Hi, I’m Meera and here’s my advice on student saving. One of the many challenges students have when starting university is managing their money but with the help of these tips, you can keep track of not just your spending, but also your savings.
- Be wise when it comes to your food shop
Before your weekly shop, set out a meal plan to give you an idea of what you you’ll eat in the week. Although this may sound like another chore, meal plans allow you to buy only what you need and avoid the purchase of unnecessary goods.
Another tip to bear in mind when food shopping is to buy products that have a longer best before date so that it can be kept longer if you don’t manage to eat it soon.
Also, look out for reduced items at supermarkets such as Co-op where they tend to reduce products after a certain time, usually about 4 o’clock.
- You don’t need to cook everyday
“Bulk” cooking is a great way of making your food last longer. It basically means cooking a meal in a larger quantity so that you don’t have to cook so often and can dedicate that time to other activities.
You can also freeze the food that you’ve made for future use and can correlate meals with your timetable so that you know what days or times to cook.
For example, cooking in bulk on your lecture-free days means that when you come back home after a tiring lecture-full day, all you need to do is warm up the food!
- Use cash, not card
Whether you’re going for lunch with your friend, on a night out or a shopping trip, be prepared by taking out cash rather than your card.
We’ve all had the temptation of buying more than we need to with our cards and the ease of contactless payment also contributes to this!
Taking a set amount of cash with you on outings allows you to see how much you’ve spent at the end of the day and to not exceed your maximum budget.
- Create a money log
This doesn’t have to be neat or sophisticated, just use an old notebook to make a note of what you have brought in the week and at the end of it, total it up to see how much you’ve spent.
This is a great way of setting up weekly, monthly or even daily budgets and restricts yourself to only buying things that you need and of course occasional treats – we all need some Ben & Jerry’s now and then!
Worcester Student Life 