1. Controlling your finances (budgeting)

Obviously with Save the Student! being a student money site I thought that this was a good place to start. You’re going to be skint at certain points in your university life (usually a few weeks before loan day), but being permanently penniless is something you can avoid if you control what you spend.

Don’t waste money on expensive food items, the supermarket value brands are exactly the same (you’re usually only paying for the packaging), and you’ll save an incredible amount. I would also suggest taking a good look at your financial situation before you spend any money, working out what’s got to go out (rent, phone bill etc.), which will then give you a better idea of what you have to spend on food, clothes, nights out.

Check out the guide to student budgeting here.

2. Spending as little as possible on nights out

This is a particular skill of mine, which I have carefully crafted over the past two years. Want to go out but have hardly any money?  Use this old gem: “I’d love to, but I’ve got hardly any money. *inset name of nightclub* is expensive tonight… But I’d love to come.” Obviously you can play around with it, but I find it works every time. Of course, it should ideally be done mid-way through pre-drinks, when people are sozzled enough to part with their money.

Alternatively, you could budget properly and only go out if you really have the money to do so, but who wants to do that? If you do then I would suggest just taking out as much as you want to spend and leaving your card at home!

See how to pre-drink on a budget.

3. Controlling food consumption

I don’t know about you, but whenever my mum did her weekly shop, I’d swoop in like a starved vulture and make my way through the best bits (usually the least healthy items, but you only live once!). Obviously this is fine when you’re living at home, you don’t pay for any of it usually and parents/guardians will always restock when it runs out.

This isn’t the case when you get to university, as I’m sure you’ve realised. Controlling how much you eat and when you eat it not only keeps you from demolishing a week’s shopping in a few days, but also saves you quite a bit of money. A tip I learnt from my mother is to make a list of every meal you’re going to eat that week and then only buy the items you’ll need for those. That way you don’t need to worry about what to have for dinner and won’t be stuck with the nightly trip to Tesco because once again you have no food in.

Another valid point is not to go shopping when you’re hungry; you’ll buy things you don’t need and probably end up spending a lot more than you need to.

If you love food shopping online at MySupermarket. They actually compare all the large supermarkets and tell you the best price (for no charge…)

4. Avoiding seminar questions

If you haven’t done the reading (which begs the question, why are you going to the seminar?!), then this is a skill that is desperately needed.

First rule: no eye contact, pretend to be completely engrossed in your notes, perhaps even adding to them as you become more involved in the discussion going on around you (but not really). Another way to avoid questions is to become actively involved in any group work beforehand. Talk a lot, even if it may not be completely correct, and your tutor will usually leave you alone.

However, sometimes you can’t avoid being put on the spot, so just try and blag your way out of it. A friend of mine once got away with not reading an entire book by simply saying she thought it didn’t need to have been written. Our tutor was fascinated and didn’t catch on that she hadn’t even picked it up.

5. Bladder control

We all know what it’s like to break the seal; the painful wait for a toilet, the cries of  ”no, I’m ACTUALLY going to wet myself”. These usually all occur either in the wait for entry to a pub/club or whilst travelling to your night time destination.

Whilst I wish I could tell you there’s a magical solution for this, there isn’t. You’ve either got to man up and take the bladder pain, or try to wee right before you leave the house. Or, you know, not drink as much (but let’s not be ridiculous).

It all comes down to mind over bladder!

6. Speed reading

This skill perhaps works in conjunction with avoiding seminar questions. If you have the balls to show up to your class without having done the reading, a quick ‘speed read’ can help bring you up to date with what’s going on (not to mention the help for revision).

I wouldn’t suggest speeding reading an entire novel, Wikipedia is your friend, but for articles and small chapters it’s perfect. Use  a highlighter to make any ‘important’ parts or quotes stand out to you. This means when you’re in your seminar or exam, it won’t look like you haven’t done anything, and if your tutor puts you on the spot, you can divert their question and mention one of the interesting metaphors you noticed when you read the article ‘thoroughly’ the night before.

7. Lying to your parents/guardians

I can’t say I condone this one. I tend to tell my parents every thing, with the occasional white lie. I would personally say that if you’ve reached the age of 18+ and you’re still not managing to effectively lie to your parents/guardians, you’ve been doing something wrong. Let’s place forward a scenario: you’re short of cash and you want to buy food/booze/clothes. You phone up the bank of Mum and Dad in the hopes of borrowing what you need. Now, simply telling them outright what you want the money for isn’t going to work, so I suggest this tactic: “My phone/gas & electric/internet bill is a lot higher than I thought, I don’t have the money for it and I’ll be cut off if I don’t pay it.”

