Tips and tricks to learn before uni

Learning to become more independent before uni may take a bit of planning and preparation! Having a few life skills under your belt is a fab way to help you gain confidence in your daily lives. And you'll enjoy yourselves more at university.
You may already be good at many or all of these skills, but here's some tips and resources just in case. Feel free to leave your own tips below
Sticking to a budget
Learn how to create a simple monthly budget and track your spending. Budgeting apps can help you understand your habits and where your money tends to go.
Here are some helpful links to help you with budgeting and student discounts:
▪️ Student budgeting planner - MoneySavingExpert
▪️ 6 brilliant budgeting apps for students - Unite Students
▪️ Best student discounts in the UK: The ultimate guide to how to get them in 2024 - hotukdeals Magazine
You can also discover free activities and events on your campus and in town, as well as explore nearby parks, museums, galleries or public footpaths in the countryside.
Cooking simple, inexpensive meals
Now’s the time to start learning to cook if you don’t already know how. Start with the basics, and collect a small collection of quick, simple and inexpensive recipes.
Whether you are cooking for one, or taking turns with your housemates to eat together, a bit of knowledge in the kitchen is a good way to stay healthy and keep food costs down.
Here are a few links to websites that offer healthy, budget-friendly recipes:
▪️ 26 Quick & Easy Vegan & Vegetarian Student Recipes - Student Beans Blog
▪️ Student cooking made easy - The Student Food Project
▪️ Student Recipes - BBC Good Food
Planning the food shop
Plan your food shop by coming up with a list of staples you’ll need for your favourite recipes, as well as what you like to drink, snack on and eat for breakfast.
Whether you plan to do a weekly big shop with your housemates or do little food shops as and when your schedule allows, making a list will help you stay on budget and reduce potential food waste.
These links provide even more recipe ideas along with tips for meal planning and making shopping lists:
▪️ Weekly meal plan: 28 cheap and healthy ideas - Save the Student!
▪️ Meal planning and using shopping lists - Love Food Hate Waste
Doing laundry
Knowing how to do laundry is the easiest way to keep clothes in good condition and ready for your next wearing.
Make sure you know:Let's face it; washing machines and washing symbols can be intimidating for everyone, so I've included these links:
▪️ How to use a washing machine - Save the Student!
▪️ Washing symbols explained - Which?
Finally, remember to check every pocket before starting the wash!
Cleaning and tidying
Like many other life skills, the best ways to clean and tidy don’t always come naturally. Arm yourself with a few tips for cleaning surfaces like floors, bathroom fixtures, kitchen counters and appliances.
Knowing how to do the hoovering, a refresher on washing dishes, and ways to stay on top of clutter will go a long way to keeping daily life a bit more manageable and pleasant for you and your housemates.
Ask your loved ones for their fave cleaning products and tools so you don’t get overwhelmed by the wide variety of choices on supermarket shelves. And remember that regular cleaning and tidying throughout the term will make it easier to tackle the dreaded year end clean.
I've gathered some links that cover a few aspects of cleaning, tidying and food safety that might be helpful:
▪️ Tips for cleaning your student accommodation - UCAS
▪️ Student guide to food safety and hygiene - Food Standards Agency
▪️ 8 cleaning tips for every student - International Students House
What are your top things to learn before starting uni?
Becky

Learning to become more independent before uni may take a bit of planning and preparation! Having a few life skills under your belt is a fab way to help you gain confidence in your daily lives. And you'll enjoy yourselves more at university.
You may already be good at many or all of these skills, but here's some tips and resources just in case. Feel free to leave your own tips below
Sticking to a budget
Learn how to create a simple monthly budget and track your spending. Budgeting apps can help you understand your habits and where your money tends to go.
Here are some helpful links to help you with budgeting and student discounts:
▪️ Student budgeting planner - MoneySavingExpert
▪️ 6 brilliant budgeting apps for students - Unite Students
▪️ Best student discounts in the UK: The ultimate guide to how to get them in 2024 - hotukdeals Magazine
You can also discover free activities and events on your campus and in town, as well as explore nearby parks, museums, galleries or public footpaths in the countryside.
Cooking simple, inexpensive meals
Now’s the time to start learning to cook if you don’t already know how. Start with the basics, and collect a small collection of quick, simple and inexpensive recipes.
Whether you are cooking for one, or taking turns with your housemates to eat together, a bit of knowledge in the kitchen is a good way to stay healthy and keep food costs down.
Here are a few links to websites that offer healthy, budget-friendly recipes:
▪️ 26 Quick & Easy Vegan & Vegetarian Student Recipes - Student Beans Blog
▪️ Student cooking made easy - The Student Food Project
▪️ Student Recipes - BBC Good Food
Planning the food shop
Plan your food shop by coming up with a list of staples you’ll need for your favourite recipes, as well as what you like to drink, snack on and eat for breakfast.
Whether you plan to do a weekly big shop with your housemates or do little food shops as and when your schedule allows, making a list will help you stay on budget and reduce potential food waste.
These links provide even more recipe ideas along with tips for meal planning and making shopping lists:
▪️ Weekly meal plan: 28 cheap and healthy ideas - Save the Student!
▪️ Meal planning and using shopping lists - Love Food Hate Waste
Doing laundry
Knowing how to do laundry is the easiest way to keep clothes in good condition and ready for your next wearing.
Make sure you know:

Let's face it; washing machines and washing symbols can be intimidating for everyone, so I've included these links:
▪️ How to use a washing machine - Save the Student!
▪️ Washing symbols explained - Which?
Finally, remember to check every pocket before starting the wash!
Cleaning and tidying
Like many other life skills, the best ways to clean and tidy don’t always come naturally. Arm yourself with a few tips for cleaning surfaces like floors, bathroom fixtures, kitchen counters and appliances.
Knowing how to do the hoovering, a refresher on washing dishes, and ways to stay on top of clutter will go a long way to keeping daily life a bit more manageable and pleasant for you and your housemates.
Ask your loved ones for their fave cleaning products and tools so you don’t get overwhelmed by the wide variety of choices on supermarket shelves. And remember that regular cleaning and tidying throughout the term will make it easier to tackle the dreaded year end clean.
I've gathered some links that cover a few aspects of cleaning, tidying and food safety that might be helpful:
▪️ Tips for cleaning your student accommodation - UCAS
▪️ Student guide to food safety and hygiene - Food Standards Agency
▪️ 8 cleaning tips for every student - International Students House
What are your top things to learn before starting uni?
Becky

Hey there,
Thank you for some very good advice and resources!
I can only add one small tip regarding the first year for students who will be living in student accommodation. And the tip is to communicate with your flatmates, establish cleaning routine and schedule. Determine and assign (share) all the necessary responsibilities (cleaning, ventilating, etc.) that need to be done in the shared kitchen.
Please, let me know if you have any questions
Ilya

Ooh, this is some great advice!
I definitely found that budgeting skills were really important to me, adjusting to living independently. Thinking about money seems scary but doesn't have to be all doom and gloom - I recommend downloading budgeting apps that helps you track your finances! I found this super helpful as it almost turned budgeting into a game of sorts, and made it quite fun haha.
Another thing to learn before you start uni is definitely scheduling/time management! Especially when you're moving away from home for uni, you're taking up loads of responsibilities that you probably never had before (cooking, laundry, food shop etc). I found that I underestimated how much time daily living tasks took, and often found myself a bit overwhelmed! Scheduling, having a set time and date for certain activities definitely helped to manage my weeks
~ Fatiha, Cardiff University Student Rep

What’s optometry 1st yr timetable like ?