Hot Press Student Survival Guide: A Battle Of Bills

There’s nothing glamorous about rolling up your sleeves, donning a little green visor and tapping the living daylights out of your big brother’s laptop-sized calculator (don’t worry, the visor and calculator aren’t essential!), but to survive as a student, you need to learn how to balance your budget. Simple as.

If you’ve already forgotten everything you learned in Mrs. Mooney’s Business Studies class, here’s a quick reminder; first, estimate your income. This can mean savings, student grants, money from a part-time job, credit union loans and/or the odd dig-out from your parents.
Next, consider your expenses; food, rent, books, phone bills, travel and, of course, the occasional cheeky pint (you’ve just agreed to spend the next two or more years of your life budgeting within an inch of your life, you most certainly deserve it!) Then add a bit more on for safety. Even the most frugal of students find themselves strapped for cash (typically when their class has a big night out planned!) and there’s a million and one unexpected expenses that come up during the year.
Now, get it all down on paper, spreadsheet or smartphone app. Split your expenses into categories and fiddle about with the figures until you have enough projected income to cover your projected spending... hopefully, with a little bit left over!
Now that your budget is a real thing, with numbers and headings and everything, stick to it! We know, we know, it’s tempting to overspend. There’s no harm in transferring a few quid from the food budget to the jaw-droppingly incredible shoes budget, right? Wait until you’re in your kitchen next week, trying to make a meal out of a packet of bulghur wheat and a jar of jam and get back to us.
We’re not saying you should deny yourself every treat the college year offers – quite the opposite! Managing your pennies according to a realistic budget and cutting out silly spending leaves more money to blow on the fun stuff! Believe it or not, holding fast to a budget can mean the difference between a good night out and an evening of searching down the back of the couch for stray coins, or lunch at a trendy new eaterie with your new crush and your twenty-seventh portion of beans on toast that week.
So, how do you get the most out of your ch-chang, ch-chang (Jessie J’s words, not ours!)?
Well, one of the biggest mistakes college goers make is not knowing what they are entitled to. Many students apply for a grant, but it’s worth noting that this isn’t the only funding available. Universities and colleges often offer a student assistant fund which you can apply for whether you receive the grant or not. Contact your student union for more information.
Also, your student card isn’t merely a reminder of that appalling photo they took on the first day of classes, you know! It’s also your pass to discount heaven. The majority of shops, restaurants and services offer discount to students, so everything from getting a hair cut to catching a train can be up to 30% cheaper, if you’ve got your card handy. Places that don’t offer student discounts often have once-off student days, with lots of cinemas scheduling student nights once a week. In short, make sure to flash that thing around as much as possible (you can cover the dodgy photo with your thumb...for a few seconds at least!) As your mammy once said, if you don’t ask you don’t get.
Another rookie mistake is buying all the books the lecturer recommends. Find out what reading material is essential, and see if you can pick it up second hand. Most colleges have a used bookstore where students can buy and sell old textbooks. And don’t forget about the library – you can access the majority of books there, not to mention newspapers and DVDs, if you’re lucky, and you won’t have to spend a cent!
Meanwhile, the most important thing you learn in college is the art of the discount food shopping. Many students fall into the habit of buying food in the campus shop, which can end up costing them twice as much! Instead, find your nearest Lidl, Aldi, Tesco or Dunnes and stock up on essentials (spices, sauces, staples and in-season vegetables) once a week. When visiting home, fill your bag with stuff from the cupboards. Sure nobody was drinking that bottle of wine anyway...
Again, forget your student card at your peril! If you’re Dublin-bound in September, your first port of call should be Pablo Picanté and Pablo’s Torta on Clarendon St., where €6 and production of a student card will get you a terribly generous burrito and drink, or a muy bueno torta (Mexico’s take on a hot filled sandwich) and drink.
Another brilliant perk of being a student is that the college itself offers loads of free facilities and events. Libraries tend to have free WiFi, perfect for those idle hours when you could be binge-watching your favourite TV show, while clubs and societies often come loaded with freebies, from event tickets to DIY workshops to group meetings where the coffee and doughnuts are on them!
Depending on what part of the country your college calls home, travel expenses could be a minor inconvenience or a massive whirlpool, devouring your video game and novelty t-shirt allowance. Take note of the bus and train services that offer weekly and monthly student tickets, and if you need to get a taxi, try to share the journey to make it as affordable as possible.
We’ll leave you with some (sort of!) good news; university is a great place to contract a tummy virus. No, really! Most colleges have a subsidised student medical centre, offering on-campus medical and nursing care to registered students. Your college website will have all the details.