Money can often be tight for students. Therefore the likelihood is the money you do have you want to make stretch as far as possible.
Regardless of how you are funding your education journey – student loans, cash gifts from parents or even your own savings, there are ways you can save and even generate more cash. Here are 5 money-saving tips for students. They can help you not worry about money as much, therefore, allowing you to concentrate on your education.
Don’t Buy New Books
Books are important regardless of the subject you are studying. Most courses provide a reading list at the beginning of each year or even term. However, new books can be extremely expensive, this can put a big dent in your budget. Therefore, if you can, conduct as much research as possible on the net.
With sites such as Google Scholar which provides a simple way to search for scholarly literature, you may be able to find everything you need without spending a penny. Failing that, you could rent, borrow or buy secondhand books instead for a fraction of the cost of buying new ones.
Search for Student Discounts
Voucher and discount sites such as voucherbox are a great way of searching for discounts, perfect if you are trying to stretch your student budget further. From food and drink to health and beauty and of course, fashion brands, for example, ASOS, using such sites can save you money, on most things.
Avoid Paying For A TV Licence – Legally
You may think you need a TV licence as the law states that if you watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV, on any channel, watch or stream programmes live on an online TV service (such as ITV Hub, All 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV, Sky Go, etc.) or download or watch any BBC programmes on iPlayer. At a cost of £157.50 per year, this can leave a big dent in your student budget.
However, there is a loophole which allows some students to not have to fork out for the fee. You technically do not need a TV licence if:
- Your out-of-term address (parents’ address) is covered by a TV Licence
- AND you only use TV receiving equipment that is powered solely by its own internal batteries
- AND you have not connected it to an aerial or plugged it into the mains.
Get 2 for 1 Cinema Tickets
Going to the cinema can be expensive, especially if you like to visit on a regular basis. However a great way of getting a year’s worth of 2 for 1 tickets is to buy the cheapest insurance policy, usually travel insurance for a couple of pounds, from Compare The Market. This means you can split the cost with someone else, making a trip to the cinema a more budget-friendly entertainment option.
Turn Your Opinions Into Cash
A great way of generating cash is to take part in online surveys. Some surveys pay up to £10 each and can be completed between classes. Therefore giving you the opportunity to add often much-needed cash into your student budget.
