Saving money as a student 2025

Sticking to a student budget isn't always easy, but there are ways to successfully manage your outgoings while at university - discover money-saving tips for students, read our guide to student banking and get advice on dealing with debt

Make a budget

• Decide how you'll make a budget - will you set up an Excel spreadsheet, use a budgeting app, such as Blackbullion Money Manager, or keep records in a notebook?
• List your weekly or monthly income - consider the money you have coming in, including student loans, scholarships and bursaries, parental contributions, and part-time jobs.
• Keep track of your spending - monitor regular outgoings such as your rent, utility bills, contents insurance and mobile phone costs. As well as the essentials, don't leave out flexible costs such as course supplies, travel and socialising.
• Go through your budget - check that you're spending less than your total income. Do you have any money left over, or are you finding it hard to get by? If you're struggling, read our advice on dealing with debt.

For any additional help sorting your budget, visit MoneySavingExpert - Student budgeting planner.

Cook meals for your housemates

As a student with a strict budget, you must be smart when shopping for food. Do a cost-effective 'big shop' at the start of each week and minimise the number of takeaways you have. Buy supermarket value products rather than well-known brands, and shop at the end of the day when many items are discounted.

Share the cooking with those you live with and plan your daily meals in advance. If you're not a whizz in the kitchen, there are many helpful resources online, including simple-to-follow cooking instructions.

For instance, the BBC provides free student recipe ideas for a weekly budget of around £10. You'll also find that Good Food shares recipes on its website. Follow its Good Food: Easy Dinner Ideas channel on WhatsApp to stay up to date.

Another way to save money on food is by making packed lunches rather than buying a sandwich or going to a coffee shop.

Reduce your travel costs

Most universities are city-based with excellent public transport links or campus-based with everything on your doorstep. You probably won't need a car while studying. Instead, look for student discounts on travel.

For instance, if you take the train regularly, a 16-25 railcard will pay for itself. Costing £35 for one year or £80 for three, it gives you a third off most rail fares across Great Britain and will save you around £192 per year.

Mature students can download the digital-only 26-30 railcard, which costs £35 per year and offers a third off fares. This will save you around £258 a year (an average of £4.74 per journey).

Local buses remain one of the cheapest ways to get around. Check whether you're entitled to any student discounts or weekly/monthly passes on services. For instance, Stagecoach offers a Unirider student bus card - you can also buy seven-day and 28-day passes.

Take advantage of student discounts

You can benefit from over 600 student deals ranging from travel to fashion, music and technology if you sign up for TOTUM Student+ membership.

This costs £14.99 for one year, £24.99 for two years and £29.99 for up to three years. Savings include 10% off at Schuh, ASOS and Boots (with a Boots Advantage Card). View the full list at TOTUM - Discounts.

You'll also be able to search through plenty of discounts and offers from over 800 brands by signing up with UNiDAYS. These range from half-price Domino's pizza to 25% off a Grammarly Premium subscription to help develop your writing skills.

It's free to join, but you must re-verify your student status each year. UNiDAYS GRADLiFE membership is available for three years after graduation.

Don't pay full price for course books

Once you discover your reading list for the academic year, buy your course books second-hand wherever possible. You won't need to buy them all and can borrow set texts from the library.

You'll find cheap second-hand copies online through sites such as Amazon UK or Preloved or through your university.

If you plan to buy new books, make sure you get money off your purchases through a discount site such as StudentBeans. You can always sell the books when they're no longer required.

Save money as a household

You'll be responsible for your bills if you share a student house. These include:

• gas
• electricity
• water
• Wi-Fi.

Use comparison websites to get the best deals and reduce costs by saving energy.

Set up direct debits for regular bills to be paid automatically each month. This will help you avoid late payment charges.

Sharing bills among housemates can be effective if this is managed carefully. Make sure people are paid back as quickly as possible. This will avoid unnecessary tension should anybody consistently fail to pay their share.

Read more about living in student accommodation.

Earn some money

If you could do with topping up your funds while at university, you could look for a part-time job on campus or in your local area. Options include bar work and working in a shop.

You can also make some extra cash through side hustling. You could make jewellery, become a pet sitter or turn your passion for photography into paid work. Explore side hustles for students.

