It’s the start of a new term (well, almost). That means students will soon see the first loan deposit drop into their bank accounts. It seems a lot of money, especially if you’ve never worked full time. However, it’s important to remember that unless you work part time during your course, this is all the money you will have until January. Stretch your finances now and you won’t spend the Christmas run-in stressed and out of cash.

Cut Down on Food Costs

There are two habits to start here. The sooner you start, the better your finances will look at the end of term:

• Go shopping late at night to get the reduced/clearance fresh food. Discount is often up to 90%, especially on bread, vegetables and salad items
• Put spare portions of food in the freezer. Leaving stuff in the fridge is a fast track to food waste

If you count every meal and understand expenditure, taking notice of use by dates and eating what is close to that date, you will save money and help the planet.

Nights In

This generation of students are not known for heavy drinking or hard partying. That stereotype has been busted repeatedly. The cost of alcohol and nights out in general means most people everywhere (not just students) are having nights in. A good habit to have is for social evenings at home – get drinks and nibbles from the supermarket. This alone will save lots of money. Takeaways are also expensive. It’s much cheaper to learn to cook interesting meals or buy those reduced takeaway kits from the supermarket.

Do You Really Need That?

Luxuries make life bearable. While you should never deprive yourself of the occasional treat – the operative word there should be “occasional”. Do you need a new phone? A new laptop? Or will your aging devices last a little longer? If your device really is on its last legs, then wait until special occasions or sales. Amazon’s Black Friday or regular Prime Day Deals are a good bet too. You can get some serious discounts. Nor should you just stick to Amazon. Look at re-sale and refurbish sites or local businesses.

Ask About Student Discount

Another habit that’s going to be difficult to get into is asking about student discount. Your NUS card entitles you to discount in many places. For others, you might need the Student Plus card. Some places – small businesses for example, might not advertise that they will give concession rates. It’s always worth asking; even if rejected, you will know next time that they don’t do discount. The more discount you get, the more you can stretch your finances to the end of the term.