By Bethany Griffiths
A recent study carried out by www.sellmymobile.com has revealed that Cardiff University students have made the top 10 list of students most likely to have spent the first installment of their student loan already, with October 20th being named as the day when most first installments are gone by. The research was carried out on more than 2,700 UK university students, with 66% having already spent the full amount they received and a further 23% close to running out, despite it only arriving in September.
With October 20th being named as the date by which most students face an empty bank account, it was revealed that the majority had resorted to using credit cards (75%), part-time jobs (32%) and the ÔÇÿbank of mum and dadÔÇÖ (25%) to help them get back on track. The study also revealed that 17% of students had also resorted to selling their belongings to pay for necessities, with clothes, old mobile phones, jewelry and games consoles among the most popular items sold for spare cash.
The research carried out by www.sellmymobile.com found that those who had used up their student loan already were most likely to be studying at the following universities:
- Sheffield Hallam University ÔÇô 10%
- Cardiff University ÔÇô 9%
- University of Leeds ÔÇô 6%
- UWE Bristol ÔÇô 6%
- Nottingham Trent University ÔÇô 5%
- University of Glasgow ÔÇô 5%
- Durham University ÔÇô 5%
- University of Kent ÔÇô 5%
- University of East Anglia ÔÇô 4%
- University of Reading ÔÇô 4%
Most of the money spent was revealed to have gone on nights out (87%) and clothes (74%), but it turns out pre-drinking may not be your best bet for a cheap night with 55% of people saying their loan had been splurged on drinking alcohol at home!
Jack Webster, mobile expert from www.sellmymobile.com, said:
ÔÇ£With a healthy looking cash sum dropping into the bank for students who have typically relied on pocket money from their parents and Saturday jobs up to that point, itÔÇÖs no wonder the urge to spend is strong. But our research shows that those acting like payday loan day millionaires are already counting the cost of their decadence and living their last weeks of term on very strict budgets or, worse, running up debts to maintain their lifestyle.ÔÇØ
If you feel that you could be part of the 66% of students whoÔÇÖve spent their loan already, never fear! We have some handy hints, courtesy of Jack Webster, to help you manage your money:
Recycle your old handsets ÔÇô Raiding the old phone drawer can be very lucrative as it is incredibly easy to recycle your old mobile. Just visit www.sellmymobile.com, search for your handset, choose your offer and send off your phone. The process is quick and easy, and you might be surprised how much you can get; some recyclers even offer for broken phones, you could literally have hundreds of pounds of cash gathering dust.
Think about moving to Sim only ÔÇô if you took the ÔÇÿfreeÔÇÖ handset option the cost of the handset is included in the monthly price over the term. If you stay on it after the handset is paid off, then you are literally paying money for nothing. Work out when your contract ends and be ready to move. If youÔÇÖre still happy with your current handset then look at sim only options ÔÇô they offer much greater flexibility, can run for as little as 30 days and start from around ┬ú10. There are even data tariffs design for under 25s that include perks like unlimited free social media browsing. Use a site like www.comparemymobile.com to check out the best deals.
Cash!Back! – With thousands of retailers on well-known cashback sites, if you want to buy it, chances are there is a retailer happy to incentivise you to buy it through them. Shops online and on the high street want your business; cashback works by taking money theyÔÇÖre willing to spend on advertising and giving it back to you. With cashback offered on everything from supermarket essentials to holidays and financial products, itÔÇÖs another way to extend that loan. ItÔÇÖs also worth downloading a grocery cashback app like ÔÇÿCheckoutsmartÔÇÖ which frequently features offers for food (and even alcoholic drinks) at a much lower price, or even free. You just have to snap your receipt, upload it, and the cashback is paid back to you.
Shop around for broadband and TV, donÔÇÖt just do what your parents did ÔÇô When it comes to broadband and entertainment packages, there has never been more choice, but it might feel easier to try to replicate what you had at home. All singing, all dancing TV packages can be pricey, but you can build your own version without the contract commitments using services like Now TV and Netflix, and even bolt on things like Sky Sports so you can save money watching at home instead of heading to the pub. Shop around for what you want using a site like www.broadbandchoices.co.uk.
Team up ÔÇô with services like Netflix and Spotify, team up with a friend to split the cost and share the accounts. You can have multiple accounts on both Netflix and Spotify, depending on the package you subscribe to, allowing you both to use the services at a reduced cost to what you would pay separately.