Last-minute money tips for university: top tips and tricks to help you save

The new university year is about to start, and if you – or someone you know – is heading off for the first time, finances might be a big concern. Student loans only stretch so far, and this could be the first time you have had to deal with real budgeting to cover accommodation, food and other bills.

To help you on your way, here is our last-minute guide to managing your money while you study.

Everyday spending

Sign up for supermarket loyalty cards. These used to just give you points, which you could collect and eventually use to get money off, but now they unlock discounts straight away. You don’t have to be loyal: you can own one for every supermarket – you just have to be 18 or over to apply – and you don’t even need a card as the big schemes are all available via apps. Most, including Tesco Clubcard and Sainsbury’s Nectar, are free to join, although Co-op charges £1 – and its card can’t be used in all of its franchises, so check your local branch is included before you sign up. A lot of the offers are on branded products, so price-check the supermarket’s own-brand items before you assume the loyalty deal is the best.

Make sure that when you compare grocery prices you are comparing like with like. All but the smallest retailers have to put a unit price on the shelf label – so for pasta, as well as the pack price, there will usually be a price for 100g. This makes it easier to choose between packs of different sizes. From October, supermarkets will have to be more consistent in the units they choose, and to include unit prices for things that are on offer, so it should get even easier to spot a bargain. Remember, though, wasted food is wasted money, so it is not worth buying big if something is perishable and will go off before you have a chance to use it.

Watch out for subscription traps. We all love a discount or a freebie, but make sure any free trial period offers you sign up for don’t come with a hidden catch. Sometimes the small print will say you are agreeing to a regular order, and before you know it a payment will be taken from your bank account. Carefully read the terms and conditions of anything you apply for. If you do still want to go ahead, either cancel the subscription the same day, if you can, or set yourself a reminder for when you need to end it.

Don’t buy anything without checking whether there is a discount available. Big and small retailers offer students money off – either directly, or via a range of schemes. Totum is the biggest scheme and offers cashback at supermarkets and other big retailers via a prepaid card, alongside discount codes – you need to pay £3.99 to register for the cashback element of the scheme. Sign up with the Student Beans and UNiDAYS schemes and you will get access to money off via codes to use online and an ID to flash at the checkout in shops. The VoucherCodes website has student discounts, too.

Turn off notifications on apps that are trying to sell you stuff – even if it is cheap stuff. Tech companies are brilliant at hooking you in and persuading you to spend money, but you can make it harder for them by refusing, or turning off, push notifications. If you don’t know what is on sale, you won’t feel tempted to buy it.

Bank accounts

It’s not too late to sort out a student current account if you haven’t already. For many, the most important feature will be the interest-free overdraft on offer. NatWest and its Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) brand are offering an overdraft of up to £2,000 from year one and up to £3,250 from year three onwards. Note the “up to” – you may be offered less. With Santander you are guaranteed an interest-free overdraft of £1,500 in years one to three, provided you meet the basic criteria.

As ever, banks and building societies have various freebies on offer to tempt you to choose their student account. Santander’s free four-year young person’s railcard – offering students up to a third off most rail fares – is arguably the best perk: the bank says it is worth £115.

When you apply, you will be asked to provide proof of your student status. This could be a letter of acceptance from your university, though many banks will ask for one of your two Ucas “status codes”. There’s a 16-digit code and a four-digit one, and they are usually sent out via email or can be found in your Ucas Hub.

Your maintenance loan will be paid in three instalments directly into your bank account at the start of each term, or monthly in Scotland. If you have just opened a student bank account, remember to update the bank details that you initially provided – you can do this by logging in to your online student finance account.

Keep a close eye on your bank balance and know when big payments are coming in and out. The credit reference agency Equifax says it is helpful to stick to a planned budget. “If you’re stuck, the 50:30:20 rule can be a good place to start,” it says. That’s 50% for needs (living expenses, bills etc), 30% for wants (shopping, trips etc) and 20% for putting into savings or paying off debt.

Bills

Unless your phone is tied up with a family package, it’s worth making sure you have a good deal. The Save the Student website has a comparison tool that lets you check out sim-only deals as well as those that include a phone. You can choose how much you want to spend and what you want for your money and it will show you any contracts that match your requirements. Check for any special student discounts before you sign up – these should be listed on the networks’ websites – or take a look at UNiDAYS and Student Beans.

