This document provides a summary of tips for student budgeting. It discusses saving money on housing by turning living rooms into bedrooms, sharing rooms, splitting all bills, renting unfurnished, and airbnb-ing rooms during breaks. It also offers tips for saving on course materials like borrowing books from libraries or friends. Transportation tips include cycling, using public transit, and not bringing a car. Food tips encourage cooking in bulk, meal planning, and buying generic brands. Partying on a budget suggests pre-drinking, only bringing cash, and attending student-discount events.

1. if only they had this good a cheat sheet for the GCSEs…
The University Cheat Sheet
to Student Budgeting

2. That’s right, we have ALL the ANSWERS
Housing
Course Materials
Food
Parties
& Bull$hit
Transportation

3. Housing
3 main types of student housing:
University Halls
- Ideal for 1st
years.
- Only your uni.
- Easiest to manage.
- Usually Expensive.
- Close to
University.
- 9 mo contract.
- Bills included.
Private Halls
- Students from
multiple unis. (More
friends!)
- Often 1 yr
contract length.
- Farther away
from your uni.
- Bills included.
Traditional Student
Houses
- Cheapest!
- Most Responsibility
- (Usually) More
Space
- Location Varies
- You manage the
bills.
Learn more about each type of Student Housing LINK
This one can save
you the most £!

4. So what can you do to get REALLY CHEAP housing?

5. A living room is a luxury – not a necessity!
X Turn the living room into a bedroom
and save money!
£2000 rent with 4 people = £500 each.
£2000 a rent with 5 people = £400

6. Copy the Americans & Share a Room!
- ½ a room = ½ the rent
- It’s a great (hopefully positive)
learning experience to live this
closely with another person.
- You have someone to tell your
stories to immediately!
- You probably won’t be willing
to do it when you are older, so
save money now!
- You can use the infamous
‘sock on the doorknob’
method when your roommate
has a ‘guest’ over…

7. ACTUALLY SPLIT THE BILLS
& not just rent – EVERYTHING!
Utilities, Internet, Water, Toilet Paper, Cleaning Supplies, Groceries.
Not keeping track of the smaller expenses
too can waste £100s (or more) of £’s per
year.
Plus you really have no excuse. Splittable is
a free app for keeping track of your split
bills at home. Download HERE

8. Rent Unfurnished
- Unfurnished flats tend to be cheaper than furnished flats.
- You can buy second hand furniture for cheap (or free) – plus IKEA…
- You can sell your furniture at the end of the lease and get £ back.
- Furnished flats come with terrible furniture anyway…
- Less competition when looking for a place because most people want
furnished.

9. AirBnB out rooms when people are away
• Being a student = lots of holiday breaks so why pay for your room when you’re not
using it?
• Ex. £20 a day for 15 days of Winter break = £300 back in your pocket! *Get good
reviews and you can charge even more :D
• Plus, utilising on-demand services like Bizzby (or just tipping a friend who lives
near-by), you don’t even need to be there in person to let in the guest/prepare the
sheets.
• Bonus tip: chocolate on pillow = 5* review. More 5* reviews means you can charge
more £££
YOU

10. Course Materials
Because books are expensive (& heavy)

11. How can you save on that money?

12. Decide if you really need to buy the book?
Save Money – Wait until the
class really starts to decide if
you need to buy the book.
Has class started?
Save Money – Using library
books provided by your
university is a great way to
save!
Save Money – Ask them if you
can borrow or rent the book off
of them for the term.
Save Money – Pool together
and buy the book together. Plus
this creates a built in study
group.
No
Yes
Is there a free copy
of the book at the
library?
Has one of your
friends taken this
class before & still
has the book?
Do you have any
other friends taking
the class?
Save Money – Buying used
books or renting books is much
cheaper than buying new.
Alibris has lots of textbook
rentals or check Amazon!
Can you find the
book used or for
rent?
Sometimes you do need to buy
books new… thankfully you
we’re able to save money on all
your other books though!
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes
No
Yes

13. What about saving money on

14. 10 Tips for Saving Money on Printing
1. Buy a high quality printer, it may
seem counter-intuitive but a cheap
printer will A. Break B. Wastes Ink.
2. Sell your printer when you
graduate.
3. Refill ink cartridges at your nearest
printer ink-refill centre.
4. Trade in empty cartridges for cash.
5. Always print back & front
6. Always print black & white
7. Don’t buy fancy paper! It won’t
improve your mark…
8. Print while visiting Mum & Dad
9. Print while at your part-time job.
10. ONLY print if it’s necessary…

