the next.

Reply 13

Tiger Rag

Tesco Express is, IIRC, generally more expensive than the bigger Tesco stores. Ditto the Sainsburys Local. Not suggesting you should buy your lunches; (and do agree you'll save more making your own food) but it's going to be cheaper to buy lunch in Lidl.

Reply 14

Reue

Original post by Tiger Rag

Tesco Express is, IIRC, generally more expensive than the bigger Tesco stores. Ditto the Sainsburys Local.

This is correct. They have a separate (and more expensive) pricing structure.

Reply 15

Reue

Original post by Bezoar

I
x

I've just totalled up my expenses for March. Per week I spent (excluding bills/mortgage):

Groceries: £47
Petrol: £0
Maintainance/DIY: £6.25
Eating out: £25
Entertainment: £14.50
Other: £7.5

Total: £100.25

Reply 16

TrojanH

Original post by Reue

No Gym membership / mobile phone contract / home insurance / books / clothes on top?

From what I've seen, I should get about £140 a week after my accomodation, which I think is more than enough, so I do like reading in detail what weekly shop would consist of, if i lived as a uni student.

What other costs would you say you incur, and by 'other' do you just mean things you buy on the fly, like coffees and drinks?

What would you say is the maintenance and entertainment section in your budget, exactly? Buying tools, going to the movies?

Reply 17

Reue

Original post by TrojanH

Mobile phone and insurance I'd put together as bills/rent and not included as these are pretty non variable.

I don't pay for a gym and my clothes spend for the past 6 months has been 0.

Entertainment is things like going to the pub and car parking for night out. Maintainance is as the name suggests; physical repairs or improvement to my property.

The other category is almost entirely spend on gifts for others

Reply 18

Kre

When I was at university, I was a bit of a loose cannon when it came to finances (which is ironic considering my course and now profession). But my spending was around this:

-Food & groceries: £40 - I would buy meal deals for lunch a lot and usually cook dinner.
-Socialising (eg nights out, meals out): £20-£60 - this really depended on how often I would go out in a given week. Generally spent £20 a night out at university, sometimes more.
-Items for yourself such as clothes, toiletries, makeup etc: £10 - if that.
-Travel costs if you take taxis/buses/trains. Nil - I lived in halls for 2/3 years and the other year was an easy walk to and from town and the university. I did buy petrol though, but I didn't use my car too often, so probably about £10 a week on fuel.

Grand total of:£80-£120 per week. It's possible to live on far less than this. Also, don't forget to factor in one off expenses, like student cards, railcards, books, stationary, equipment needed for your course etc.

Reply 19

beckydixon

Here are my tips

1. Food & groceries

£15 a week will actually get you a lot if you do plan in advance. My tips - go on a Sunday evening when they reduce lots of food, cook meals in bulk and then keep leftovers in the fridge or freezer for another meal and find bargains at local shops such as green grocers or butchers.

2. Socialising (eg nights out, meals out)

You can have really cheap nights out if you pre-drink and only buy one drink out, share taxis with friends and have hangover food ready at home for when you come back so you don't get tempted by fried chicken when you're out!

3. Items for yourself such as clothes, toiletries, makeup etc

Charity shops and boot sales for all of these things mean you can save lots of money