Open a student bank account

How you bank as a student can make budgeting effortless and even earn you extra money.

Here's how to make the most of what's on offer:

• Don't just stick with your current bank - All high street banks offer dedicated student bank accounts, so it's worth shopping around. Choosing wisely can help you save money with freebies and discounts and pay less for borrowing in an emergency or if you overspend. Regularly compare offers and switch banks to take advantage of the best deals. Get more tips at MoneySavingExpert.com - Student bank accounts.
• An overdraft typically beats freebies - Having an overdraft in place means the bank won't charge fees if you overspend. With a student account, you won't pay to get an overdraft, and the money borrowed won't accumulate interest like with some regular accounts. If you don't have savings or family support, a student overdraft means money to fall back on, plus you may save more on fees and interest than with freebies like railcards and gift vouchers. You'll only benefit from an overdraft by sticking to the terms - keep to the limit and always repay what you borrow on time. You can look at various student overdraft options using a comparison site such as Comparethemarket.com - Student overdrafts.
• Have more than one bank account - Student accounts come with decent extras, so you can only have one at a time. That doesn't mean you can't have other bank accounts. You could put your student loan and wages in one account, then transfer money to a separate account for paying bills and direct debits. Another bank can hold your savings if it offers better interest rates or cash bonuses. If you meet the account conditions, there's no reason you can't mix and match.
• Use lazy saving to stockpile cash - This is an easy way to save for holidays, emergencies or anything else you might need cash for in the future, as your bank or savings app does everything automatically. With an auto-saving, round-up or save-the-change function, whenever you pay with your debit card, the amount is rounded up to the nearest pound and the extra few pennies are moved into a savings or side account. Many digital banks and independent apps now offer auto-savings functions, which securely work with existing accounts.
• Use credit cards wisely - Taking out credit to spend more than you have should only be used when it's the cheapest means of borrowing. 0% credit cards are like student overdrafts because you won't have to pay interest on the borrowed money. Some cards give cashback on spending, so using one specialist card can result in a decent refund at the end of the year. Again, the only way to benefit from credit cards is to stick to the conditions. Once you start paying interest, fees or penalty charges, your credit effectively costs you more.

Deal with debt as early as possible

With a low income and tight budget, it's hardly surprising that many students run into debt.

The strain of owing money can negatively impact your mental wellbeing, as well as your academic studies.

To get debt-free, follow these steps:

• Don't panic - Seek help as early as possible, as your situation may be quickly resolved with the proper guidance. Don't let letters or emails pile up. Open and deal with all correspondence to ensure you're clued up on your finances. Keep all correspondence in case you need to produce these later. Family, friends, university services and outside agencies won't be able to help if you're not honest about, or aware of, the extent of your problems.
• Prioritise your debts - Separate priority debts from non-priority debts. Priority debts include rent or mortgage arrears, utility bills such as gas and electricity, income tax, TV licence and court fines. The non-payment of these debts can directly affect your wellbeing, as you could lose your home or have essential supplies cut off. Non-priority debts cover bank overdrafts or loans, credit or store cards, unsecured personal loans and money borrowed from friends or family. While it's still important to clear and take these debts seriously, penalties for not paying are generally less severe.
• Talk to people - Share your money worries with family and friends as they can offer moral, if not financial, support. Your university may also have student money advisers to provide one-to-one guidance. If your institution can't help, contact professional debt charities such as MoneyHelper, Step Change or the National Debtline, where you'll receive free and impartial advice.
• Take control of your finances - After receiving professional advice, specialist university advisers can check your entitlement to statutory student support. Most institutions also have hardship funds to help students facing a change in circumstance or unexpected financial problems.
• Tackle existing debts - Draw up a financial statement outlining your current circumstances, including all incomings and outgoings. Highlight all unpaid debts and repayments due. Calculate how much you can repay each month and apportion this among priority creditors if you have any available income. Write to your creditors proposing a new repayment offer. Attach a copy of your financial statement and inform them of any exceptional circumstances that affect meeting the previously agreed repayments. You can request that creditors freeze the interest on any debts while you renegotiate terms. Avoid using quick-fix, pay-day loans at all costs.

Find out more

• Discover 5 ways to manage student stress.
• Consider these 7 life skills you'll learn at university.
• Read our helpful advice on university life.