Papa's Promotions forum

I found this the other day and although it says freshers, i think its pretty useful no matter what year your in. Here you are...


Make the most of your freshers week without blowing big bucks
By Jess Edwards origanal source money.uk.msn.com
August 30 2007


Recently it has become more of a glorified reason to go out on the tonic. And fair enough, there’s a lot to celebrate and this should be done in style with a glass of wine in one hand and a shot of sambuca in the other.

However, this is not going to be a cheap affair, especially if you make the most of all the promotional nights that the big clubs put on – one for every night of Freshers Week.


Drink before you go out
As cheap as the drinks appear, it’s still cheaper to drink before you hit the clubs.

Limit yourself to a set amount of cash for the night, taking into consideration travel, entrance costs and of course drinks. Whatever you do, don’t take your card out with you. One too many times I’ve done this and the phrase said more often than any other is ‘whack it on the card’ - bound to end in a nasty overdraft.

This is neither clever nor cool. Not only will you wake up in the morning with an unrelenting headache and that feeling of ‘oh god what did I do last night’ but you’ll also have a bank statement which would make your great grandfather turn in his grave.

Better yet – don’t go out
House parties are a great way to get to know the people living around you. If your halls are set up in a way that would enable you to, try inviting people over instead of going out to a club.
Drinking will be cheaper, you don’t have to pay entrance and will only be a short walk away from your bed at the end of the night.


MSN top tip – If you happen to be in France shortly before you start university, buy copious amounts of alcohol and, if you smoke, cigarettes. Not only will this save you a lot of money in the long run but being the one with the beer is bound to make you friends (no matter how fake).


Clubs and Societies
Surprisingly enough, partying is not the only activity in Freshers Week that could see you scraping together the pennies before term has properly begun. Freshers fairs are opportunities for you to look at what the university has to offer in terms of extra-curricular activities. Anything from the cheese appreciation club to the punk society is available for you to sign up to, however some of these come with a price.

When looking around at all that is on offer it is easy enough to get carried away. Signing up to the Star Wars society may seem like a good plan at the time, but at £10 for the yearly membership are you really going to get your money’s worth and be an active member of the group?

There’s nothing wrong with taking up a hobby, but maybe one or two is enough. If you’ve already become a member of two societies, slow down and think whether you’re really going to be able to juggle any more activities as well as your studies.


Joining the gym
As good as your intentions are, is it realistic that you are going to go to the gym more than twice every term?

If the answer is yes, then look into which membership would be best for you. Sport and health fanatics may benefit from getting a full membership which costs more upfront but saves you having to pay every time you attend. For the less fit among you, a cheaper membership that requires a small fee every time you visit the gym may be more economical

If the answer is no, stick to road running and the occasional last-minute dart to lectures.


Getting Around
Taking taxis is always an attractive option, especially on a night out, in the cold, when you’re wearing heels (or with a girl wearing heels as the case may be). But, weigh up whether it’s really worth it. Could £5 be saved with a 15 minute walk? Or is it cheaper to get a bus? If there is a big group of you then taxis may be more economical if you manage to fill them up.


Most towns will have a student buss pass available that will enable you to use the bus service whenever you want. Before you purchase one though, think about it carefully – will you get enough use out of it? Is it really needed?

Student railcards are also worth consideration. It may not be useful for getting around your university and town, but can help you save a lot of money on trains to and from your home town.


Food for thought
When you applied for your accommodation at university you would have had to choose between catered and self-catered halls of residence, both of which can cause budgeting issues.


Self-catered
If you went for self-catered, then this is most likely the first time you have had to shop and cook for yourself.
In the first couple of weeks you will just be getting to know people and so may not feel comfortable sharing food, but this is something to look into later on. Regular items like bread, pasta, milk etc could be cheaper if a group of people club together and share.
Bear in mind that you are a student and your loan has to stretch quite far to last you the whole term. Don’t go buying silly things like expensive meat or other luxuries such as nice cheese, deserts etc. You’re a student now and so it’s time to economise.

A good tip would be to buy lots of veg and fruit and always have staples in the cupboard. Eating fresh food, though maybe more time consuming, is much cheaper than buying ready meals and a lot better for you as well.


Catered
If you opted for catered accommodation you may think that you needn’t worry about extra food. This is not usually the case.

Make sure that if you’re paying the extra money for food that you make the most of it. Try and go to all your meal times – even breakfast no matter how early, otherwise you may find yourself spending money on snacks throughout the day.

In both cases, the most tempting thing of all is to ‘just get a takeaway’. Take it from me, the average student can afford this luxury about once every term and even that is pushing the boat out. My advice: just don’t do it, you could blow a whole week’s food budget in one night.


You’re not just at uni for one week
As much as you will be thinking – ‘but it’s freshers week, I should just have fun regardless of cost’ bear in mind that you have three years of that lifestyle and blowing all your loan in one week is not going to bode well for the rest of your time at university.

Don’t hold back on doing things that you think you will regret missing out on but try to be economical with the small amount of money you have.




I hope that was useful, if you'd like to share advice on how to save money at uni please post it in this thread