been stingy

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make a meal plan for each week with lots of easy cheap staples: beans, lentils, tins of veg ect.

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write your shopping list before you go, so you know exactly what you need for the week and won't need multiple shops and loads of unused food

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if possible go with a bills included accomodation; it looks a little more upfront but in my experience you save a lot of money over the winter period and you can afford to keep warm

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use basic stationary, I've always taken notes with paper not a tablet and if money is too tight for a laptop, your uni should have ones you can borrow somewhere like the library