Hey, I’m Jade. I’m a third-year History student at Kent. I’ve put together some easy wins for how you can enjoy uni life without worrying too much about the pennies and the pounds!
1. Staying alive
To get more for your money, shop around the supermarkets to find the lowest-priced items. Now, I don’t mean walking around five shops with a notepad and pen, jotting each price down to the penny; you can compare prices online with apps and websites like Trolley.co.uk that do all the work for you!
Bringing lunch to campus with you can help cut down additional spending too. I know the pastries in the co-op are enticing but making lunch at home can help lower the price per portion and get you more food for your money! If you pack it the night before, you don’t have to spend extra time in the morning making it or spend hours in the lunchtime queues either! Win-win.
Kent are helping their students with the cost of living increase by offering £3 hot meals on campus. They’re delicious and cheap. Name a better combination…
2. Getting around
Saving money on travel can be difficult, but there are ways around it. If you live close enough, you could walk to university a few days a week! Here at Kent, we have what feels like a massive hill, but it’s really just a footpath up to campus. It helps me to get my exercise in before my first seminar!
If walking isn’t an option and you have a car, you could car share with other friends that do. Not only do you save money on fuel and parking, and help the environment, but you can start your day singing along with friends on the drive! We choose Taylor Swift but that isn’t a requirement.
3. Planning ahead
Start searching early on in your first year for off-campus accommodation that includes bills in your monthly rent. I found it really reassuring that my outgoings would stay the same in my second year no matter how much heating, water, electricity or gas I used.
In fact, at Kent, you don’t have to move off campus for either your second or final year, you could make the most of having all your bills included and be close to everything you need!