Heading off to college? Here’s a guide to budgeting and managing your money as a student.
Audit
Before you can work out how to save this - and every - semester you need to know where you stand financially and where your money is going.
With that in mind you should spend just an hour or two over the next month looking at your bank and your Revolut account if you have such a thing to see how much you’re spending on everything from booze, burritos to mobiles and music.
There is no need to do this in an overly critical fashion and you should consider it more of an information gathering exercise.
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Budgeting
Once you know where your money is going you can make better decisions on how to spend it. Split whatever income you have into rent, bills, groceries, transport, fun and whatever else you think you might be likely to spend money on over the course of a month and try to set aside a set amount for each category.
Clubs
If you are starting college this year make the most of Fresher’s Week and join as many clubs and societies as you can – even ones that you might only be vaguely interested in.
Not only will participation help you meet some – hopefully – interesting people – these clubs will also act as a cheap social outlet. And if you choose some of the most well funded clubs (you will be able to identify them by the extravagance of their stalls on campus in the weeks ahead) you might get access to some heavily subsidised booze over the winter months.
Now, we must stress that we are not suggesting you become a freeloading cheapskate for the sake of some cheap beer and wine but if you are looking at ways to entertain yourself for less, clubs are the way to go.
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Deals
Pursue them relentlessly. Your student card will serve as signpost to all manner of savings but don’t just rely on that piece of plastic.
Check your local cinema to see what offers it has for students, join your local (non-college) library and don’t be afraid to haggle or at least ask shops if they offer anything to students. When you start out asking for deals and discounts it can be just a little mortifying but bringing a bit of a brass neck to your life can save you tons of money in the long run.
Eating
This is important and you are likely to spend a fair few bob on food over the next few years. The cheapest way to keep yourself alive and relatively healthy as a student is by cooking for yourself.
It is not only better for you but better for your wallet and much cheaper than relying on super-processed ready meals or high-priced takeaways. Even if you are a stranger to the kitchen you should be able to teach yourself how to make curries, chillies and pasta sauces without a bother by Halloween.
And being a whizz in the kitchen will make you a big hit within your friend group in the years ahead and give you a life skill that will serve you well for the next 70 or so years.
There are a million websites and YouTube channels that will teach you all you need to know but the good folk at Safefood have a single page guide to help you get the most out of your larder and it is definitely worth a visit.
Fags
If you smoke, stop and if you don’t smoke don’t start. College can be a tricky time and smoking can serve as a prop in awkward social settings. But the financial consequences will be ruinous – and a the risk of stating the very, very obvious – it is incredibly bad for you.
If you smoke just 10 cigarettes a day, the habit will cost you more than €3,000 between now and next year and will chop years off your life while also making you smell pretty bad too.
So to borrow a phrase from an anti-drug campaign of dubious merit from the 1980s, just say no.
Gratitude
You probably won’t have much money in the years ahead and you will almost certainly struggle to find a place to call home and then of course there is the pressure of meeting new people and forming new social groups, not to mention the whole studying business.
But despite all the challenges, you are lucky to be where you are and you should try and enjoy the experience.
Home
Many people will have no choice but to move out of home when they start college and there are advantages to fleeing the nest, not least the sense of independence it gives you.
But there are also serious advantages to living at home even if you struggle to see them when you can’t throw wild parties and stay in bed until 6pm without baleful glares from your parents.
It is cheap – or even free and if you live at home you can still go to all those wild parties and go back to your warm bed without having to worry about the morning horror shows or whether or not there will be milk in the fridge for your hangover cereal.
Jollies
Make sure you are added to the mailing list of every gallery in your town or city. There will be openings and at those events, there will be wine and maybe finger food.
Be subtle about it and don’t travel in packs. If your rock up to an opening or a launch and horse into the booze you won’t last long on that circuit.
Locks
We are talking about the ones on your head rather than the ones attaching your bike to a lamppost.
We have to admit that this page is no expert when it comes to the business of hair but we have been told that one surefire way to save money on grooming is to take advantage of training salons and volunteer your head to be used by trainees.
You might not get exactly what you are looking for you want but it will be cheap, or free, and sure what’s the worst that can happen?
Mobiles
Whatever you do, don’t pay over the odds for yours.
