My Life: How to Save Money While at University [VIDEO]

This is something that people have struggled with for years, and probably will do for years to come.  What exactly can you do when suddenly you are thrown into a world that doesn’t include your parents providing food, warmth and electricity?  It’s a question that faces anyone when they move away from home, but also those at a young age who decide that they want to venture to university or college.  So how you can live without spending all your money on alcohol, gas and food?

Budget, Budget, Budget

The first thing that I did when I got to my room was to budget for the year, OK maybe that wasn’t the first thing I did, but it was definitely something that I considered before I started flashing the cash down the local pub.  Making sure that I had a budget for the year meant that I knew exactly how much money I had to spend each week and gave me the opportunity to live within my means.  I know plenty of people who managed to get in debt because they didn’t budget, and bought extravagant things that they really didn’t need.  Having that budget meant that I lived without fear of running out of money, and eventually ended up with me having a nice sum of money spare at the end of the year.  Something that I have saved since, and is now helping me in other areas.

Keeping Warm with Cheap Utility Bills

Secondly I made sure that I only used gas when I needed it.  Our house was heated by gas and the cooker used it too, so we needed to be conservative when it came to using it.  As energy prices continued to rise we knew that having the heating on too often would lead to big bills, something we could not afford!  So I decided that we needed to limit use, and that lead to us having the heating on for around 5 hours a day.  This might seem crazy, but it saved us so much money, and all it meant was having to put on an extra jumper and some thicker socks.  Otherwise we hardly noticed that the house was cold, and when it saves you serious cash, you have to agree that wearing a few more layers is a fair deal.

Meal Deals

Finally I made sure that I didn’t splurge on food, something that could have seriously dented my budget.  If I went to the local supermarket and they had an offer on chicken, I’d stock up and freeze it.  If I went and they had a cheap brand in comparison to the well known one, I’m thinking supermarket ketchup instead of Heinz, then I’d go for the cheaper one.  Of course, you need to treat yourself sometimes, and I didn’t become obsessed with saving money, but every little helps.  Cutting the cloth according to how many you have should not be shameful, and I didn’t mind eating a cheap pizza, or one I made myself (yes that is cheaper if you make more than one!) if it meant I saved some money.  Even if it is a small amount, that’s an extra drink at the pub, right?

Overall there are plenty of areas in which you can save money, and I found a variety of places that I could, and did save money.  What you need to remember is that the luxuries of home don’t necessarily extend to your next life.  Saving money now could lead to a far more comfortable life in the future though!

Have you found any good ways to save money at university?

This article is written by James who recently graduated. He found various ways to save money, which has helped him invest in the forex markets in recent times.