Money Saving & Living Tips

“The pound slid to its lowest level in almost four decades…” We could all do with some extra help this year! Follow these steps below to financial security while still making the most of your year…

It is a daunting time knowing it’s your first year living away from home and hearing all the news headlines about the cost of living going up! So, as it’s a new experience it’s a good idea to budget your way through the weeks.

Tip One:

Create a budget planner, this can be done on excel or on paper! Write into a table your income / student loan & your common expenses including bills and utilities. Add another column for groceries, shopping, Transport, eating out & entertainment. Work out how much you can spend on each and stick to the spending budget. You may even be able to save a small amount each week!

Tip Two:

Whilst making a shopping list for your groceries why not consider these cheap recipes.

“The pound hit the lowest since 1985” leading us to a cost of living crisis, store prices including groceries, clothing etc have increased.

Tip three:

A good way to lower the cost whilst being a student is to sign up to UNiDays and use your student discount in stores & online. Every little saving really does add up and always ask for student discount, if you don’t ask you don’t get!

Tip Four:

Here at Xenia Students we offer a Refer a Friend scheme with a reward of £125 in Gift pay vouchers. These vouchers can be used on meaningful shops… why not use them for groceries and clothing. Gift Pay has a wide range of choices Amazon, Costa, Greggs, Iceland, morrisons and M&S are some of the many stores you could buy some extra food.

“Household energy prices increased by over 50% in April 2022” and are due to increase in October! As a student at Xenia students’ prices only increase YOY (Whilst in a tenancy. T&C apply for Scotland) all bills are included in your stay. So, rest assure you will not need to worry about the rise in electric costs, water or gas bills.

Tip Five:

You can wash and dry clothes in our building’s laundry room. You add credit to the app in order to use the machines! But why not buy a drying rail and air your own washing, out rather than spending money on a drying cycle.

Tip Six:

A part time job. You will usually find yourself with a maximum of 14 hours contact time and roughly 10 hours independent work a week. This still leaves you with 11 hours a week, before you hit the typical 40 hours for full time employment. Why not use this time to pick up some extra work to have extra cash, but don’t worry… you’ll still have plenty of time to enjoy your nightlife!

We suggest looking on indeed, looking out for advertisements on shop windows and finally looking on Facebook.

Remember its always kind to help others so if you can donate anything to your local food bank or take anything to charity please do. We hope these tips help you and others, as we all need help through these tough times!