Pay-as-you-go is the way to go no matter what happens and you can expect to have companies throwing themselves at you in the weeks offering you deals – realistically you should not be paying.
Consider taking out gadget insurance. It is an expense for sure but it can save you a packet should you lose of smash your phone – although, do check the T&Cs of any policy you have before signing up.
New
Don’t get hung up on it. The likes of swappie.com and refurbed.ie offer a cheaper alternatives for tech and at least come with some protection should things go wrong – buying something on an online classifieds site or off some bloke you meet on the street by contrast offers no protections.
Organised
The more organised you are when it comes to your spending the more money you will have to spend.
Pay now, not later
The whole buy-now-pay-later thing might seem like a good idea if money is tight but save yourself a lot of heartache by avoiding such programmes.
You may be tempted to spread the cost of a coat or a set of ear buds over three months instead of one payment but unless you have a plan to make the payments resist the temptation.
QSR
You might know them as fast foot joints but the official name is Quick Service Restaurants – and we were struggling for a Q.
They always have deals for students and they will be looking to target you in the weeks ahead as they want your loyalty for life.
Don’t give them that and don’t eat in them too often but there’s no harm in having the odd pizza or kebab.
Rental scams
Finding a place to live can be one of the most challenging things about going to college and criminals know this and are always waiting in the wings to take advantage of desperate people.
There are certain red flags you should watch out for. If the landlord cannot show you the accommodation in person be very, very wary. If they ask for a deposit from you and one month’s rent to secure the room before any mention of a lease or before you have seen the apartment you should walk away.
Even if you have been in a property and have been given keys, be careful. Some scammers rent an Airbnb, list it for a day, show it to multiple people and take cash from all of them.
If the rent seems too good to be true, then chances are it is not true. Also, if a rental property is only advertised through social media advertisements, or the deal is done without any questions being asked of you, such as place of employment and references, then you should be very much on your guard.
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Supermarkets
We’ve mentioned food before but it is important to be a supermarket ninja too. Buy own-brand and shop just before supermarkets close, when staff are frantically marking down the stock they can’t sell because it is passing its best-before (BB) or use-by date.
Learn the difference between best before and use by. It is perfectly fine to eat products that have past their BB date — it is more of an advisory thing. Be wary of doing that with use-by dates — they are more of a health thing.
Don’t shop hungry, make lists and buy ingredients that facilitate batch cooking. Don’t be conned by two-for-one deals on perishable products. There is no point in buying two bags of salad on a deal if you are going to bin one.
Tick
There is no place in a student’s world for a credit card. Yes, the banks on your college campus might dangle one in front of you but credit cards are crazy for anyone who doesn’t have a steady income they can use to pay it off each month.
The rates of interest charged by card providers are scandalous, the ease with which you can fall behind on your payments is terrifying and the consequences of saddling yourself with unnecessary debt at such a young age are horrendous.
Used and unique
Charity shops are your friend. Not only is it better for your pocket but it is better for the planet too. And if you develop a keen eye, it gives you a unique style that can’t be got by shopping in the big shops whose names we all know.
And don’t confine your fashion adventures to physical shops. The likes of eBay and other second-hand platforms are a great way of sourcing particular labels for a lot less.
Vegetarian Now
We are not suggesting you give up meat entirely – unless you are that way inclined - but meat is pricey and has soared as the cost of living crisis has endured. A vegetarian diet is a whole lot cheaper. And if you make judicious use of beans, pulses and vegetables you can be super healthy and super thrifty.
Wheels
Students should rely on two of them and not four. The idea of a student having a car is kind of absurd. They are expensive and bad for the planet.
And you are young and hardy and well able to manage a bike which is much, much cheaper, better for you, more reliable and far more pleasant.
You won’t get rained on that much. If you buy a decent lock and a rubbish (looking) bike, it is unlikely to be a magnet for bike thieves.
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Excel
Struggling with the letter X to be honest so we will borrow a leaf from Dr Seuss and point out that X comes handy when you are spelling excel which is what you will hopefully do in the years ahead.
Young
That is probably what you are and you are very lucky in that regard.
Zzz’s
An old favourite of the A-Z author but college is a time to sleep. There won’t be a whole lot of it when you get older – particularly if you have children who are up with the lark.
