Southampton Student Money Saving Tips

Around this time of year, national papers are full of “helpful” tips for university students. Most of these are regurgitated every year and offer no unique insight into what being a student is actually like. Us spendthrifts at The Tab have drawn on our collective experience to provide a selection of relevant deals and bargains for cash-savvy students.

Part Time Jobs

Embarrassing yourself in orange for £6.42 an hour

A part time job is the holy grail for many students; just working a few hours a week can help put a dent in your living expenses. They aren’t that hard to get either. SUSU advertise frequently for bar jobs, shop assistants, promo and admin staff, and the University are always looking for “Student Ambassadors“ and Tour Guides. Alternatively, head down to the bars and clubs in Bedford Place to see if they’re hiring bar staff or promo people.

If you’re feeling brave, try the docks. There are often jobs there for someone who is willing to work late, drive or do manual labour. If you can’t commit to a regular job, the university are always looking for research and focus groups participants that can land you vouchers, academic credit and cold hard cash. Look out for emails and posters around campus.

Food

Become familiar with these bad boys, 10p a packet!

Cooking for yourself is hard! Try and club together with your flat mates for necessities like pasta, bread and milk. There are numerous short cuts to producing edible yet cheap food in this article.

As for buying your food, steer clear of convenience shops like Co-Op, One Stop and Londis! The cheapest supermarket has to be Aldi in Bevois Valley. For those who can’t stoop as low as non-brand cornflakes, Sainsburys’ new megastore in Portswood is reasonably priced and has everything. Make sure to get a Nectar card for deals direct to your inbox.

For more exotic tastes, the International Foods Supermarket sells everything you could ever dream of, as well as dirt cheap fruit and veg.

Of course, you can’t be expected to cook for yourself every day! There are deals aplenty for fast food and decent restaurants. Take advantage of Dominos and Pizza Hut’s never ending price war with the leaflets they will inundate you with. Every Tuesday they do buy one get one free and you should never pay full price for a pizza EVER.

On Wednesdays, the Christian Union run Text-a-Toastie. Get a free toasted sandwich delivered directly to your door in exchange for some religious discussion, simple! For hangovers that only grease will slay, SUSU Cafe do a £2.95 seven piece breakfast with a free drink and Poppins in Portswood is simply the cheapest greasy spoon around with their 10% student discount. Eating on campus is often expensive but if you keep an eye on the Southampton Uni Catering facebook page you can pick up some quality deals.

Nightlife

50p pint anyone?

In Southampton, if you pay more than £2 for a double, you’re being ripped off! Grab a Jesters card for discounted entry to the most famous student club in town. Head down on Monday for the infamous 50p pints. A Sobar band will get a similar discount on entry at their fine establishment. Tuesday is the day to get SO:Crazy on £1 (Yes ONE POUND) Double Vodkas.

If your tastes are slightly more upmarket, student night in Bedford Place is a Tuesday. Orange Rooms run “Quids In”, where you are entered into a raffle to win the door money, up to 500 quid! Mega-club Oceana have so many different  themed nights it is hard to keep track, but for now their student night is a Wednesday.

Discounts

They’re everywhere for us stingy student types, especially in a city like Southampton that has around 30,000 of us! If you don’t ask you don’t get so flash that student card whenever you can. Don’t bother buying an extra student discount card that you’ll see peddled EVERYWHERE by unscrupulous club promoters; they’ll either get you the same as a normal student card or worse, they won’t be accepted!

Uni Essentials: Housing, Bills and boring stuff

Rent will be your biggest expenditure. It may be too late now, but pick halls that are self-catered and without an ensuite to get the cheapest. For private rented housing make sure to shop around, a decent house can be had for as little as £325pm or £75pw. Living further afield from University will lower the rent.

Uni essentials like pens, paper and toilet roll are often easily obtained, as the comments on this article reveal. Course texts should never be bought brand new, check out the book stall at Avenue Campus if you’re a humanities student looking to dent your hefty textbook bill.

What are your university money saving tips? Share them in the comments below.