Plan your budget

Hello.  My  name  is  Rona. I'm  a  caseworker  at  at  Vice  Place. VICE  Place  is  part  of the  Students  Association, and  we  provide  information  and guidance  on  a  wide  range  of  issues, including  accommodation, university  policies  and  processes, and  most  relevant for  this  presentation,  money. Today,  we're  going  to discuss  budgeting  for  your  studies. This  will  include  information on  preparing  a  budget, guidance  on  tracking  your  spending, and  dealing  with  unexpected  outlays, tips  on  reducing  costs,  and  finally, information  on  accessing  support. Now,  Edinburgh  can  be a  very  expensive  city  to  live  in, and  so  it's  really  important  that all  students  have  a  clear  and  viable  plan  on how  they  will  cover both  their  tuition  fees  and living  costs  for  the duration  of  their  studies. We  would  encourage  all students  to  make  sure  they  have a  clear  view  on  what  they'll be  charged  for  their  fees  and  crucially, the  payment  deadlines  for these  fees  before  they  start  their  programme. Estimated  that  a  single student  needs  at  least 1,136  pounds  a  month to  cover  essential  living  costs  in  Edinburgh, but  many  students  will spend  much  more  than  this. You'll  need  to  ensure  that your  budget  takes  into  account  of  essentials, such  as  accommodation, food,  travel,  and  energy. But  it's  also  important  to  budget  for  things like  you  might  not  think  about  like  hobbies, entertainment,  clothes, and  occasional  costs  such as  birthdays  and  travel  home. We  would  always  recommend that  a  student's  budget incorporates  a  little  bit  of a  contingency  to  take  into account  of  unexpected  costs. Once  you  have  an  expected  budget, it'll  be  worth  tracking  your  spending  to  see if  you're  managing  to  keep  to  this  budget. There's  lots  of  ways  of  doing  this. Some  students  find  physically  noting  down each  purchase  they  make using  a  notebook  and  pen  quite  useful. But  many  others  will  make  use  of the  wide  variety  of  electronic tools  and  apps  available. As  a  student,  you'll  have  access  to a  money  management  platform called  Black  Bullion. There  should  be  a  link  on the  university  website, and  that  will  help  you  put together  a  budget  and  track  your  spending. You're  not  keeping  to  your  expected  budget, don't  give  yourself  a  hard  time. Instead,  look  to  see  if any  overspends  in  one  area can  be  covered  by  underspends in  another  and  reallocate. If  there's  a  net  shortfall, it's  worth  looking  at  ways of  increasing  your  income. The  university  has  an  excellent career  service  that  can  support students  in  finding  and  securing  paid  work, including  part  time  and  vacation  work. And  it  is,  of  course, also  worth  considering  ways  of reducing  your  costs.  More  on  this  now. So  it's  estimated  that  a  single  student  in self  catered  accommodation  could  need about  260  pounds  a month  to  cover  their  food  costs. Many  students  will  spend  more  than  this, some  will  spend  less. At  the  Students  Association, we  have  heat  heat  stations  in our  buildings  at  Potter  row in  King's  Buildings  House. These  provide  students  with  free  access  to microwave  and  hot  water facilities  and  can  really help  students  cut  back their  spending  on  things  like  takeout  coffee. There  are  a  number  of food  share  programmes  and community  fridges  dotted  around  the  city. These  initiatives  receive  excess  food that  would  otherwise  be  chucked  out by  supermarkets  and  other  outlets and  make  it  available  to  the  general  public. This  can  be  an  excellent  way  of  saving money  whilst  also  reducing  food  waste. Shopping  at  budget  supermarkets  such Lidl  and  Aldi  can also  help  reduce  your  spending. And  we  know  that  some  students  are able  to  further  reduce  their  costs  by clubbing  together  with  flatmates  to buy  bulk  essentials  such  as  rice, pasta,  and  toilet  paper. Finally,  you  can  find  a  lot  of  budget  recipes online  that  can  significantly reduce  your  food  costs. We  refer  to  some  of  those  on the  Advice  Place  website. It's  also  possible  to  save  on  travel. Edinurh  quite  a  walkable  city, but  if  you  are  under  the  age of  22  and  you're  able  to access  free  bus  travel via  the  Young  Scott  Card, the  university  provides  a  free  shuttle  bus between  King's  Buildings  and  Bristol  Square, and  this  is  available  to all  students  on  production of  their  student  card. Our  website  provides  some  excellent  tips for  reducing  the  cost  of  train  travel, including  details  on  when to  book,  how  to  book, and  discount  codes  to  be  used in  order  to  make  substantial  savings. We  also  have  some  tips  on these  websites  if  you  want  to  note down  those  addresses  to help  you  save  money  on  things  like  energy, so  like  where  to  find  cheaper  energy, how  to  get  books, particularly  secondhand  books  that you  can  swap  with  other  students, how  to  get  the  best  deals  on mobile  and  Wi  Fi, and  also  where  to  source  things  like budget  trips  for  students  and opportunities  to experience  the  city  without  spending  money. Ale,  if  you  have  any  questions about  financing  your  studies  or  if you  encounter  any  financial difficulties  during  your  studies, do  get  in  touch  with  our  service. Our  case  workers  are  able  to  offer tailored  guidance  and  support on  reviewing  your  budget, on  accessing  your  full funding  and  benefit  entitlement, and  on  searching  for additional  financial  support. We're  also  able  to provide  guidance  on  applying for  support  from  the  university's funding  where  this  is  needed. And  in  an  emergency, we  offer  zero  interest  free  loans to  students  whose  funding  is  perhaps  being delayed  or  they're  experiencing a  financial  crisis  and unable  to  afford  food  or  other  essentials. We  are  here  to  help,  so please  don't  hesitate  to  get  in  touch. The  money  and  funding  sections  of our  website  has  more  information  on the  things  we  spoke  about  in this  presentation,  including  links. So  thanks  for  listening. Welcome  to  Edinburgh, and  if  you  have  any  further  questions, please  contact  us  at  the  advice  place.