Tips on what an HE student actually *wants* to know about budgeting

[Nanodust]

Looking for any kind students to help me out.

I’m going to be running a short presentation for new students on tips and lifestyle advice for budgeting and making money last all year. I really want the presentation to be as fun and relevant as possible. Not another yawn through finance guide......

Topics I thought about are:
Breakdown of what research suggests money is spent on monthly(based on a recent student poll of 1,500students).
Was then going to oull out top 5, rent, food, social, travel and bills and give tips and advice on how to get discounts, cut costs (including things like timeline for yellow reduced stickers at the different supermarkets)
Then light touch on how to keep a budget
Rather than multiple power point slides, thought images and links but not tables and table of words and data

Anyway, if anyone is able to share thoughts or tips would really appreciate it as a bit nervous about presentations to over 700 people with very little experience of this type of thing 🙃

Check first because it keeps changing but some students can claim benefits either while studying or in some cases over the summer this can make a huge difference to the people who can.

www.turn2us.org.uk/Benefit-guides/Full-time-students-and-benefits/Full-time-students-and-other-benefits

Advice on avoiding getting a CCJ and the impcact on a credit rating.

Thank you 🙂

maybe something about overdrafts (as most student bank accounts include them) would be useful my dc said quite a few of there friends at uni didnt fully understand them and treated them like additional loan

I heard recently that students cannot always get the best rates on phones because they have no credit history. So how do they budget for a phone? Talking about the best way to make your money go as far as possible is useful. So student rail cards, off peak travel, happy hours (?) and lots of web sites give student discounts, eg Asos.

If catering, the students can sign up to all sorts of delivery companies and claim introductory offers! Often big discounts. They need to club together to make this work but it can.

I wouldn’t treat them all as clueless and remember they come from different backgrounds. Ask them for ideas and if they can share budgeting ideas. There will be students who blow it all in the first month because it’s their first time off the leash and others who will make do and mend on a minimum amount of money and never go out. One set of advice never fits everyone. Perhaps give them a budgeting sheet to fill in? List out all possible expenditure even if you don’t talk about it. For example some sports clubs can be expensive but for some students this will be essential. What about cost of materials for art students? Printing costs? There are so many variables.

I would talk about when the loan gets paid, how and when they intend to pay their bills and and what’s left over to live on and essential spending. It’s difficult to generalise because they will have different needs and different levels of income. But well done for trying.

Sorry: Martin Lewis on www.moneysavingexpert.com has loads of student budgeting advice and a spreadsheet.

Thank you for this great tips. Absolutely agree that it is so hard to pitch it. I know some students in the room will be wealthy, others not.
I thought a summary of links, tips and ideas so that everyone can pick and mix what suits them- lots of facts and infographics :)

I’d warn them that the first term is fantastically expensive: stuff for the room, club subs, gym membership, books etc not to mention Freshers socialising. If on a v tight budget having a Christmas vac job lined up will soften that blow.

However when most banks offer a £1000 free overdraft in my experience there’s very little to disincentivise over spending

You can get free prescriptions- ask your dr for a form!
Don’t go crazy buying stuff before you arrive/ in the first week, you’ll be amazed at what you actually don’t need or can share or can get cheaper at other times of year. Don’t buy tat for your room which may just get damaged/chucked/ thrown away at the end of the year. I remember my iPod speaker and set of glasses disappeared from the kitchen, my rug got thrown up on, and I threw away a Pyrex dish and cafetière I thought I needed but was having too much fun to clean 🤢 At the end of the summer term tonnes of crap gets thrown out, the charity bins near halls are always overflowing with duvets, tat, random furniture, clothes, homeware etc- it’s such a shame.
I lived in Manchester recently off my loan supplemented by a summer job (NMW) so around 8k a year- and actually saved and managed to go on holiday each year. My parents didn’t charge me rent to come back home over holidays, I know that’s not the case for everyone. So in reality it’s 8k to cover 6 months of the year plus 1/2 rent in empty student houses over summer.
Don’t bother with a car or even buses unless it’s a long way- you can walk/ cycle everywhere. Then you also won’t need that expensive gym membership!
As a student you might not have a lot of money but you do have the blessing of time to make from scratch/ walk/ find the best bargains/ have hobbies. Universities do loads of cheap fun courses, societies, socials etc. Not many times in life you will get to learn a language, new sport, new interest for free or very little so don’t be afraid to spend a bit (i.e 3£ society subs/ a £5 for a society night out) to get the most out of those 3/4 years.
Jack Monroe’s blog is good for cheap eating- if you’re catered in halls try and take as much as you can at breakfast and dinner then no need for lunch. Get a £1 Lidl pizza instead of a takeaway after a night out. Don’t buy food out or shop at the mini supermarkets/ petrol stations which are super expensive, and those £3 sandwiches do add up, especially compared to the 20p one you can make at home in 5 minutes. I took a thermos of tea or coffee to uni every day, that’s easily £10 a week saved from not buying coffee every day. shop at local markets, independent shops and big supermarkets, who do free delivery if you order over a certain amount. Easy to hit the amount with a few crates of beer/ boxes of wine/ shared between housemates. You can work out the amount of alcohol you’re getting for your money ;) batch cook if you have a freezer.
Don’t fall prey to student discounts at high street shops ASOS etc- they’re not that good value & you probably don’t need that many more clothes etc and they can be found at charity shops/eBay etc, which are often full of super cool stuff in student towns.
Use the library for books, or if you need to buy then many older students will sell their copies on.
If you like to print stuff, invest in your own little printer (can be got for 30-50£) and it’s cheaper to print from home in the long run as opposed to paying 10p a sheet at some universities
My housemate used to take out her weekly allowance in cash and then once she ran out that was it- it worked for her!
Universities often have internships and jobs on campus which are well paid (usually living wage)
Don’t buy unnecessary tat. Borrow stuff from home and family members, they might not miss an old pan/ knife and fork/ duvet cover, but you’ll miss that extra tenner when you can’t go out! plus if you’re living with housemates there’s no need to all bring kitchen equipment, it can all be shared.

Jut thought of one - how to pay a check into a bank account. If you get a hardship payment or an emergency loan it can be a check, 18 year olds often have never seen one.

How about how to pay and split bills with flat mates in private housing -

It seems to cause a lot of problems for some students

I’d also cover 2nd year renting issues. Timescales (most first years are looking in 2nd term of first year), contracts, deposits, utility companies.

Agree with pp who pointed out it is worth encouraging sharing of what they know.
I can teach my dc about budgeting and planning etc., but they know far more than me about current ways to get discounts / free things / bargains, etc.
So
a) get them to share what they know
and
b) (probably more valuable) - get some 2nd year students from your university to do a slot on money savers they have used.

Depending on how long you have got (?) different voices and different presenters hold interest better than one person. If this is some kind of mini course, then a cooking demonstration, and signposting to where people can find really useful recipes and/or tips around food would be 'different' and useful.

Nobody intends to get in a mess with budgeting but it sometimes happens. The worst thing is not getting in a mess; the worst thing is burying your head in the sand.
Signpost support systems and tell them to use them!

Beercan - how do uni students (19 or over) get free presciptions?