Anyone who has been to Uni will know that the experience is very costly.  Many young adults will be moving away for the first time in September for a life of independence and freedom from their parents, however many will be blissfully unaware of how expensive it is to live in a student house.  Apart from rent, students will be financially responsible for their electricity/gas bills, food shopping, TV license, and other personal bills such as a mobile phone contract, gym membership and credit card bills- it all adds up!  It’s important to be prepared for these costs and to also work out a budget to live off week by week.  Take note of these tips, brought to you by moneysupermarket.com to help you save money on your student household bills…

• Use vouchers.  The vouchers market has grown 50% year on year since the start of the recession.  Now retailers are luring you in by offering your discounts on their products, meaning you could potentially get a discount on everything you buy.  Vouchers come in many forms; printable vouchers which you take with you to the shop, discount codes which you use online, or mobile vouchers which you show from your smart phone.  Vouchers tend to give you a percentage off your final bill, for example 30% off, but on your hunt for vouchers you will come across buy one get one frees and 2 for 1 discounts.  It’s surprising how much money can save if you actively look for vouchers before buying something, whether it is clothing, food, nights out or travel- there is bound to be a voucher available to make you some savings.
• When living at home with your mum and dad it’s easy to take utilities for granted.  You parents are likely to pay the gas, electricity and water bills, so some students end up being surprised when they are held accountable for the amount of energy they use.  You should definitely become aware of how much it costs to heat and light a home, and learn tricks on how to keep the utilities bills down.   You should begin taking simple measures to keeping costs down, such as always switching lights off in unattended rooms and unplugging any electrical equipment when it isn’t in use.   You should also consider turning down your heating by just 1 degree when in the house- you won’t feel much different but it will make a difference to your energy bills.
• Buy from local businesses.  When it comes to food shopping it is always tempting to do it in one fell swoop at a supermarket.  Supermarkets have everything under one roof, but aren’t necessarily the cheapest suppliers.  You’re bound to have a fruit and veg shop and a butcher close to where you live, and you’ll find that you can save up to 50% by shopping locally.  The produce you buy from these shops will be void of any fancy packaging, and will have been brought straight from the supplier, meaning that you can buy the goods for less.
• Buy from second hand shops.  Second hand shops are brilliant for books, vintage clothing and furniture, and are likely to be 50% less than if you bought these items new.  You can also pick up really original pieces which no one else will have, as well as saving yourself some cash.
• Don’t be lured in by ‘free’ goods, like mobile phones, laptops or games consoles.  Even if the company insists that the free gift won’t cost you anything, if you work out the monthly cost of the phone contract (used as an example as phone companies are renowned for offering gifts to lure you into a lengthy contract) and the time it will take for the contract to run out you will have probably paid more than what the free gift is actually worth.  Instead, compare laptops and games consoles online by using a comparison service so you are aware of what is on the market for when you have the money to buy it outright.

A money saving article, written by Rachael Miller, part of the Shopping and vouchers team at moneysupermarket.com