Cash in Hand: Money Saving Tips

Listen – being a student is expensive. Gone are the halcyon days of your parents where they had more grants than Jurassic Park (which has one Professor Grant). Nowadays it’s loans, loans, loans.

Want to pay tuition fees? That’s a loan. Want money to afford accommodation? That’s a loan. Want just money to be able to survive day to day while balancing full time education? Oh lordy, you know that’s a loan.

With cash on the brain, it can seem there’s not all that much in your pocket. But fear not! For here at The Skinny we’ve got our top cash financier (@edyhurst) on the job to give you some sweet money-saving life hacks.

1. When you’re at the supermarket buying eggs, get a medium box and swap out the contents for six large bad boys. Baby, you just saved yourself a cool 20p.

2. Take a bin bag to the cinema with you, use it as camouflage from the staff in-between film showings. You can stretch that single ticket out to a whole weekend at the pictures!

3. Instead of going on an exotic holiday, stand in a bag of sand by an open oven and you’ll be making memories in no time.

4. Retail price is more of a guideline than set in stone, so don’t be afraid to barter with a store assistant, loudly and at the front of a very long queue.

5. Landlords often hike up the rent for students. When looking for accommodation, beat them at their own game by you and your friends disguising as a typical suburban family.

6. Need to take a bus to get into campus? A strong grappling hook and membership to the archery society can work out as a cheaper way to skim lifts in the long run.

7. Local businesses are desperate to attract students for that fresh hipster vibe, so offer out your street cred at the local retirement home.

8. Clubs and pubs are notorious for drink mark-ups. To save money on a night out, buy one bottle of beer, and top it up with water. Not only will you always have a drink in your hand, but you’ll gain a reputation as a marathon boozer.

9. Rather than a pricey night out at a club, get drunk on a Megabus.

10. There is a wide range of cards you can get that give you discounts anywhere from shops and restaurants to pubs and clubs. NUS is often highly recommended, but an even better one is ‘parent’s credit card’ which will give you 100% off all purchases before it gets cancelled for fraud!

11. Buying books for your course can be expensive, so why not make your own? Just watch as your teacher tries to quiz you on the very book you wrote.

12. Become a mystery shopper and you can get paid to shop! Become an even more mysterious shopper, and you can just walk away with products without anyone noticing.

13. Keep a roll of toilet paper handy for any fancy dress events you may have. Halloween? Mummy! Christmas? Wrapped-up present! The only limits are your imagination and steadfast confidence in explaining it to others.

14. Make a little bit of extra money by getting a job. And a haircut, you hippy.

15. Have you ever considered being born into wealth? One of the surefire methods of financial stability is winning a game of privilege potluck. Just make sure you don’t acknowledge it’s helped you!