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Posted Oct. 10, 2014

Student Saving Tip: Give Up One Thing A Month

We all know it's really hard to make ends meet as a postgrad – a never-ending series of expenses seems to keep adding up, fees escalate, and bursaries and grants always seem few and far between and living costs might seem pretty high. However, there really are loads of ways to save money – here are twelve ideas of things you can give up to get you started, one for each month of the year:
 
January - Cigarettes Well here you are, it's a new year and you've made your resolutions. You've decided – again – to ditch smoking. This time, really do it. They're wildly expensive and do absolutely nothing for you. Of course you know that, so start now.

Don't smoke? Swap for a month of no alchohol!

February – TV licence If you're watching on-demand TV you don't legally need one, and you're connected to the internet anyway – just open your laptop and watch your favourite shows on Netflix, Hulu or YouTube – you'll save a mint.

March – Journal subscriptions No, I hear you say, what about my research? OK, maybe you won't be able to ditch all of them, but the internet has a huge range of free educational resources – check out this for some ideas. Risk being cheeky and seeing if your uni will cover those you need.

April – Saturday evenings at the pub It's coming up for the crunch time of year, and booze at the pub is really expensive. Drink at home with your friends instead, those drinking games will be just as much fun.

May – Short distance transport The weather's getting warmer, and it's a pleasure to be outside. If your destination is in walking distance, walk! You'll save money and be building a great summer body while you're about it.

June – Fast food There's no excuse for comfort eating in summer, and eating out every day is massively expensive. It's really not that difficult to cook food from scratch. Pasta, for instance, is cheap, easy and delicious and you can prepare it in literally hundreds of ways.

July – Takeaway coffee Now that you're saving such a lot of money by cooking your own meals, think about the amount you're spending on that daily coffee. A once-off investment in an inexpensive French press and you have the means of making the most marvellous coffees at home, plus you're in for a real treat when you go coffee shopping.

August – The gym Gym contracts are really expensive and most of us hardly use them. If that sounds like you, just stop buying into the gym hype and go for a run or a hike instead.

September - Laundrettes Laundrettes eat up money. If you can, rent a washing machine for the flat, otherwise see if you can share loads with friends.

October - Car Petrol is massively expensive, and it's often not worth having a car at university. If you've got one, why not leave it at your parents and try to avoid using it as much as you can? Plus, with a student railcard train fare can often be cheaper than what it would cost to drive!

November – Brands and labels There's generally nothing wrong with supermarket value brands, and clothing that doesn't have the "right" label, and what's right with them is the price. The same applies to medicines – always ask for the generic at the pharmacy.

December – Christmas gifts Of course you must celebrate, have fun, and share the holiday season generously with your loved ones. However, gifts of your time and attention – a day out, or a personal item you've lovingly crafted – are often much more meaningful than something you've just picked up off the shelf.

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