UEL SMART Money Matters

Advice for those coming to the end of their course

2009-06-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

For those of you coming to the end of your course, you will probably want to start looking for a job. A recommended website for doing this is www.gumtree.com, which is full of job offers as well as adverts for houses, flats, cars and other property being sold – all in the London area. Be sure also to look in the classified ads in your local paper. It’s also important to network; a friend of a friend might have a job offer that they can tell you about that’s just right for you, for example. Also, while you are still a student you should ask our team for any specific advice on this matter. We will be happy to help.
However, if you are unsuccessful in finding a job, you may be entitled to receive any of these benefits. If you need to find out any more information, click the link below the relevant fund:

- Housing Benefit
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018926
- Income Support
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/On_a_low_income/DG_10018708
- Jobseekers' Allowance
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/BenefitsTaxCreditsAndOtherSupport/Employedorlookingforwork/DG_10018757

It’s a lengthy procedure applying for these benefits, so it’s safest just to get on with it, even if you’ve got job interviews coming up, so long as you remember to inform the appropriate government services as soon as you have paid employment.
You may need to produce your plastic card with your National Insurance number on. If you have mislaid this over the years, now is a good time to apply for a duplicate by contacting your local Department for Work and Pensions.
We hope none of you will have to leave your course early, but if you do, then the above advice still applies. If anyone has to leave because of ill health, then make sure that as well as considering the above benefits, you also pursue applications for Disability Living Allowance and Income Support.
If you do have to live on benefits, then remember the lessons you learned about budgeting and money saving tips while a student.

Here are some links to web pages that offer worthy advice on finance for students at all levels of study:
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/student-money-saving
http://www.moneysavingstudent.com/
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/StudentFinance/index.htm
http://www.ucas.ac.uk/

FSA Cut-back Calculator

2009-06-08T03:11:00.001-07:00

Summer Support Fund*

2009-06-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

Well, summer is finally here and that’s good news for some, but for others it may be difficult to think about enjoying your break or relaxing due to money worries. The UEL Money Matters team has set up a fund to assist those students unable to work due to certain criteria, called the Summer Support Fund. There is a page about this fund on the UEL Website:

http://www.uel.ac.uk/studentlife/moneymatters/supportfund.htm

As you will see from the webpage, there are very specific criteria for receiving this fund (which is a non-repayable grant), however, you only need to fit one of these conditions: if you are a single parent, then you may qualify for this grant; if you have a permanent or debilitating medical condition or disability that prevents your from working, then you may also be eligible; if you are on a compulsory unpaid integral work placement during the summer break. Please note that you also have to be a full time, home (i.e. have a British passport or indefinite leave to remain )student and must be returning to study at UEL (i.e. coming back in September – so if you are a final year student you cannot qualify).

The distribution of this limited fund is dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis, so if you think you qualify and could do with the money, please get on with downloading your application form from the above link. The deadline for submitting your application is the 19^th June, so don’t delay! Remember, time is money!

* Disclaimer: blogger is a student at UEL and is not a qualified money adviser. Please go to www.uel.ac.uk/smart for full details of the above fund

2009-04-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of different things in the news lately about how deep we are in a recession and the scare stories just keep coming. Stop worrying about everyone else and start thinking about you as a student!
This big hiccup in the economy is bad but we can get through it as we did in the 1940s and the 1980s, the money comes and the money goes all we as students got to remember is that we have to be ready when the tide rises again.

So here is a quick and easy guide to what might affect you in this new budget in the meantime.

It’s bad for your health it stinks and it costs you a lot of money! Cigarette tax has been raised by 2% doesn’t sound like a lot but this means an extra £60million in the governments pocket or to the normal person 11p per pack. So you should stop smoking for the good of your health and pocket.

Petrol has been raised by 2p a litre, so start walking to keep healthy save the planet and money of course.

