‘Watch your spending, use free perks’: an insider’s tips on student money

Avoid getting into debt at university with tricks to save cash, earn extra funds and have a good time

Over the past two years university student Erin has been giving Martin Lewis a run for his money when it comes to hunting down the best hacks, tips and tricks to save cash and earn money.

The 21-year-old has seen Oasis for free; earned tickets to race days; made money from selling secondhand clothes (£200 in one weekend alone); and enjoyed cut-price treats with friends.

On Thursday, tens of thousands of young people found out if they had achieved the grades for the course of their choice. Now, as they celebrate, or hurriedly activate, their plan B, the day-to-day costs of student life probably aren’t uppermost in their mind. But perhaps they should be: research from Nationwide Building Society reveals that money mistakes dominate students’ list of regrets.

From failing to budget and track spending properly, overspending on nights out and relying too heavily on their overdraft, to blowing their entire student loan payment in the first few weeks, six of the top seven mistakes students have made are related to money.

“Our research shows just how much more financial pressure today’s students feel compared with previous generations,” says Tom Riley, Nationwide’s director of retail products.

Erin, who is about to start the third year of a psychology and cognitive neuroscience degree at the University of Nottingham, says going to university has “taught me loads” about managing money.

“Before I started, I’d worked and saved, but when that student loan lands in your account, it can feel a bit like free money,” she says. “It’s easy to fall into ‘girl math’ logic and justify little extras that quickly add up.”

She says that working before university and during the holidays “definitely gave me a better sense of what things actually cost”.

Erin sets herself a budget and has a rule that if she needs to go over it, she has to dip into the savings earned from her job, which, she says, focuses the mind on whether she needs to spend that money.

Her view is that wherever possible, the money she is saving “is not money I can spend [as] that is undoing all the good work I’ve done”.

To cut spending, she makes the most of discounts and deals, and joins with friends to maximise the benefits. She, and some of her friends, have Nationwide FlexStudent bank accounts, which offers a £10 Just Eat voucher every month for the first 12 months.

In her first year, she says, they pooled their vouchers and had “floor picnics” in their halls of residence, where they would all sit and share their takeaways.

It was, she says, “a life-saver because we didn’t have great cooking facilities and were on really limited budgets … It was a nice way to treat ourselves”.

Saving money has not meant missing out on a social life, as she has found ways to get into gigs and events that do not involve spending.

As a brand rep for a company that organises days out at racecourses around the UK, she gets a free ticket and transport to any events she has promoted. Tickets can be pricey for these “race day” outings, which are popular with students. She had to post a promotional message on her social media and send a link to three group chats, and she earned commission on any ticket bought via her link.

Signing up with an agency for voluntary work at events has also got her into gigs and festivals for nothing. “I got to see Oasis last year for free,” she says. “I think I did an eight-hour shift scanning tickets.” Her shift finished just as the support act ended, so she was able to watch the band’s entire set. “I was front row – that would have cost a lot of money,” she says. Her stint included a staff meal voucher.

Last year, she volunteered at Truck festival in Oxfordshire. Typically, she says, with volunteering at a festival, you may have to do two or three shifts over the weekend, but still get plenty of free time to enjoy the event.

Her savings pay for things she cannot get for free: this year the big thing she was saving for was the college ski trip. “Every bit I saved I put towards that.”

Here are her money-saving tips:

• Think in hours, not pounds Before buying something, work out how many hours you would need to work to pay for it. “A couple of cocktails on a night out can easily be the equivalent of more than an hour’s wages from a summer job. It’s a good reality check and makes me think twice about the impulse purchases.”

• Volunteer for freebies and perks There are lots of firms that recruit volunteers for festivals and one-day events – Erin signed up with Festaff and Wicked Events.

• Turn fashion into a side hustle Erin snaps up quality pieces from charity shops and similar, some of which she upcycles before selling them on platforms such as Vinted, along with her own items that she no longer wants.

• Look out for opportunities A lot of universities have brand ambassador programmes. Students often act as brand reps for nightclubs, as well as other events and venues.

• Pool rewards with friends You could combine discounts and deals with housemates or friends to get better value and reduce everyday spending.

• Treat a student loan like income, not free money Erin advises setting a budget early and keeping track of spending in order to avoid overspending on the little extras.