You know how it goes. The end of the month is always approaching and you think you’re sorted with the bills when all of a sudden through the post comes the electric bill. Goodbye student loan and hello to a very cold and dark month.

My housemates and I have managed to spend £120 more since the last bill arrived and we’re not the only ones desperate for easy ways to hold onto our pitiful student money supply.

Here are some ideas that might help you defeat the bulldozing bastard that is ‘the electric bill’.

How depressing …

Comforting couples

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, couples make saving money on bills easy. They cook together and save on electricity and food bills, snuggle together and save on heating and rent, and shower together which saves on water! For the rest of us, we feel alone and penniless.

Cute and economically sound.

Play harder

Instead of watching TV or playing on the consoles that dominate so many students lives why not take a trip to the good old days and play some real games? Board games, card games or even charades; they cost no electricity and can be great fun – although Monopoly has been known to cause some problems. My favourite ones recently have been ‘Cards against Humanity’ (guaranteed to be controversial) or the ‘Heads Up’ app.

The Big Bang Quiz – an element of educational fun?!

Kettle Conundrum

Tea is a recurrent theme when it comes to student problems and the kettle is a prime example of an electricity eater. So instead only boil what you need or invest in a teapot. Or why not replace tea with something like whisky which does not need boiling but warms you up anyway.

Candlelit dinner

Whether it’s for the whole house or a couple (or mostly likely just for yourself) a candlelit dinner makes every meal seem so much more Michelin starred. Saving on electricity as well as treating yourself to a delicious dinner atmosphere, what more could you want?

Romantic dinner for one anybody?

Friendly visitor

If these tips just aren’t plausible in your household or you just can’t be bothered, then why not make friends with the neighbours or pop round to some mates’ houses. You’ll be the social butterfly and everyone will love seeing you, even though they may not realise the only reason you’re there is for a free cup of tea and internet.

Thanks for the tea, mind if I watch TV for four hours and take a shower here too?

With a few helpful electricity saving techniques you might even look forward to the next bill to see how little you have to pay compared to last time.

Or maybe not.