The up side is that the government in its incentive to reduce the bad stuff that your car sends in to the air is offering up to £2000 scrapping fee for your old clapped out car that has seen way better days, towards the cost of a new car. I know this sounds mad like why would you buy another car in this economy BUT there are some car dealers that are offering like Ford to also give up to a further £3000 on top if you buy a Ford car so that’s £5000 for a new car already paid for.

Now on to the one that was causing me as a fellow student the most concern….. Alcohol!! Alcohol duty has gone up by 2% which means about an extra 5p on every pint. This is bad news for the fellow students.

The big hit has come to the future students, it has been predicted a sharp rise in the amount of A Level students applying to higher education. This is presumably because of the lack of opportunity for employment at the moment, but the government has not announced that they will meet this demand in funding and universities are expected to turn away around 30,000 places due to this lack of funding.

All in all the budget could have went a lot worse for the day to day living cost of everyone but we will just have to keep budgeting and shopping in the reduced section of Asda to save or pennies, I think us students could teach Mr Alistair Darling a thing or too when it comes to balancing a budget!!!

2009-04-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

Budgeting

Budgeting is one of the most important things you can do with your money. If you don’t have a clearly set out, workable and realistic budget, you could easily end up in debt, or having to skip meals because you spent the money on something else. But if you keep a written record of how much money you’re getting per month, and how much of it you can spend on books, how much on nights out, how much on food, etc., and as long as you stick to it, you will greatly reduce your financial stresses.
You don’t have to keep a monthly budget; you might want to make it weekly, fortnightly, or whatever. But let’s say for example that your budget will be a monthly one. This means you first calculate how much money you receive per month. Let’s say you earn £400 from your part-time job, you receive £500 in student loans, and a parent sends an extra £100 a month to help out. That £1000 needs to be subdivided into categories to make sure that you don’t overspend in any area.
Let’s start with the most important things, e.g. it costs you £425 a month for rent, so you need to set that money aside for that purpose. A sensible amount to set aside for books and other resources for your work might be £200. For food, you could give yourself £160, and for travel £40. You could give yourself £40 a month for going out, and another £40 for spending on clothes, music, etc. This leaves £95 to spend on other things. There could be a charity that you like to give to, so that could be £15 a month. Perhaps there’s a magazine you’re subscribed to which is another £15. Finally, there is £65 left, which could be split into £35 for savings: this money shouldn’t be spent, but set aside so that when you finish university you have some money saved up; and the remaining £30 could be emergency money, in case for example you have to spend more than you thought you would have to one month on text books. If you manage to spend all this money, then you might have to dip into the savings fund.
So, you might want to have a notebook in which you set out your budget like this, recording each transaction so you know how much money you have left in that account:

May 2009
In --> £1000
Rent --> £425
Books --> £200
Food, etc. --> £160
Travel --> £40
Going Out --> £40
Personal Spending --> £40
Charity --> £15
Magazine Subscription --> 15
Savings --> £35
Emergency Money --> £30

Date Item Category Amount (£) Balance (£)
1st Rent Paid Rent 425 0
Books for Course Books 78.90 121.10
2nd Food Shopping Food 30.89 129.11
DVDs from HMV PS 12 28
Hat “ 1.99 26.01
Pizza Food 2.99 126.12
Drinks at Pub Going Out 3 37
Oyster Card top up Travel 20 20

You get the idea. You may have your own ideas about what categories to have and what the format of your budget should be, but as long as you hold on to the basic ideas of having a set amount for each category per week or month, and not going over your budget in any area, you should find that this greatly helps you.
And if you have any money left over in any category at the end of the month, you could either add your new monthly allocation onto it, or transfer what’s left into your savings category. For example, if you had £8 left in the ‘personal spending’ fund, you could either add the next month’s £40 onto it to make £48, or add the £8 to your savings and just have £40 in personal spending. Or say you spent slightly too much money on going out so that by the end of the month, the figure in that fund was -5.25, the next month’s ‘going out’ fund would be £34.75.

