G20 Summit - University Closure

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

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

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

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.

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.