Hey presto, they don’t want you going without, so you’re likely to get a bit of cash from them to tide  you over. I’m not saying this will always work, but if you play the guilt-trip card when lying to your parents/guardians, you’re more than likely to come out smiling.

This could have probably been renamed to “asking for money from your parents” but I wanted to grab your attention. It may seem wrong but according to the government your parents should be helping you through university to supplement your loan.

8. How to make simple food

Perfect for me, as I cannot cook to save my life. Get the essentials: bread, butter, cheese, pasta, frozen vegetables/fish/chicken/pizza, cans of beans, tuna, pasta sauces. It’s not difficult to eat properly at university. Throwing some mayonnaise and tuna together with some pasta can make a meal that tides you over for dinner and lunch the next day; you don’t have to rely on ready meals (because they usually taste like crap), and it’s relatively healthy, too!

Chicken, vegetables and potatoes, if  you fancy them, is also a favourite of mine. Throw the chicken in the oven, microwave the vegetables and boil/roast the potatoes. Not exactly five star dining, but it tastes delicious.

For more student recipe ideas you just need to take a look at the food section on the site.

9. Avoid washing clothes

This is possibly the one thing I rarely do. Whilst the clothes I wear are usually pretty clean, throwing a load into the washing machine just doesn’t cross my mine very often. I find it such a hassle having to find somewhere for them to dry (which can be even more difficult when other housemates have had the same idea) and not having a tumble dryer means they take their sweet time before I can wear them.

My basic rule is: when you’re wearing the clothes you don’t normally wear because they have holes in, it’s time to do some washing. However, I once avoided laundry by buying new underwear and socks, so maybe take this advice with a pinch of salt.

To make sure you aren’t hurting the polar bears and staying economical you could stack up your washing until it is enough to fill a few loads of the washing machine and then have a laundry day.

10. Drinking a lot

Now, I’m in no way condoning binge drinking (it’s bad for you, you could die, it might make you think you can climb scaffolding like a suburban Batman etc.), but the reality is that none of us really drink just to enjoy the flavour, or to savour the hops. We do it because we want to go out and have fun.

However, sometimes it gets out of hand and we end up in bed at midnight wishing we’d never had that seventh shot of sambuca (devil’s drink). I’ve definitely learnt from experience when it comes to drinking a lot and still managing to be somewhat coherant, so I’d suggest making sure you stick to one or two types of alcohol throughout the night, preferably one. If you’re knocking back the vodka and mixers, don’t decide to switch it up with several shots of whatever, before moving onto beer. It won’t do you any good, and your head won’t thank you for it in the morning.

Similarily, if you start to feel ill, or like you may have had to much; STOP and have some water. Don’t carry on drinking because you don’t want to look boring, because I can assure you that feeling like you’re going to be sick and your brain is about to vacate your skull is a lot more boring than dancing without a VK in your hand.

11. Dealing with chores

You have to clean  your own house now, it sucks, because you can’t be bothered (unless you’re a weirdo who likes cleaning). I’d much rather sit and eat Doritos all day, but it has to be done otherwise your house will be completely rank.

I would suggest a rota, but I hate them and they can cause arguments, so my advice is to clean together with your housemates, put some music on, have a laugh – it’s more fun that way and gets done in half the time.

12. Learning to deal with house issues

Unfortunately, this can happen. I’ve never had any quarrels with mine, but have known friends who have. If you find yourself living with someone who’s making things tricky, talk it out with them. Leaving things will never result in it ‘sorting itself out’, and could turn nasty.

Understandably, it can be harder to deal with problematic housemates if they’re your friends. You don’t want to nag them or lose their friendship, but not addressing the issue could also lead to this. If things get really out of hand or you feel you can’t deal with it yourself, talk to your landlord; you don’t deserve to be unhappy in your own home.

Read our very popular guide on dealing with tricky housemates by clicking here.

13. Vouchers scavenging

You can find them online, in the paper, magazines, when you buy things from shops – every where. Search for websites in the UK that can get you money off, but also look on product websites for anything they could offer you. It might take some time to locate the vouchers, but it’s definitely worth it. Signing up for loyalty cards can also help you save money; Boots and Tesco regularly send out money saving vouchers to their members (I once got one from Tesco which gave me £5 off my shopping!).

Obvisously the Save the Student! website covers a wide range of student deals and now also has a full directory of student discounts that you can browse.