Money

Money is something that's on everyone's mind whilst at university. Students are renowned for their lack of money and their bargain hunting but being a student doesn't mean you have to struggle. 

Free Ben & Jerry's from a truck on campus... perks of being a student!

Student discounts

Almost all good high street stores, and some online retailers, will offer a discount on items bought from them if you have a student card. These might not seem like huge amounts off but they will add up and every little helps. Try and remember to use your student card when you buy something.

Sometimes local shopping centres have student only evenings, where these discounts are even higher than usual. During these times the shops can be packed but you can find some bargains, and it's a good time to buy those things you couldn't before because they were too expensive. 

Student bank accounts 

Most banks give you a special student account and come with different benefits depending on which bank you're with. Shop around for the best offer because each bank offers different rates, overdrafts & other benefits. 

When you sign up for your bank account ask what your overdraft limit will be. You want to have an interest free overdraft, even if you intend on not using it. I would suggest trying to avoid using it as much as possible, unless you know you can pay it back ASAP. Perhaps ask for a smaller overdraft limit of £100-£200 instead of the large £1000-£2000 ones that some banks give, to make it easier to manage. You can always request a larger one further on.

Try and find a bank that is close to where you are living or has a branch on campus. This will make it easier for you if you do need to go to the bank. 

Dividing your student loan

Maintenance loans are given in three large lump payments at the beginning of each term. It can be easy to then blow all that money at the beginning of the term, leaving with you nothing at the end of term! If you transfer your student loan into a separate savings account this allows you to then transfer money across either weekly or monthly, or when you need it, making sure you don't overspend. It also makes it easier to save some of the money, it's always nice to have money left at the end of term, remember you don't get money during holidays!

Mobile banking

Being able to check your balance on your phone wherever you are is very helpful and ensures you can keep an eye on your spending. It's always heartbreaking to check your balance at an ATM and find out that you have much less money than you realised. Being able to check it more regularly means you won't have a horrible surprise when checking your balance.

Mobile payment services/apps

The Barclays "pingit" app was a lifesaver for me! It meant that I could send money to my flatmates, if I owed them, without having to get their account details off of them, just by using their mobile number. It also meant that my dad could send me money if I needed it and it would be straight in my account. Perfect for emergencies. Lots of other banks also have similar apps so have a look around or ask at your bank to see what they offer. The Barclays "pingit" app is open for non-customers of Barclays too.

Freshers Fair

A lot of unis run fairs for new students during the first few weeks of term. Go along to these because you'll find lots of different stalls offering discounts, freebies and giveaways. They're a great opportunity to have a further look around your campus or student union and also showcase the local businesses & organisations. Plus, they save you money!

Finally, just be vigilant, as long as you keep on top of your finances you'll be absolutely fine. I found that I had plenty of money left over from my loan and I lived pretty comfortably! xx

Registering With A Doctor

The first few weeks before uni are always pretty frantic, there are quite a lot of things to think about and a lots to get done. One thing that often gets overlooked, but that is really important, is registering with a GP surgery near to where you will be staying at university. 

I didn't actually do this in my first year, and spent a lot of time waiting in line at drop-in clinics where you can't make an appointment, so registering with a GP would have been wise. Even if you have the strongest of immune systems that Fresher's flu will catch up with you eventually so being able to visit a doctors would make life much easier.

Lucky for us you can find out most of the information on how to register with a doctor online and it's relatively simple, which saves a lot of hassle and means you can do it whilst you're still at home! I've had a look around the web whilst registering myself and listed the basic steps below which I hope will help you on your way to making sure you are registered too.

1) First of all you need to find a local GP surgery. Figure out the postcode of where you will be living and enter it in here, specifying that you want to find GPs. A list of local surgeries will come up. You need to find one that's close to you and that is currently accepting new patients. You may want to have a look at how the surgeries are rated or their opening times to help you make a decision between centres.

