University is the first major leap towards independence for many students. Suddenly you are swept into a world where you must rely on yourself for everything. No longer do you have the comforts and security of home that you have become so accustomed to over the years.

But do not fear – there is plenty of help available to guide you through this transitional phase. In your first year, staying in halls of residence helps you to learn to manage your bills as many universities charge one termly fee inclusive of all costs such as water, electricity and gas. The rent is normally restricted to term times only too which makes it easier to organise the rest of your finances.

Once you move out of halls and into independent living quarters, you are then responsible for a vast array of new bills. This is additional to the fact that you will be most likely living with 4 to 5 new people and will need to organise how to split bills and responsibilities. Independent living sees the bills come separately to the rent therefore you must ensure you allocate enough money to pay ALL of these each month.

Below I have explored 4 other ways to ensure that you can save money whilst at university ensuring a comfortable and stress-free student life.

1. Once you leave home, you will have to organise your own transport to get you to and from university and similarly to and from home. The easiest and cheapest method to conquer this problem is to make use of a bicycle. By living in nearby accommodation, your journey to lectures each day need not cost a penny. Just ensure you bring a good padlock to secure your bike.

To travel home, for example on a weekend or during university holidays, there are many discounted tickets for trains. Investing in a ‘young person’s railcard’ can make a huge difference to the expense of travelling.

2. Time management is a useful method of cutting living costs to a minimum. With the cost of living on the rise, it is imperative that you aim to negotiate a way to keep costs down. One easy yet very effective method to keep bills to a minimum is by trying to organise some sort of routine so that you put the central heating on only when you are all most likely to be home, or combining wash loads or cooking tea for everyone, once each day. This is as opposed to each person cooking separately and potentially using 4 or 5 times as much gas or having 3 half full loads of washing each day.

3. Shop on a voucher. Shop around and find places that offer student discount or have promotions on. Combine your weekly shopping with your housemates so that you can save by buying in bulk. There are lots of offers on software for students online. These offer discounts on essential software packages for your studies at heavily discounted prices.

4. It all boils down to budgeting and planning your finances in advance of spending. If you take out all of your known bills and expenses for the term from your budget and then divide what is left by the number of weeks in the term, you will have a visual understanding of what you can comfortably spend each week. Perhaps allocate some of this to an ‘emergency’ fund, just for safe keeping. By knowing your finances inside out, you are better equipped to deal with any unexpected financial costs that may arise.

University is an excellent way to learn to be financially and emotionally independent. Of all the costs associated, perhaps the most expensive variable is the software. You need this to be able to perform your studies to your best ability so make sure that you look online to find software for pupils that is specifically discounted to enable students and teachers the freedom to purchase the best products on the market