So for June 2009, your budget might look like this:

In --> £1000
Rent --> £425
Books --> £179
Food, etc. --> 160.05
Travel --> £40
Going Out --> £34.75
Personal Spending --> £40
Charity --> £15
Magazine Subscription --> £15
Savings --> £78
Emergency Money --> £60

G20 Summit - University Closure

2009-03-31T08:08:00.001-07:00

G20 summit - campus closures: The University of East London will be closed on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 April, due to uncertainty about transport and possible disruption around the G20 Summit at Excel.

8 Tips

2009-03-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

Here are eight cost-cutting measures that may greatly help you save money while at uni. You'll probably want to take some of this advice and leave the rest, but hopefully there'll be something in here that will encourage you to save.

1) When it comes to food shopping, make a list, and know before you enter the shop which food items you want to buy. Don't be swayed too much by expensive food/treats; just buy the food that you know you would consume in a given week.

2) Don't shop more often than you have to; otherwise you will end up buying food to validate your shopping trip. Shop as infrequently as possible to reduce impulse buying. Try and make use of budget ranges which may have, say, fruit and veg but not the perfect size and shape, or just cheap packages.

3) Don't join too many clubs or societies at university. Choose a reasonable number - just a few - such that you are likely to keep up commitments all year. For example, think twice before taking out expensive gym membership - how often will you use it?

4) Stay in where possible, rather than always travelling on the bus and paying bus fare etc. When you want to be sociable, try inviting a small group of friends round - perhaps someone bringing the salad, someone the desert, someone the wine and you prepare the main course. Watch a DVD together and enjoy a cheap evening with your friends. Take it in turns and you will not have to cook so often.

5) If you usually cook just for yourself, team up with a friend or two and take it in turns to cook for each other, because with supermarket offers it is cheaper to cook for say 3 people, than cook 3 separate meals. It is also more enjoyable.

5) Do not feel compelled to buy every suggested text for your course; often the library will have several readily available copies of the book you desire.

6) Make your own lunches where possible, which is a cheaper alternative to buying a prepacked sandwich at a supermarket or coffee shop. Purchase a multi pack of small water bottles from the supermarket for when you are out and about, which are much cheaper than those on sale in coffee shops. The same applies to fruit such as apples and bananas which you can take out with you.

7) If you need to buy a text book, or equipment, look around for the cheapest available price. Don't forget about Amazon.

8) Consider finding a job. The best sort for term time is shift work in say a food outlet, coffee or juice bar, or hamburger shop. This will offer great flexibility about which hours you work and will enable you to change your hours as the timetable alters or your deadlines loom close. As for holiday jobs, if you enjoy travelling, you might like to find a job abroad for the summer. In any event, whatever summer job you want,you should probably be looking for it by about February. Do not wait until the summer holidays start. Don't spend money too hastily once you recieve it, but rather look to put some money safely into an ISA or other high interest account, which will act as a safety net should you suddenly need a large amount of money.

Making money on Amazon.co.uk

2009-03-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

A great way to make some extra money is selling unwanted items on the Amazon.co.uk marketplace. I've been doing this for a few years and it's relatively straightforward and hassle-free (though you will need to make sure to stock up on stamps and padded envelopes, and have the time to package the items you sell and post them asap). You can sell unwanted CDs, DVDs and cassettes, for example - and you can also get rid of text books from previous modules that you no longer need, while making money in the process that should greatly help you with your living costs, etc. This will also benefit other students who may buy the books off you, as they will be able to get them cheaper than if they were buying them new.

The buyer will pay you postage costs, but Amazon also take a small percentage of the profits for themselves. This usually results in your final amount being somewhat lower than the list price, eg. if you sell a CD for £11, your total earnings might be £9.30.

It's really easy to get started; you just create an account with Amazon if you haven't already, then to start selling, go to "Your Account" in the top right hand corner, then "Your Seller Account," sign in and follow the instructions onscreen. Business may be slow at first as you will be listed as a new seller, but when you've sold a few items and have received some positive feedback, you'll become a more trusted seller. Similar to selling on Ebay really, which is also worth doing, but can be more complicated than on Amazon. Ebay is good for selling more obscure items that might not be listed on Amazon (such as ornaments, coffee mugs, etc.), but for books, CDs and the like, I recommend using Amazon marketplace.

