Students' Union 2005

Tips For Saving Money


A lot of these tips are common sense, but could save you money in the long run!

Food

  • If you can, try and eat and shop with your friends - buying food in bulk is often cheaper. Find out where your local supermarket puts its reduced foods, you might find shopping towards the end of the day means more reduced stuff. Try and buy 'own brands' and economy products, especially on the basics like tinned tomatoes! And BOGOF (Buy One Get One Free) when you can. You should also make your own sandwiches for lunch, you'll be surprised how much bought lunches can add up.

Bills

  • You may be able to switch to a cheaper gas or electricity supplier. However, check your contract first, as some landlords prohibit it - even if your contract doesn't mention it, you should let your landlord know. If you are thinking of changing, you should shop around - look at the supplier information from Energywatch www.energywatch.org.uk to compare suppliers. You may want to pay bills on a monthly basis, so that you won't have a large quarterly payment to make. You should ensure that bills are based on actual readings, rather than estimated ones, so you are being charged accurately. If you do pay quarterly, put money aside for bills. Make sure lights and electrical equipment are turned off (not just left on standby) when not in use.

Books

  • Try Blackwells or Amazon for second hand books, before spending money on brand new ones. Students on higher years on your course often advertise books for sale on School notice boards, you can also buy and sell old text books on the campus forums on this wesite, just select your centre from the menu on the left and click on Forum .

Telephones

  • Would it be cheaper to have a pay-as-you-go mobile phone, so you don't run up big bills? Make sure you put money aside for mobile phone bills and keep spending to a minimum like everything else. Also, try and get the best deal for your needs. If you have a land-line phone in the house, you could consider an incoming-calls only phone. Alternatively, you should get itemized bills to make sure you and your housemates know who have made all the calls.

Student Discounts

  • Buy an NUS Extra card! A lot of places offer student discounts or special deals.

Travel

  • Get a young person's railcard or coachcard. You can often cover the cost of these in one or two journeys. If you have to use the bus every day, you may be able to get a bus pass. Is it practical for you to walk or cycle instead of get the bus?

Banks

  • Don't go overdrawn without first arranging an overdraft limit - most banks offer students an interest-free overdraft. Likewise, don't go over your overdraft limit without speaking to the bank. Keep in  contact with the bank - don't ignore or throw out letters from them, act on them. If you are worried about your account, it helps to talk to them - if you prepare a budget this can often help in your negotiations with them. If you don't communicate with the bank, you will probably find you get charged high bank charges or interest or you coul even have your bank account closed.

Credit and Debt

  • It is not advisable to commit yourself to credit without checking whether you can meet the repayments. Likewise, you should not take on more debt to try and repay other debts. Credit cards should not be seen as another source of funding, but as debt.Try and limit your credit, and try and stick to one credit card if you feel you need one (say for emergencies).

Debt Counselling

  • If you are being pursued for any type of debt, which you either cannot pay or do not believe you owe, you should contact the Student Advice Team. Debts from credit cards, store cards, catalogues etc. are treated as lower priority than things like rent/mortgage, utility bills etc. The Student Advice & Representation Centre can help you renegotiate payments if you can't afford to pay creditors, so please contact us if you are having difficulty meeting your financial commitments.

Last updated: 13 Aug 2007

University of Nottingham Students' Union
Portland Building, University Park , Nottingham NG7 2RD
Tel: + 44 (0)115 846 8800 Fax: + 44 (0)115 846 8801

© 2005 University of Nottingham Students' Union