2) Once you have selected the surgery you would like to register with you may have to fill in a form. It just requires basic details such as your name, address and date of birth, as well as your NHS number. Download the form, print it off, fill it out and then post it to the surgery of your choice, their address should be on the list you just picked them out from.

Some surgeries don't require you to fill a form in but do everything online. Click on the name of the doctors at that surgery and it will take you through to an overview page for that centre. On the right hand side it will tell you how to register and whether you have to fill in a form.

3) The surgery will then send the form off to the relevant people (your local NHS Commissioning Board area team, if you were interested), and your medical records will be transferred to the new surgery. Then you will officially be registered!

Pretty simple if you ask me! Drop-in centres can be really helpful at times, but having your own GP where you can make appointments to visit will mean less time in waiting rooms.

Keep yourselves healthy and take a look at this web page if you're having trouble understanding what I've said! x

The Essentials

You've got into university, congratulations! If you're anything like me you'll be wanting to organise everything and prepare everything you need to pack, maybe you're not like me, but a bit of early preparation never hurt anybody!

Take a look at the website or brochure for your halls and try and find out everything they provide. Usually the basics will just be furniture, a mattress, a fridge, freezer, oven, etc. this means everything else you will need you'll need to bring yourself.

I've racked my brain to think of the things I had, or could have used, during my first year and came up with this list:

• cutlery. Unique cutlery is best if you want to be taking the entire set home at the end of the year. Or you can do what I did and mark each piece with coloured nail varnish so everyone knows it's yours. I wouldn't buy anything too expensive, cheap and cheerful is best!

• crockery. So, plates, bowls, mugs, etc. Again, unique or easily spotted crockery is best. Family sets of four are probably the perfect number of each item.
• cups or glasses. I would recommend buying cups that are plastic so they're less likely to break. IKEA do acrylic cups and they're perfect because they won't smash.
• pots & pans. Yet again (can you see a theme here?) make sure that you've got pots you can distinguish from other people's. Coloured pots are good, more expensive pots will mean less food getting burnt and stuck to the bottom of the pan, and probably make washing up easier.
• cooking utensils. If you cook at home, think of anything you'd reach for, and buy one of those. If you don't cook at home, ask whoever does cook what you'll need!
• tin openers/bottle openers. The essentials for uni, prepare yourself for a year of tinned food and many bottles of alcoholic beverages.
• bed sheets, duvet cover, pillow cases. I would buy two sets so you can wash one set whilst the other set's on your bed.
• a clothes drying rack. I think most of us freshers discovered that the dryers in the laundrette were pretty shoddy and there were many times where I had to hang all my clothes out even after they'd been through the drier. This isn't too essential but definitely helped me out and could save you money on drying too.
• a wireless router. Check out the details of your accommodation when it comes to internet. Unless they have wifi in all of the rooms you may want to take a router, having to have an Ethernet cable plugged in at all times does make you feel a little like you're in the 90s.
• a bedside lamp. I popped to IKEA and got an LED lamp for around a tenner and it worked perfectly, just need something so you're not having to get out of bed to turn the light out.
• a printer. Not everyone will need one of these but I found that going into uni early to print things off was a bit of a bore, and my uni actually charged for printing. Also, finding a computer was a nightmare. Having your own printer can be expensive, but it's also very useful.
• a mirror. Most halls will have a large mirror for you to use but I found that having a smaller mirror which I could put on my desk made life much easier. You can get one from IKEA for cheap.

There are other things to consider too, but a lot of these could be bought in your first couple of weeks or once you've found your flatmates. Ask them what they're bringing, you may have to decide between yourselves who's going to bring a kettle and toaster, or if you're going to all chip in for one. We also bought radiator drying racks, a drying rack for our sink, a shower matt and a hand towel for the shared bathroom, but if you were in en-suite accommodation you would need to get your own.

It may seem like a lot of things but they can all be found relatively cheaply, and I definitely used everything I've listed. I'd recommend a trip to IKEA, I could have easily bought everything that I needed there.

Happy shopping & good luck x