You get a payment of all combined sales after about two weeks, but you can ask for a disbursement at any time. Recently, I made over £125 in two weeks, so it's definitely worth doing! You may also free up some much-needed shelf space.

URGENT - ALF Application Closing Date

2009-03-18T04:20:00.000-07:00

ACCESS TO LEARNING FUND (ALF)

The closing date for ALF is now Friday 20th March 2009

Due to minimal remaining funds and considerable numbers of applications awaiting assessment the deadline for ALF has been brought forward. NO applications will be accepted after this date.

Please note: This deadline supersedes the previously advertised closing date. Awards are dependent on the availability of funds.

2009-03-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

So we all like cheap stuff, and in the credit crunch this comes in many forms great and small!! But a bargain is a bargain and as they voice over says”every little helps”. So here is a list of cheap ideas for fun and the essentials.

I’m constantly being told about this idea that culture is the knowledge of the soul...but in this current economic climate it’s kinda difficult to afford to feed the soul.....until now!! I love going to the theatre and seeing a show. Apparently so do the councils of England, if you are under 26 you can get free theatre tickets in participating theatres. All you do is go to www.anightlessordinary.org.uk type in your post code and it will give you all the details of where there are shows near you.

Student discounts and lots of discounts in general are all over the internet. I have listed some the sites that may be appealing. But never be fooled and don’t buy discount cards unless you feel you want it and you feel it will benefit you more. Majority of all places that offer the discount only require the use of you NUS student discount card to receive the discount and other places only want to see your Uni ID card. I personally only ever have purchased the NUS discount card available at any student union; I feel this is the best value discount card to have in your wallet, i use it in lots of different places like New Look one of my fave clothes shops, Top Shop, Pizza Hut the list goes on and you can find out all the discount offers for this card at http://www.nus.org.uk/en/NUS-Extra/Discounts/

www.studentdiscounts.co.uk this website is I feel good for money off activities and theme parks coming in to the bright summer days. I love theme parks and one of the offers was £12 off Thorpe Park tickets if you call in advance and book tickets.

www.myvouchercodes.co.uk I found some good money off codes for supermarkets. At this time of year I’m running out of those essentials that I only really buy twice a year but it’s these items that bulk up my shopping bill, I found some vouchers including for Morrison’s was that if you spend over £50 you received £15 money off the same order. Good value for reducing the shopping bill while getting what you need.

www.mysupermarket.co.uk with the price wars that are going on in the supermarkets it’s hard to keep track and my brain hurts from trying to remember who has the best offers. I have overcome this through my supermarket. This site is great for comparing all those prices for you, showing you all the products from all the leading stores and working out the best prices.
All the pennies are better left in your pocket than the big retailer, be bold and everywhere you go ask if the retailer or restaurant has a student discount, remember that we have a lot of buying power and shops are eager to please and get you coming back with that student loan in your pocket. In 2007 there were nearly 500,000 starting undergraduates, that’s a lot of student loans money floating about and the shops want their slice of the pie.

All of these discounts and deals we correct at time of print.

Cheap Drink!

2009-02-10T02:19:00.000-08:00

I have found it!!! The holy grail of pubs!!! And it is not a myth!!! It’s the cheapest drink around!!

Its called Cheap Skates in central London and it does exactly what it says on the tin! Can’t be that cheap I hear you say.... you would b underestimating me dear sir!
Its wait for it.....drum roll please ...... for a double vodka and coke £1.60 and it seams to get cheaper and cheaper if ya buy in bulk, I got 2 bottles of Carlsberg and again a double vodka and coke and it was only £2.60.

But do b warned the drink is cheap for a reason, you wont find them serving Smirnoff behind the bar, but they do serve JD it’s the only drink that I cud find that was more expensive at £2.50 per shot.

