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Managing my money for young adults
Managing my money for young adults

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8 Making the most of discounts and deals

A TOTUM discount card.
Figure 5 A TOTUM discount card.

Keeping financially afloat when you’re a student means being smart about spending – and about not spending.

  • A 16–25 railcard will give you discounts on train travel.
  • Discounts are usually on offer in the Students’ Union – and usually this is the cheapest place to get a drink.
  • Discounts might also be available at local retailers on presentation of your University Student Card or your National Union of Students (NUS) extra card. The latter is now called a TOTUM card.
  • Some organisations provide student-specialised services where prices are lower than the equivalent product from non-specialist providers. Insurance is a good example of this.
  • Food and groceries shopping in bulk with other students can trim your supermarket bills. Aim to do this when living in shared rental accommodation. More on this in the next session.
  • For new copies of the books you need for your course, try to buy second-hand copies, or borrow from the library, or share with students on the same course.
  • Moving to a new student bank account can help too. The banks fight for student business. There’s more detail on student bank accounts in the next section.

Keep your eyes open for all the deals on offer. They can make a big difference to your living costs.