How to Save Money as a Student
With the cost-of-living soaring as we approach the winter months, there are plenty of things you can do to save as much money as you possibly can. We want to share our top tips for how to save money as a student!
Should I learn to batch cook at university?
This might not be a shock to you but eating out is costly. If you sat and calculated how much you spend on eating out and getting takeaways a month, you’ll have a shock to the system.
As easy as it is to login to Deliveroo and get your favourite meal delivered to your door these days, we urge you to steer clear. These apps are full of service charge, delivery fees, and even their standard items are bumped up in price.
Sure, restaurants and deliveries beat a can of beans on toast any day, but you can always work on your cooking skills. Get yourself to a place where you actually enjoy the experience of cooking fresh food. We would also suggest cooking in bulk to have meals prepared in advance and making the cost of each meal even cheaper.
Check out @_myfirstmeal’s page. Here you can find delicious recipes to follow, which include five ingredients or less. Save money and enjoy tasty food!
Should I buy my food pre-sliced?
Purchasing pre-sliced foods is an easy option that lots of us are used to. It can be so convenient picking these up from the supermarket shelves, just to save that extra 5 minutes of doing it yourself.
Let’s get down to statistics. Sliced mango can cost up to a shocking £4 in your local supermarket. Whereas a whole mango can cost as little as 80p. That’s a saving of £3.20 a time. If you need to, check out this video tutorial on ‘how to dice a mango’. YouTube has hundreds of these tutorials for any type of food. After that, all you need to do is get yourself some reusable packaging and this snack could last you all week. Sorted.
Coffees
Talk about pre-sliced food and restaurants being convenient… Coffee shops are the ultimate convenience. But, as we’ve learned so far, convenience comes with a price.
You’re looking at as little as £2 for a takeout coffee, and this can sky-rocket to as high as almost £5. Don’t believe us? Come to the London and try and order yourself a large coffee with syrup and oat milk. You’ll be shocked.
Here’s a top tip, never spend more money on liquid than food. Trust us, after spending almost a fiver on coffees you’ll be hungry within minutes, which means even more outgoings!
You’ll want to get yourself a reusable flask, sustainable and cost effective. Make up a drink before you leave in the morning, and you’ll be good to go if your caffeine craving kicks in at any point.
If, however, you swear by Starbucks or Cafe Nero, get yourself a reusable coffee cup. Most coffee shops will give you a decent discount for helping to save waste.
Where can I buy discounted food at university?
Unfortunately, this one can’t apply to everything all the time. But here’s a great life-hack, learn when your local supermarkets put out the reduced to clear items and you’ll never look back. For example, you’re best to hit the local Co-op on a Sunday night. Items get progressively cheaper as the days and week goes on. Thank us later!
Thanks to smart technology there is a new option that allows you to get your favourite diner’s food for free. Too Good To Go is an incredible app that aims to stop food waste. Once you have downloaded and signed up, you can use the map to find restaurants, cafes or shops in your local area that has unsold food. Every year one-third of food is thrown away and these guys want change. You can choose from stores such as Costa Coffee, Greggs, Morrisons, and even your local independents. Save money and stop waste!
Should I buy branded clothes?
Like full priced food, buying clothes can simply burn a hole in your pocket. It’s too easy to order those trainers to your doorstep with next day delivery these days, especially with a student discount code.
Here’s a fact you may not know, but fashion is awful for the environment, and don’t even get us started on the whole sweat shop thing. Try and avoid buying full-price clothes on impulse. To save those pennies, take a trip round some charity stores. Not only is it a great way to save some money, but you are giving to charity also. Not to mention, you can find some items of clothing that can be pretty rare.
Should I get taxis at university?
Again, these are another thing that have become way too easily accessible. With the likes of Uber, Bolt and Ola, most of us seem to have forgotten how good walking or cycling is for us.
Taxis can be as cheap as £5 and arrives in minutes, but these trips add up. As well as saving money, walking plays a huge factor with helping your mental health. We would even suggest taking the bus over taxis, it’s cheaper and helps the planet by reducing the number of cars on the road. Surely something that chargers you per km you travel can’t be a good thing. As Tesco say, ‘Every little helps.’ Even just 30 minutes a day will help you, so do yourself a favour and cut off that money draining service known as cabs. Another way to save money as a student is by using buses. These can cost you anywhere from £1.55 to £3 at a fixed rate, for however far you wish to travel.
How can I reduce my outgoings on memberships?
Here is a huge money-saving tip, go through your monthly statements. This can be tricky to do but will help you locate any monthly outgoings that are not a necessity.
If you’re anything like us, you’ll probably notice that the first to go is the gym membership. Again, whilst exercising is a great way to help with your mental state of mind, you can 100% do this with home workouts. There are plenty of these available on YouTube that you can do to fill the fitness void. MadFit‘s page has a variety of home workouts to you to choose from. Subscribe and say thanks for that free six-pack!
So, there you have it. Saving money as a student can be as easy as that. These are just six of the hundreds of ways you can help to save those pennies. If you feel worried about the cost-of-living increase or any other money issues, please visit our ‘Contact us’ page to get in touch of our team. Remember, AXO are always here to help!
