Combatting the Cost of Living Crisis: Your Top Tips

As part of our Cost of Living campaign, we held an SU on Tour event in the library to find your top money-saving tips. We've compiled them so that you have a super-handy list of ways to make the most of your time at university.

Save on Food

• Opt for shop-own branded food rather than expensive brands
• Use OLIO for free food/goods in your local area
• Meal prep your meals for the week to avoid buying when out and about
• Make your own food and bring your own snacks and lunch onto campus – you can heat up your food in Tommy’s Lounge
• Compare shop prices to source the best deals on products
• Use the Too Good to Go app with friends
• Get a Tesco Clubcard
• Shop smarter - Make sure you are creating a shopping list and budget to stick to. Keep an eye out for yellow reduced stickers in supermarkets and always check the reduced section!

Budgeting

• Use Monzo pots (or equivalent) to put money/your student loan away to help with budgeting
• Cut down on addictive habits – they often cost a lot of money
• Study on campus to reduce heating costs in winter
• Water-saving devices - Order your free water-saving device to save money on water bills (with an added bonus of being good for the environment) 
• Access Fund - If you need it, you can apply to claim up to £150 for any money you need to cover the costs of accessing student groups (this includes: membership costs, kits and travel costs, non-essential costs etc.)
• TV license 'loophole' - While you don't need a TV license for your favourite streaming services like Amazon Prime or Netflix, you can also watch iPlayer or Live TV on your phone or tablet as long as someone at your home address has a valid TV license.
• Student Support Grant - This is an amount of money (paid in cash) available to eligible students who are facing financial difficulties. A standard assessment procedure is used which calculates the level of support based on the gap between annual income and essential expenditure. 
• Use your Student ID Card - Using your Student ID Card to pay for food and drinks on campus will allow you to purchase items with the VAT removed! Activate your account

(Don't) Shop 'Til you drop

• Sell your clothes on Vinted or other secondhand clothes sites
• Buy used or upcycle your clothes
• Use Facebook Marketplace for furniture
• Use Skyscanner to check for the cheapest fares to fly home
• Avoid the middle aisle in Aldi – you don’t need all of those things!
• Use World of Books to get secondhand books at a low price
• Student discounts - Use your student card and Unidays to access student discounts in most places! Be sure to keep your UniDays ID up to date and never shy away from asking if they offer a student discount.

Deals & Discounts

• Use Compare the Market for any insurance needs to get their 2 for 1 deal
• Railcards - purchase a railcard which is £30/ a year, and saves you up to a third off of railway tickets
• Sign up for cashback on bank apps
• Change to a GiffGaff mobile plan as a low-cost option

Freebies

• Make the most of the free period products and condoms from the Advice Centre and around campus
• Use fairs on campus to get free pens and tote bags
• Take part in studies on campus offering vouchers
• Make the most of the library’s DVDs and film collection that you can borrow

Give It A Go

Keep an eye out for our Give It A Go events, which are smaller-scale events, often free or very low cost, that are predominantly alcohol-free and focused on you meeting new people in a fun, relaxed and welcoming environment.

Got any more that you would like to share? Let us know here!