| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| marigold |
Financial advice for people going to uni next termhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/6059279/Do-your-homework-to-cut-costs.htmlThere are also some articles on MSE - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/health/ The MSE forum is a great place for info about managing your money, eating cheaply, cooking from scratch, earning extra income etc. Any other suggestions? I know there are various cookbooks aimed at students, but haven't got any personal experience of them. |
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| sally_in_wales |
My best advice is to just be yourself, and find a few like minded friends rather than trying to fit in with absolutely everyone. A night in with good friends is much cheaper than a night on the tiles with people you have little in common with.
If you drink, homebrew kits are a consideration, especially if you club together with a couple of friends to get one going then split the produce. If you enjoy meat, remember that you can get an extra portion out of pretty much anything you cook by adding an extra onion, a grated carrot or a handful of pulses, a chilli for example can take loads more beans than you might think, then you can freeze down portions for later. A trip to a global style wholesaler with friends can be a good way to stock up on basics, a sack of rice for example costs very little when split between half a dozen of you. Find the local grocers and make a point of walking past at closing time, they often have veg greatly reduced, or in some areas, put out for the taking as part of the days rubbish. Use your common sense and there are worthwhile pickings to be had here. Buying lunch everyday costs a fortune, make a pile of sarnies once a week and freeze them, then you can just grab one on youe way out no matter how half asleep you are, it will be defrosted by lunchtime. I'm pretty sure any DS younglings heading for Uni will be far better prepared to look after themselves than many young people though 
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| Silas |
Not this one. He can make the kitchen look like a bomb site after just boiling an egg (and he manages to burn the water) |
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| dpack |
plan ahead ,work and life
dog sitting club is useful bulk buy is good playing music for beer is a no brainer like other easy business ventures with good planning and sound folk it is possible to end up with a good life and a fiscal /social profit the extra mural stuff is the best thing about school do the research for next terms work now then there is little pressure later and enjoy both the course and the other stuff |
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| Pel |
Only go out drinking once a week, not everynight or if everynight 1 pint only.
Roasts are great, as you can have roast first night, cold meat and fried pototes the next and the following day make a stew with leftover veg and meat (inc the carcass/bone) that can last another two days.. so 4 meals from 1 meal. Go for all the grants as well as the loan, no point in not ticking the box if you think maybe you cant get it, because maybe you can (unless both parents really do earn over the maximum income). Dont have a car unless you really need to, most universities can house students in their first year or they can find houses/rooms/flats near to the uni. Always walk or get a bus over a taxi, e.g. might only cost £3 to go up the hill about 1½ miles, but if you do that everyday it soon adds up. TRy not to join all the clubs during freshers week, just choose ones where you think you will do it or wait until you get your timetable and then choose them. Think i joined 6 different clubs all between £1-£5 joining fee in first year then got my comp sci timetable and had absoulty no time, so could only go to one in the end. |
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| Rosemary Judy |
Don't go to uni unless you are certain you can get a job at the end of it... do a degree that gives you a proper qualification, and eligibility to join a proper profession. for example, nutrition won't let let you work as a dietitian - you need to do dietetics...
I have mopped up the tears of enough 'assistants' who are on Band 3 or Band 4 in the NHS, and have debt up to their eyeballs and have very good degrees and even masters, but they do not qualify them to do anything that needs a professional membership, and they are so furious that no one warned them about this, and they have £00000's of debt, and no careers They made fantastic assistants mind ! look up Band 3-4 salary on the NHS jobs web site - less than £19,000 max. |
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| sally_in_wales |
Or, given Rosemary Judy's point above, alternatively choose a subject purely because you love it and know you will enjoy every minute of your three years studying it and will be happy to repay whatever it might cost you in loans later.
Thats what I did, never for one moment thinking I'd ever work in an industry that actually uses my degree, but as chance had it I've found it useful for every job I've had since graduating. |
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| gil |
Save on buying books by making good and timely use of the university library.
As soon as you get a reading list, go and get the books out, or reserve them. The most popular / useful on the reading list may well be in a 'Reserve' section on time-limited loan. Make use of this facility. Get into a weekly routine with reading / note-taking. Helps your studies and saves you money. re food and cooking : Every savoury dish starts with an onion, or more than one. The cheapest veg are potatoes, carrots and onions. It is amazing what you can do with just these three ingredients, but don't forget some greens as well. El cheapo frozen peas are useful. Find the local fruit and veg market, if there is one. If you're going to uni in Edinburgh, there is no veg market, and the best place for cheap veg is Argyll Street in Marchmont/Bruntsfield. |
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| john of wessex |
Dont do it.
The only qualifications I have used are by Boatmans Licence & Survival at Sea Certificate. |
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| crofter |
Buy drink in cans. Crush them. Have a lot of parties and collect the empties. Crush them all. By the end of the first year you will have enough scrap to pay for your textbooks. Also, you should always buy second hand books. |
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| Nick |
I like the cashback when shopping schemes. Feel free to click here to join one and gain me a referral! 
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