making your money stretch further

Money never seems to stick around for long, as a student and there's so many myths about student finance it's hard to know what to believe.
 
Whether it’s bills, books, burgers or booze, there’s always something you’ll be whacking out your contactless card for, and avoiding checking your bank statement because of.
 
That’s why we’re here to help with a few tips and tricks to make your cash last just a little bit longer. 

1. Sign up to all the student discount sites. Think Myunidays, Student Beans and Save the Student.
   
   Most companies will offer a student discount of some sort with one of these organisations, whether it’s clothing brands, restaurants or streaming services.
   
   And before you buy anything online, always do a quick Google to check whether they do offer a student discount.
   
   
2. Buy an NUS card. For similar reasons, this is a great way to be kept in on fab student exclusive deals, and is also accepted as a form of student ID on the high street, alongside your official institutional student card.
   
   
3. Do your food shopping in the evenings. It might sound silly, but this is the best time to grab bargains.
   
   Between 6-9pm, supermarkets will mark up all of the fresh food they’ve got to get rid of by the end of the day, and that can mean some serious discounts – up to 95% in some cases.
   
   This is a great way to save on expensive fruit and veggies, bread and meat (all things that can be dumped in the freezer for later consumption).
   
   
4. Fork out for a 16-25 Railcard. Especially if you commute, or need to get a train back home from uni over reading weeks and breaks.
   
   Owning one of these bad boys entitles you to up to 1/3 off the price of train tickets, and if it’s a fair trek back home for the holidays, this could save you loads of cash.
5. Don’t blow your budget on pricey coffee. We know, sometimes nothing quite hits the spot like an early morning double-shot caramel macchiato, but the cost really adds up.
   
   If you’ve got a Waitrose or Little Waitrose near uni, think about signing up for a free loyalty card. This entitles you to a free coffee at their cafes with every visit – and there’s no minimum spend!
   
   You can pop in on the walk to your lecture and come out with a banana and a coffee that will set you back a total of 14p. Not bad on the brainfood side, either.

 
If you’re worried about spending or want some more ideas on how to make that pesky student loan stretch just a few more weeks, head over to our Money section for help.

Author

LUCY HARDING is the Editorial manager for Push. She is an English Literature grad and an MA Publishing student at UCL. She is passionate about international relations and cultural diversity, having worked closely with her university’s Erasmus society to support European students. She also spent a year abroad studying at California State University: Long Beach