This place looks like something outta a cheap 70s strip club but it adds to its charm.
We got there about 9.30pm and it was empty until about 9.45pm so you should go early to get a seat. Girls be careful of those 2ft high shoes you are planning on wearing because they won’t b easy to wear here, this place is littered in steps and stage type dance floors.
And for the guys there was 3 girls to 1 guy ratio, the guys told me they were very happy at that!

All in all it was a wicked night out, it was jus the right size not to lose ur friends and still meet lots of new people! Location location location!!!
if you get off the Leicester Square tube walk up towards the Oxford Exchange, if ya see Spamalot you are in the right place. Go up the side street beside Spamalot and you will see various little pubs jus keep walking up and you will see it on your right.

Its £4.50 in for students so don’t forget your student ID and your passport or what ever form of ID ya use to prove that you are of sound mind and over the age of 18 to drink way way to much!!!! So this place is perfect for a skint wants to get drunk n have a gud nite student!!

Could You Be Owed A Tax Refund?

2009-02-10T02:17:00.001-08:00

If, like most students, you have had to take a part time or holiday job, you should make sure you have not paid too much tax.Did you know that you are allowed to earn up to £6,035 a year without paying any tax on it.

As most students earn under this, you should not be paying any tax. Check your payslips!
Put simply it means you can earn up to £116 a week tax free. But rather than listening to me witter on, have a look at the following website;
www.direct.gov.uk/studenttaxadvice
http://www.studenttaxadvice.direct.gov.uk/
or click on the link http://apps.facebook.com/hmrccodebreaker
It's a v clear website and shows how you can claim a refund!

February Start Students

2009-02-10T01:40:00.000-08:00

Are you a full time February start student?
If so, have you applied for your student loan yet?
It's very important that you do so asap, as it can take about 6 weeks to get assessed (even longer if you are like my friend who forgot to send his passport and had to wait over 2 months).

If you haven't done so already, what you need to do is go to www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance and register yourself with them. Write you log in and password down in a safe place. DO NOT LOSE THEM! You will need them frequently whilst you are a student. Tattoo them on your forehead, if necessary!

You can then apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, a Maintenance Loan and Maintenance Grant online. The form you need is called a PN1 form. PN1 form. PN1 form. PN1 form. (!!!)
Fill it in.
Send it off.
Don't forget to send off all the information they request too: e.g. your passport or birth certificate (send it recorded delivery so you are covered if it goes missing in the post)

If you are under 25, your parents/ guardians will need to provide their financial details for the last year. They can send in payslips, a P60 or benefit statements.
If you are over 25 (or under 25 and married/ with kids), you will need to provide these for yourself.

Once you have been assessed, you will be sent 2 pieces of paper in the post. A FN (Financial Notification) and a PS (Payment Schedule). The FN tells you what you are entitled to and the PS tells you when you can expect your money into your bank account. DO NOT LOSE THESE OR YOU WILL NOT GET YOUR MONEY!

You will not receive your loan until you have brought your FN and PS into university to be scanned. The university needs to check that you are fully enrolled. Once this has been checked, your loan will be authorised. It should take about 5 working days to come into your bank account.

Don't spend it all at once!

Access To Learning Fund

2008-12-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

Now I am going to tell you about the access to learning fund.

This can be a path worth looking at to help support you and your education.This is money available through UELs SMART team and what it offers is this ;There is a sum of money that is available to give to students who apply for it a kind of pot, every student that makes an application the details that they provide will be assessed and it will be decided if you are eligible.What’s so great about this I hear you say!!! Well everyone is able to apply no matter if you got the full student loan or the lowest bracket; everyone is assessed on their each individual information provided. The only criteria is that you must be a home student (e.g. be a UK citizen) and have applied for your student loan. Where is the catch if there is one? ......well there is only a certain amount of money in this pot and once it’s gone well its gone, so it’s first come first served.The processing of your application takes about 6 or so weeks give or take so its not a quick fix cure for your finances but it is better than nothing.