If you are sharing a home, share responsibility for the bills. It may sound like a pain, but the best way is to put everyone’s name on them. “Adding everyone’s names means you can all talk to your supplier about your energy,” says the energy provider EDF. That’s useful, but more importantly it also means everyone has a legal responsibility for paying the bill – and that they will be affected by any missed payments. This is far better than one person taking on all of the responsibility. The money will still need to go from one account: decide whose this will be and how you will all settle up with them.

Do what you can to keep energy bills low. Turn off lights and equipment when rooms are not in use, and don’t turn the heating on before you’ve taken action to keep yourself warm (it might help to imagine what your parents would say if they caught you turning up the thermostat at home). A decent duvet will be a good investment for the winter and, if the floors in your room are uncarpeted, a cheap rug might help. These are things you can take with you throughout your course and beyond.

Unless you are at a campus university, travel to and from lectures and classes could be a regular expense to factor in. Stagecoach offers student bus tickets in areas where it runs services – you can find details on its website, where there are cost breakdowns so you can see the cheapest deal for your circumstances. There are other similar schemes offered by operators around the country. In London, you can get an 18+ Oyster photo card, which will reduce the cost of weekly, monthly or annual travelcards by 30%, but not pay-as-you-go fares. If you are only travelling to and from university, and not going every day, it might not be worthwhile.

The TV licence at your family home will not stretch to cover you if you are away at university – but you might not need one. If you only watch streaming services – and these do not include the BBC iPlayer – you are off the hook. If you watch or record any live TV and/or the iPlayer – and this includes on a laptop or other device – you will have to buy a licence. In a shared household, you can all use the same licence if you have a joint tenancy agreement. The cost of a licence is now £174.50 a year. You can pay in instalments, but for your first licence the annual cost is collected over six months, at £29.10 a month, and then you move to paying £14.54 a month.

Buy now, pay later

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) credit is ubiquitous at online checkouts and lets you spread payments for everything from trainers to take-away pizzas. Often the cost is split into three monthly instalments. If you keep to your repayment plan, you won’t usually pay interest or charges – although it has been blamed for tipping people into debt, so think twice before using it.

University students can expect to be bombarded with waves of ads and offers from retailers and BNPL providers, warns the consumer campaigner and broadcaster Martyn James. Be wary. “These companies are not your friends – they are actively targeting you at the moment,” he says. “It’s a temptation because it gives you the illusion that you can afford things you actually can’t afford.”

If you do use BNPL, it is vital to understand what you are signing up for by checking the terms and conditions, as the providers take different approaches to charges and late fees. Keeping a record of how much you have spent and when your payments are due is vital to avoid extra charges, the government-backed MoneyHelper website says. Look out for notifications from your provider telling you when your next payment is due. With some, you can keep track by accessing your account via an app.

You might be tempted to use BNPL to buy materials for university – pricey new academic textbooks, for example – but don’t succumb. Where possible, “never buy new,” says James, who adds that “there is a roaring trade” in secondhand books and many other things students might need. “Don’t be ashamed about buying old.”

If you end up missing payments on a BNPL agreement, this could be very bad news. Your credit score will probably take a hit, and if you don’t deal with it, you could end up with a county court judgment (CCJ) against you. All in all, it could seriously affect your ability to get loans or credit in the future. If you are having problems with repayments, contact the provider straight away.

Insurance

This month, lots of young people laden down with expensive gear will move into university accommodation at the same time, making them “a prime target for crime”, says Save the Student. Before you head off to uni, think hard about what you are packing. Do you really have to take that item with you? Can it be left at home?

Think about contents insurance for the things you do need. First check if you are covered under your parents’ existing home contents insurance policy. You may automatically be covered against theft or loss under its “temporarily removed from the home” section while living in student accommodation or a shared flat. With Aviva’s standard home contents insurance, for example, full-time students are automatically covered for up to £12,000 of belongings at their term-time accommodation, provided they return to the family home during the holidays. Alternatively, it may be that your parents’ policy can be extended to cover your stuff while you are away from home.

If you are moving into halls of residence, sometimes some contents insurance will be included, but it can be basic and may not cover you if there is no forced entry, says Save the Student. Check carefully what is and isn’t covered. If you are moving into a shared house, check with the landlord or letting agent what insurance (if any) is already in place.

If none of the above options work, you (or your parents) will need to buy your own specialist student policy. Save the Student says Cover4Insurance is its most recommended student insurance provider in 2025. Its student possessions policies include “walk-in theft cover”, which means you are covered for theft without forced entry to your individual room. Many providers will not pay out for theft without forced entry, in which case it is vital to keep valuables secure by locking your door, says Kara Gammell, an insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket.