Estimate your future living costs as a student and plan your budget effectively. Every student's budget is unique and will vary depending on your personal circumstances, such as if you have any dependents, work a part-time job or commute to university. To effectively plan your budget, it is essential to estimate your expected income and expenditure.Your incomeDo you have money saved for university?Are you receiving any funding or financial support?Are you working or planning to get a part-time job?Will your income be consistent for the duration of your time at university?Fund your studies Your expenditureDo you know what your fixed monthly costs will be?Are there any additional costs associated with your studies, e.g. materials or equipment you need to purchase?Do you know what bills you will need to pay and when?Student living costs Advice on managing your budgetTracking your income and spending behaviours will help to ensure that you do not unexpectedly run out of money. The Advice Place offers one-to-one budgeting support and advice, along with a wealth of further information about helping you to plan and manage your budget.Budget planning (The Advice Place)The University also has a dedicated webpage outlining support with the cost of living.Cost of living | The University of Edinburgh Maximising your money whilst at university can often feel like a daunting prospect, particularly when the cost of living is increasing. This short video will cover budgeting whilst at university, how to track your spending, ways to reduce costs as a student and how to access further support with your finances. View media transcript 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. Financial support and additional funding The following pages provide information on financial support and other funding opportunities available to students. Some students may be eligible for support for their specific circumstances. The Advice Place offer advice for students who run into financial difficulty. Scholarships and student fundingAdditional funding (The Advice Place)Emergencies and hardship funding (The Advice Place) This article was published on 2025-07-22