As a student, saving money is always difficult. There are just too many temptations to spend your money on such as nights out with your house or course mates, luxury items in the supermarkets, DVDs and downloading music to name just a few, and all of it seems to come out of your dwindling bank account.

While the day your student loan payment arrives is like a birthday and Christmas all rolled into one – without cake or Turkey however – it soon disappears on essentials such as accommodation, course fees and materials and the weekly food shops, not to mention socialising and train fares to go home and get your washing done, I mean see your parents…

But with so many temptations, how do you keep the money in your account? After all you don’t want to be running off to the bank of mum and dad begging them to lend you some money – they’ll never be off your back if you do that worrying about you! Follow these five top tips and you’ll soon find that there’s plenty in the bank account to go to the Pirate Party in the SU Bar next weekend:

Shop with others. As you live with other people, you’re probably all buying your own milk, bread, cheese and other daily essentials when you could just go together and take it in turns to buy the everyday items, sharing it all when you get back to your flat. This way, only one of you is buying the specific item, and, if there are four of you for example, there are three times when you don’t have to – meaning you save your money and still get to eat the specific product. After all, the chances are you’re probably throwing it away before you can finish it because it’s gone off, a real waste of food and money.

Avoid late fees. When you borrow a book from the campus library, be sure to return it on time. By getting it back or extending the loan ahead of the deadline, you remove the risk of being charged an easily avoidable fee. If you feel as though you need the book for longer, make sure that you go to the library and renew your rental, or, if you feel you might need it for even longer, go and buy your own copy.

Part-time employment. If you can find a part-time job to subsidise your time at University, you’ll soon find that there is plenty in the bank. This extra source of income on top of your student loan can allow you to go out with your friends, buy birthday or Christmas presents, travel home for the weekend or even put it towards something useful – like textbooks!

Shop online. More and more people are turning to online shopping as opposed to hitting the high streets. With items always in stock and 24-hour opening, it’s much easier to shop online and when stores throw in online-only deals it makes a lot of sense. These online offers can allow customers to make significant savings on their purchases, such as getting 25% off at the checkout or other special offers that they can use online that they wouldn’t get if they went to the same store on the high street, a real bonus to students looking for entertainment or course materials.

Do your laundry in bulk. If you’re in University accommodation you might find that you don’t have your own washing machine in your flat and you have to pay to use the University launderette. In this instance it makes a lot of sense to do your washing when you have a large load as opposed to a few items as and when you need them. After all, you’re paying to use the machines so why pay twice when once will do?

University is supposed to be a great time of your life, three years of studying, making friends and gaining your independence. However, your finances play a huge part in University life and sometimes you have to say no, to say yes in the future. Learn to budget with https://myfinancesg.com/ and you’ll have an amazing time.