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► Money Matters

Money Matters

Many of you will be away from home for the first time and you will be managing your own finances. Scary!! Download a Budget Planner here

There really is no magic wand to wave where your finances are concerned but we may be able to offer some simple advice to help you avoid the stress of money worries and to help you to stretch your money a little further.

Maintaining a budget plan sounds like something your granny would do but it really does help.

• Work out your income and expenditure on a regular basis. Doing this on a monthly basis is a useful way of identifying essential and non-essential expenditure and of seeing where you can economise.

• The sooner you get some advice the better. Money problems don't just go away (no matter how we try to hide the phone bill in that drawer that everyone has…you know the one with all the things in that 'may come in useful').

• Shop around for bargains. There are some shops around Luton and Bedford which are much cheaper for basic items than the big chainstores. Make sure you have an NUS Extra Card (available from the Students’ Union) and that you are getting all of the discounts you are entitled to.  Some shops offer discounts if you ask even though they are not advertise. 

We have a very useful guide called 'money manual for students' in the Students’ Union so please feel free to collect one. We can also talk through any issues you have regarding financial worries.

To make sure you are getting all the money you are entitled to go to www.studentfinancedirect.co.uk .

If you need debt advice you can get useful information from the Debt Advice Foundation www.debtadvicefoundation.org

If you have been working whilst studying you may be eligible to a tax refund. For more information, check out this website www.studenttaxadvice.org.uk

If you are struggling and experiencing financial hardship please contact Ian Marshall (01582 489347) and his team…you may qualify for some help from the Access to Learning Fund.

For other help and advice contact  either Louise Tadiar (01582 743264), or your Vice President Welfare Faye Biggs (01582 743275).

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