So you’ve just received you’re student loan and you’re ready to go wild with the spending, but before you do – STOP AND GET REAL!

As a student you do have financial responsibilities that you’ve committed to and therefore are obliged to meet. If you spend a little time now budgeting your cash you should find that there’s plenty to do both.

Here are some of the costs that you will incur as students and ways in which you can look to reduce them.

Tuition Fees

These will depend on the support you receive from your LEA, but the University does offer students the chance to pay them in installments which tend to leave you better off when trying to budget.

Course Costs

Don’t over look additional costs of books and stationary, however before you go out and spend a small fortune on new material look into buying texts second hand, renting from the Library or even sharing books where possible with fellow course mates -You’d be surprised what you can save.

Accommodation

Rent for accommodation can vary depending on the area that you live in, so it’s always best to look around. Remember you will be asked to pay a deposit and don’t forget to factor this cost into your budget.

Utility Bills

The size of the accommodation will depend on how much you use your utilities. Bills tend to come on either a monthly or quarterly basis and setting up direct debits with companies can often cost you less. Always take meter readings as soon as you move in to avoid being overcharged – you don’t want to find out you’ve been paying for the last set of tenant’s mistakes.

Telephone

Most students have mobile phones as their main telephone. It’s always worth shopping around for the best deals though as there’re plenty of special offers available.

Insurance

This is a vital expenditure and although may seem unnecessarily it’s worth every penny. If you were to be unlucky enough to be burgled or your house caught fire, losing all your possessions and being left with nothing to fall back on is not a pretty sight. Before you do anything check whether you’re covered under your parents insurance. For those of you who are not, shop around and make sure the package that you get covers all your belongings.

TV License

This is another must unless you want to take the risk of getting caught and finding a spare £1000 from somewhere for the pleasure. You can however sort it out and pay in installments so that you don’t find you’re paying for a full year that you may not need. If this does happen though, don’t hesitate about claiming back the refund you’d be entitled to.

Food

The cost of essential needs such as food varies enormously depending on where you shop. It’s worth considering the benefits of sharing with your house mates, buying in bulk where you can and even shopping in more economy outlets. You don’t have to be the next Jamie Oliver to learn how to eat well on a budget – and remember although takeaways are great and an easy option they’re also an expensive way of life.

Leisure time and Clothes

We all know how tempting it is to cash in the first loan installment and blow it on the ultimate shopping experience. In fact for the majority of freshers this is probably the first time they’re had so much accessible cash. However as mundane as it sounds it is worth budgeting this to some degree so that you’re able to enjoy yourself throughout the year and not just for the first couple of weeks in each semester.

Always be on the look out for student offers where a flash of the old NUS card can offer you some serious reward.

Travel costs

Student rail cards might just prove to be one of the best investments you make whilst studying as the discounts available are well worth the initial payout.

Health costs

Don’t fall into the trap of paying out unnecessarily just by visiting the doc. One of the first things all students should be looking to do is fill out a HC1 form, available from any doctor’s surgery, enabling you with the possibility of claiming for help with your health costs.

Top Ten Budgeting Tips

1. As dull as it sounds, plan your finances and produce a budget as early as you can. – once you’ve got it
2. Remember to try and spread your funds across the whole year and not just the first couple of weeks.
3. Be Realistic – I know it’s boring and you’d much rather worry about money when it comes around but you’ll thank us for that piece of advice in the long run.
4. Shop around with friends for food and buy economy value brands – you’ll have plenty of time in later life to become choosy.
5. Remember to pay bills on time – if you don’t you’ll only end up having to pay a further charge, which lets face it you probably can’t afford.
6. Take full advantage of student offers where you can – Press for NUS
7. Try and monitor your finances regularly so that you have an idea what’s going on - not knowing isn’t going to make the problem go away or make the lack of cash any easier to handle.
8. Control your overdraft properly – its not the endless stream of money that you once believed continued to flow, and you could do without the bank breathing down your back for repayments once you’ve over spent.
9. Address any problems that you have as soon as they take place – not opening letters, ignoring phone calls and generally sticking your hand in the sand certainly doesn’t mean its not happening, and as clichéd as it is ‘Talking can help’!
10. Seek help when needed – The Source advisors will always be happy to offer some confidential advice and guidance on how to get yourself out of a potential mess.