MoneyMagpie Editor and financial expert Vicky Parry shares her top tips for new students starting university in September to avoid debt and stay financially afloat

University is incredibly exciting as a new adventure, the first time living away from home for most.

However, fresher finance usually means going broke by the end of the first semester as your budgeting skills aren’t tip-top – it’s the first time fending for yourself financially, after all!

Prepare with these finance tips to make sure your money goes further in your first year, and you’re not racking up debts that will cost you a lot in the future.

Understanding student finance options

Student finance is designed to help people fund their tuition and basic costs at university. There are several different types. A tuition fee loan covers some or all of your tuition fees.

The full amounts available are £9,535.a year for full-time students or £11,440 a year for accelerated degree courses. This is a loan and will need to be paid back once you graduate and start earning above a certain amount. Repayments are taken from your wages before you’re paid, so you don’t forget to make them.

A maintenance loan is for living costs such as your accommodation. Again, this is a loan that will need to be paid back. It is determined based on your household income – usually meaning your parents’ income. However, if you are under 25 but have lived independently from your parental support, you can apply

You may also qualify for grants or bursaries. These are lump sums or regular payments of cash that aren’t repayable. Some are national and course-related, such as for medical students or those in teacher training, and some will be available only through your university, so make sure you speak to the Student Finance office in your organisation to find out what you could apply for.

Students with a disability should also speak to their university student support team as there may be extra finance available to help buy equipment or cover the additional costs of being a student with a disability. You could also qualify for some disability-related benefits.

Get a student bank account

Student bank accounts come with special perks, such as low- or no-interest overdrafts, and freebies like a three-year National Railcard to save a third on every train journey.

They also come with budgeting apps and other incentives, which can help you with financial education as you learn how to finance your life away from home.

A student bank account also changes over to a graduate account when you finish your course, which offers favourable interest rates on overdrafts, linked credit cards, and loans if you need to access them while you’re finding your feet in a new career.

Save your finance

When you’re given loans or grants, do yourself a favour and move anything not immediately required into a high-interest easy access savings account. Make sure it’s not an account with limited withdrawals.

Doing this will help to avoid seeing a chunky balance every time you check your current account. Seeing thousands of pounds in your account can make it very easy to overspend – and run out of money before the next payment. Putting it into savings and moving chunks over when you need it is the best way to make sure you regulate your spending.

Avoid credit cards

Student credit cards look very tempting indeed. It seems like free money! Except it’s not – and could end up costing you an awful lot in interest if you miss any payments or only pay the minimum each month.

You can apply for one and keep it for emergencies, of course. This will help start to build a credit record to make it easier to get lines of credit when you’re no longer a student. But don’t make a credit card your regular go-to method of payment.

Take on a summer job now

You’ve got a couple of months to top up your savings before the first semester starts. While it’s tempting to go on holiday with friends and make the most of no longer being forced to go to school, getting a job will set you up for a much stronger financial start at university.

If you live locally to your university, it can also mean that you’ll find a job that will reduce your hours during term-time so you can keep earning throughout the year. If you’re moving away to study, a couple of months’ work experience will help you get more work near the university to top up your income. Plan ahead and consider whether you can earn money in your spare time during study season.

Write a budget before you go

Budgets are boring but essential. Most students haven’t had to think about every single financial aspect of their life until now, and it can come as a shock.

Sit down with your parents to find out how much things cost to create a rough estimate of your expenses. Living in student accommodation usually means your utilities bills are included, but make sure you check your tenancy agreement.

Go grocery shopping during the summer, too. Pay attention to what things cost, and how to make cheap, filling, healthy meals. Practicing affordable recipes before you go will save you from living off the classic beans on toast for days on end!

It’s easy to forget about incidental items that we need day-to-day when first moving away from home. Everything from buying notebooks and pens for class, to lightbulbs or batteries for our tech. Make sure you allow extra in your monthly budget for things you might forget.

Get student discounts

The best thing you can do for your wallet is make the most of student discounts. Students have a financial advantage in that they’re the most common discount available – and it can be quite big for some retailers.

TOTUM is the official student card. You can have a free one, but it’s about £20 for a three-year card which also includes international travel cards for discounts on travel deals as well as in retailers and venues abroad.

Even if you don’t want to pay for a TOTUM card, your student ID is usually enough to access plenty of discounts online and in stores. Even if a student discount isn’t advertised somewhere, always ask: you’d be surprised how much you could save with one simple question!

Set boundaries for others

When you start living in student accommodation, you’re lumped in with people you’ve never met before. Everything can seem wonderful at first – but bad habits are easy to form.

This includes being a financial leech. Some people will think ‘oh, it’s just a bit of milk for my cereal’, ‘it’s just peanut butter for one sandwich’, ‘I just want to log on to your Netflix account to watch this one thing’ and this can then snowball into you always inadvertently sharing your stuff which they never offer to replace.

The same goes for things like kitchen gadgets. Some people might not have the same respect for your items than you do, and things can get broken and not replaced, or damaged, or simply left in an unwashed state. If you don’t want people using your stuff, keep it in your room. This might also include investing in a mini fridge to keep your chilled items away from midnight snackers.

If you’re comfortable sharing your stuff, that’s great – just make sure nobody is taking advantage of your kindness. It should be even give-and-take, so if somebody in your household just takes, it’s vital to set boundaries. And never lend ‘just a fiver’ to someone unless you are sure they’ll pay you back!

Sign up to deals newsletters

Finally, make sure you sign up to newsletters that send daily or weekly deals to your email inbox. You can claim all kinds of free stuff, from food to hotel stays, if you know where to look.

Remember to also get supermarket loyalty apps set up, as most shops now have member-specific pricing or extra special deals with partners like free gym passes.

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