Independence
When you go to university, independence is thrust upon you, you have educate, organise, clean, and feed yourself.
For very little money.
Budgeting
Student Finance is a UK organisation that helps Students from less wealthy backgrounds go to University.
University is a costly expense and can come out costing you £50,000 for the whole time.
From this amount you have to pay tuition fees, you receive a maintenance loan also, and depending in your financial circumstances you may get a grant.
Student finance pay per term, which is great because it's easier for you to budget that way.
And they are around 10-13 weeks in one term which roughly equates to around three months.
Setting priorities
1.Some course have reading lists so it's important to set some money aside for course materials like stethoscope or French curves. Learning should be a major priority.
2.Food should be your second number one priority, the reason I say second number one is because how can you learn if your constantly thinking about how hungry you are.
Food for thought.
3.The third priority is keeping yourself clean. No one will be cooperating if you stink like armpits.
4. The fourth priority is to keep yourself clothed. What if your clothes get stolen from washing machines while your not attending and you have nothing but short shorts and bikini tops? You will probably be compensated but it's minor things like wine stains on white tops and rips in pencil skirts YOU will have to pay for.
Calculator time
When it comes to budgeting and sorting out finances I am the queen.
You should have some figures in your head already, how much you have per term and how many weeks a term has.
Divide what you should be getting with how many weeks you should have it.
Voila that's your weekly budget.
Example... £800 •/• 12 = £66
That's your weekly budget.
There is no way you need to spend all this on food, most shopping trips should only cost you £20-35 at most, your personal hygiene things do not need to bought every week.
Get bigger sizes when it comes to personal care items like shampoo and find the offers like 2-4-1.
If you used to use the most expensive shampoo, then find it on Amazon on eBay or wholesale websites where you can find it cheaper.
Soaps are pretty generic and even skin conditions can be dealt with from a prescription from the doctors as 18-21 year old students don't have to pay for prescriptions.
Cosmetics, try and keep to the drug store end if you need your face on everyday.
Link Time
Here a couple of links for cheap stationary
Amazon do books on any subject and you can get them a lot cheaper if they are used, save the trees MANNN
Recipe Time
First of all you need to plan your meals, if you want to make it generic make it generic, like fish Fridays, doesn't have to be battered fish, could be swordfish and veggies, or tuna pasta bake.
Could have Mediterranean Mondays, Mediterranean is just anything with sun-dried tomatoes and olives, so add some chicken to it could make a fantastic meal.
Always over cook, if you don't finish it stick it in to the freezer and have it another day.
I had three days of curry once, my bowels were in tethers.
Chicken Skewers
Its best to get the metal skewers because they conduct heat through the middle of the chicken piece and cook it faster
You will need:
1.Chicken breast (buy a frozen pack for a fiver, works out 1.25 per piece)
2.Cherry Tomatoes (pack costs £1)
3. Aubergine or Zucchini (courgette) (£1-2)
4.Pepper Red or Yellow (pack costs £1.50)
You will not eat all of the pack of veggies you have bought, so you can save the tomatoes, the aubergine and the courgettes, and the peppers for something else.
This will roughly equate to around 75p per skewer and you'll probably want 4.
Roast Honeyed Pork long time to cook
Ask the supermarket butcher to cut you around £3 worth of pork belly which is a nice little roast and you will have enough left for a sandwich.
You will need
1. £3 worth of pork belly
2. Honey tiny jar £1.50
3. Assorted pack of veggies (£1-2)
Get the pork belly and slice into the fat, so it looks criss-crossed
Rub in the honey, don't be afraid to get your hands dirty here.
Put the roast pork in for 20 mins at 230C then put it right down to 150C and leave for three ours.
Leave the pork for two hours and on the last hour season with salt and ground pepper and chuck in your veggies around the side of your roast.
They will drink up the pork juices and be YUMMY
This meal will cost you £6 at most but you could save some of that pork belly for another time.
An alternative to honey would be caster sugar or syrup, even cheaper and you can use it in your tea :)
Cheap Fruit Juice
Buy tinned fruit, drain some of the juice and keep the juice to the side.
Put the tin in the freezer
(The reason you have to take some juice is so that it doesn't expand and explode)
Next morning take the tin out, and open and put it in the blender.
Voila, iced fruit smootie
Every Supermarket has a cheap range, so tins of fruit cost around 20p-50p but for a morning pick me up it is fantastic.
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