Miranda Challiner:
Students, this year especially, have faced numerous stresses and strains on their mental wellbeing, education, and finances. The National Student Accommodation Survey for 2021 said a staggering 50% of students struggle to keep up with their rent, which averages at £146 per week. And for two-thirds of students, this weekly price includes only one type of utility, meaning many students have to factor in extra funds for bills. The survey has shown that rent is by far the biggest cost students have and, for many, covers a considerable proportion (73%) of their Maintenance Loan for the month. That would mean a significant number of students are left with only 27% of their loan to spend on bills, food, cleaning products, and other aspects of student life.
When looking at the statistics of what students spend most on, groceries come up in second place to rent, followed by going out, transport and bills. The amount students spend on groceries increased by £8 from 2019 to 2020, as it currently averages at £100 per month. Many believe more needs to be done to provide students with information to make student living cheaper. The National Student Money Survey 2020 supports this as 71% of students wished they had a better financial education.
We have compiled our research into everyday cost-cutting ideas and student testimonials to provide support and ideas to help students make cost-efficient decisions in their student homes. At Untrapped, one of our aims is to compile some of the best advice for making cost-efficient decisions to help students have one fewer worry.
What Our Audience Thinks
On our Instagram page, we asked our student audience what they do to make savings in their University houses. Here are the most popular responses!
How to be Cost-Effiecient at the Supermarket
In terms of food, buying in bulk is the best cost-efficient strategy when doing your weekly food shop. The number one tip is to enter the supermarket with a plan and preferably a full stomach.
Even if the idea of buying your food together doesn’t appeal to you or your house dynamic, it may be of benefit to buy staple pieces as a house. One of the main issues in my University house was people using other people’s stuff in the kitchen. Therefore, to avoid conflict and be savvy with your money buying together items that everyone will use in moderation would show a noticeable impact on your finances. Especially things like milk, cheese, and bread that go off quickly, but you as an individual probably won’t use up in a week, saves both money and waste if you shopped these items as a house.
Also, if the idea of all going to the supermarket together or sorting out how to divide the bill puts you off, why not set up a weekly food delivery of staple pieces, and then splitting can be done more efficiently as it’s all digitally recorded.
When buying for yourself, don’t forget to set out your own meal plan for the week. It has been shown that buying lunches when you’re out on campus, maybe three times a week can set you back a staggering £600 over the year. Buying your own snacks, bringing your own hot drink, and preparing lunches are some of the best ways to save money as a student.
Shop for food in the evenings.
Supermarkets cut prices of items that are close to their expiry
date.
Save by Communal Living
At University, I found that communal living helped on my finances but also with my mental wellbeing. House activities like having dinners together give you something to look forward to and enable you to spend some quality time together as a group. But another benefactor is that buying food together for group meals helps save money!
In terms of cleaning, buying cleaning products as a house is always a good idea. All chipping in for household essentials does prevent arguments over ‘who’s used my …’. Obviously, with more personal items, maybe like clothes detergent, people may choose to buy their own, but with washing up liquid, dishwasher tablets, scourers, and sponges purchasing them as a house is the most sensible option.
Branded washing up items are usually more expensive than supermarket own brands, and opting for own-brands can save you £££!
How to Save on Your Bills
The most common answer we received from our Q&A on Instagram was to turn off the lights when you leave the room. As simple as it sounds, it is by far one of the most cost-efficient ways to save money on bills if they are not included in your rent! Other options include opting to put on a jumper rather than turning up the heating and turn off sockets when they’re not being used.
To use less electricity, invest in LED bulbs.
When bills are not included in your overall rent for your student house, use comparison sites to find the best deal for you. Also, make sure you look at reviews and see the common problems people face before signing up for a particular server.
Always submit the meter readings!
It doesn’t take long and
it will give you more accurate bills so you don't overspend!
A Few Other Ways You Can Save Money
- Open a Monzo account which will automatically track your spending so you can budget easier.
- Only take cash out on a night out! We have all had that awful feeling of waking up and not wanting to look at what you spent the night before! The best way to budget for a night out is to limit yourself to what you have.
- Get a TOTUM Card (which has now replaced NUS Extra cards) for considerable savings. It only costs £14.99 For instance, 10% off your Co-op shop
- Use UNIDAYs and always ask at shops whether they have a student discount available.
- Don’t rush into buying books at the start of the year – use the library as much as possible!
- Get a student bus card.
- A 16-25 railcard will save you 30% off train fares for when you head home.
These are simple solutions for students to save money and still live well. Our Q&A showed how beneficial living communally with your housemates is on your finances, as shopping, cleaning, and eating together are cost-effective as well as fun!
Final Thoughts
The Maintenance Loan often does not cover student’s living costs, and 1 in 10 students have never budgeted, better education on dealing with finances is needed for students. To back up this claim, one can cite the statistic that over two-thirds of students still arrive at University without a solid understanding of handling their money. I can relate to this statistic as when I first came to University, and for the whole of my first year, I did not follow a budget. I quickly had to adapt when I moved from student-catered halls to a student house. I was able to see the benefits of setting out weekly plans and budgets with my housemates for food and living appliances. However, I wish I had more information at my fingertips to learn how to budget sensibly. I had never had such a large amount of money come into my bank account before, and I did not really know what to do with it. Many students come to University, never having to properly live by their own accord and handle their own money for everyday use. The lack of financial education may be why such a large proportion of students have money worries and drop out because of financial issues.
Blogs and social media posts providing tips for students on saving money in their everyday student lives are the first steps to educating and helping students. But the question that needs to be answered is how students can get a better financial education and making sure that they put budgeting into practice. Could this form of education be implemented through the student loan system or universities creating online courses for freshers during induction week?
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