15. Transportation
&
Are FREE
& help you stay healthy!
We even have tips for how you can stay safe: HERE

16. Tips for Cycling
• If you live in London, you can rent
Santander bikes for £2 per day.
• Buy a bike used! Take it for a spin to
see if it’s in ‘ride-able’ condition and
it is much cheaper than new.
• Don’t buy a super fancy bike. It’s
un-necessary as a commuter and it
will just stress you out about it
getting stolen.
• Be sure to lock your frame with a
U-Lock and lock the front wheel. (A
bike can’t get you anywhere if it’s
stolen)
• Wear a helmet. Safety is cool.
• Learn how to change your own flat
tire!

17. Don’t bring your car to uni!
Everyone will be hitting you up
for rides
- To the grocery store
- When moving
- To the airport/bus terminal
- Home at 5am
If you insist on having a car and
giving lots of rides, at least ask to be
reimbursed for the petrol
It will be more expensive if you
have a car.

18. Buy a 16-25 Railcard
- It costs £30 for the year but will
save you 1/3 price on rail fares
throughout Great Britain.
- You also save 1/3 on off-peak
fares in London.
- Visiting mum and dad has
gotten a lot cheaper.
- If you live in London you can
also get the 18+ Student Oyster
Photocard. This gives you 30%
off travel cards & bus/tram
season tickets

19. Food
BC EVRYBDY GOT 2 EAT!

20. But don’t let your diet only consist of...
Take out is expensive and what would your mum say…

21. So make yo Mummy Proud
& COOK!
But cooking can be expensive too so follow
these tips:
• Buy your food in bulk
– Ask your flatmates if they are willing
to split the frequently used items like
breads & milk
– Costco is your friend
• Don’t go to the store hungry
– Hungry shopping = £££
• Plan your meals/shopping lists at the
beginning of the week
– This prevents you from wasting food
or buying repeat items
• Freeze food before it goes bad
• Pack your own lunch/snacks for uni
• Buy generic brands
– Aldi reigns supreme for the savings
££££

22. & remember the best budget ingredients to stock
your cupboards with are:
• Potatoes
• Rice
• Pasta
• Bread
• Chicken
• Beans
• Apples & Bananas
• Canned Tuna
• Eggs
• Cheese
• Mushrooms
• Onions & Garlic
• Tomatoes
• Carrots
• Flour
• Sugar
• Salt & Pepper
• Oil
• Ketchup
• Tea & Coffee

23. Parties & Bull$hit
What you really care about…

24. The Path to Successful Partying
(on a budget)
Know how much money you have to spend on
Want to know what’s worse than being hungover?
Being evicted while hungover because last night’s splurge at the
pub means you don’t have any rent money left.
So budget!

25. How much money do you have to party this month?
Let's say you have £1200 to live on in October.
- This figure is based on the money you have left over from student loans,
scholarship funds, money your parents give you after tuition. If you have a
part time income you receive you can add it to this amount.
Subtract the things you have to pay for.
- Rent, utilities, essential transportation costs, basic groceries for the month.
Are there any big purchases you want this month? Subtract those too.
- New clothes? A concert ticket? Trip to Amsterdam?
How much do you have left?
- Because that’s your remaining party budget to not break the bank.

26. Ways to save money on &
• Pre Drinks. Always have pre drinks.
• Only bring cash to the pub so you are not tempted to spend more
than you have.
• Really low on cash – suggest a house party.
• Attend parties hosted by your uni, they often offer lower drink prices.
• Don’t ALWAYS buy the first round. Yes, buying a round feels great but
if you always splurge on those first 5 drinks – it will really add up!
• Go out during the week when pubs have promos. A lot of pubs will
offer specific student discounts too.
– Ask older students where they go. They will already have the best
budget drinking system.
• Buy the big, cheap, bottles of alcohol. 3 drinks in you won’t be worried
about the less than ideal taste anymore.

27. ● Splittable helps students around
the world save money and get
paid back quicker by their
housemates.
● Ends the awkward “I’m the only
one buying the loo-roll
conversations” at home.
● Budgeting for uni can start by
downloading Splittable for free.
Download HERE
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