University #4: Saving money at uni
Everyone loves having a little more cash in their wallet. As a uni student you’re in the position where you have a lot of time and not a lot of money to spend in that time. There’s a few tricks to the trade you’ll discover as you settle in, but it’s always nice to be prepared before you start to save a little cash on the side. Your unions, societies and even toilet doors will hold the answers to your questions.
Food
Eating on campus is much more expensive than buying your little lunch in primary school. Anything you could ever want will be calling to you across the courtyard as you stumble bleary-eyed out of your morning tutorial, in search of a coffee and a big, steaming plate of nachos. Although many universities have a union or discount scheme for their students, you’ll still find yourself offloading between $20 and $50 a week on lunch, and that’s before you begin to nervously stuff your face during exam period. Try these little tips:
* Societies, like Veggie Soc. Often you’ll be able to buy a massive plate of extremely filling curry and desert from a mere $5. Most societies will let you bring along a container for later, so you could also take some home and freeze it for a later dinner during tight times. Sydney Uni’s Veggie Soc sources their curries from Govinda’s and you can check out their scheme . Some suburbs may also have food vans where you pay what you can afford, like the hare krishna hot food van in Redfern, NSW.
* Food Co-Ops are great places for picking up fresh fruit and veggies for a great price. You’ll also be able to buy your staples in bulk and at a heavily reduced price - even more so if you’ve got the time to volunteer. Food changes week to week so you don’t get stuck eating potatoes and carrots every week. Check out the opportunities at the UNSW Food Co-Op page. Try Googling your University’s Food Co-Op. I usually get enough fresh produce to last a week, and you can pay for a plan that suits you, whether it be a weekly or fortnightly pick up.
* Society lunches are usually free and give you an opportunity to check in with your friends on a regular basis. Sometimes they’ll be themed, like the High tea Society, and accompanied by games, like the weekly LingSoc Scrabble tournament with sandwiches. Talk to the people at O-Week and at meetings about how you meet, suss out what societies are worth paying $5 to join for a semester of free food. As you get a little busier they won’t begrudge you if you drop by quickly and then head off to study.
Textbooks
Often one of the big blows in the first few weeks of uni is finding out much all your textbooks are going to cost. Sure, there’s one or two copies provided in the library, but you can almost never get to them in time. They’re almost always in short loan as well, and people love to squirrel them away into a corner just before exams. Your best bet is to try one of these options.
* You should definitely join the Co-Op Bookshop. Membership is $20 and it’s for life. It gives you a 10 - 15% discount on all of the products in the store, means you can skip those pesky lines out the door and is generally a nifty little discount opportunity. You’ll make your money back at least 6 or 7 times in your degree.
* Check out your SRC’s second-hand bookshop. You’ll be able to pick up your textbooks at a slice of the price, and with only a little bit of highlighting.
* The backs of toilet doors are an invaluable resource. Keen to offload the $100 textbook they only used once, many students will sell them to you for a fraction of the price. Making a little money back is better than having it get dusty and out of date on a shelf, and it’s less money out of your pocket.
Transport
Best advice I can give you is that public transport is your sleep and study friend, not your enemy. While it make seem easier to drive in to uni, especially for those pesky one hour tutorials early in the morning, catching the train or bus give you an opportunity to maximise your time.
* Buy a MyMulti public transport ticket. The most you’ll pay for a whole week of travel on any bus, train or ferry is $30. Each day you’re likely to accumulate at least $8 - $10 worth of travelling, depending on where you’re going. Grabbing bus passes like Travel10s for less frequent travel is also efficient as you get a few rides free.
* Use your time as study time. You don’t have to concentrate on the road, all you have to do is making sure your massive reader isn’t poking your neighbour in the ribs. Busfare is going to be cheaper than driving in, and you have time to catch up on your tutorial prep for the day. Win-win.
Participating in Experiments
Probably one of the most interesting ways of making money at university, students from all kinds of faculties will post fliers to the backs of toilet doors with phrases like “Want to see what your brain looks like?!” and “will be renumerated for your time.” These are the ones you’re looking for. You’ll get asked a few questions, maybe fill in some paperwork about your eating and exercise habits, and then boom - remuneration. At the very least you may get some course credit for participating and the money you’ll be saving on your course costs when you pass and don’t have to repeat the subject.
Take care of your coins and you’ll emerge at the end of the exam tunnel with a few dollars and cents to spend on your end of semester fun and games.
Stephanie has to refrain from taking her bank card to university in order to stop her purchasing Campos coffee. Damn sexy coffee.
Food
Eating on campus is much more expensive than buying your little lunch in primary school. Anything you could ever want will be calling to you across the courtyard as you stumble bleary-eyed out of your morning tutorial, in search of a coffee and a big, steaming plate of nachos. Although many universities have a union or discount scheme for their students, you’ll still find yourself offloading between $20 and $50 a week on lunch, and that’s before you begin to nervously stuff your face during exam period. Try these little tips:
* Societies, like Veggie Soc. Often you’ll be able to buy a massive plate of extremely filling curry and desert from a mere $5. Most societies will let you bring along a container for later, so you could also take some home and freeze it for a later dinner during tight times. Sydney Uni’s Veggie Soc sources their curries from Govinda’s and you can check out their scheme . Some suburbs may also have food vans where you pay what you can afford, like the hare krishna hot food van in Redfern, NSW.
* Food Co-Ops are great places for picking up fresh fruit and veggies for a great price. You’ll also be able to buy your staples in bulk and at a heavily reduced price - even more so if you’ve got the time to volunteer. Food changes week to week so you don’t get stuck eating potatoes and carrots every week. Check out the opportunities at the UNSW Food Co-Op page. Try Googling your University’s Food Co-Op. I usually get enough fresh produce to last a week, and you can pay for a plan that suits you, whether it be a weekly or fortnightly pick up.
* Society lunches are usually free and give you an opportunity to check in with your friends on a regular basis. Sometimes they’ll be themed, like the High tea Society, and accompanied by games, like the weekly LingSoc Scrabble tournament with sandwiches. Talk to the people at O-Week and at meetings about how you meet, suss out what societies are worth paying $5 to join for a semester of free food. As you get a little busier they won’t begrudge you if you drop by quickly and then head off to study.
Textbooks
Often one of the big blows in the first few weeks of uni is finding out much all your textbooks are going to cost. Sure, there’s one or two copies provided in the library, but you can almost never get to them in time. They’re almost always in short loan as well, and people love to squirrel them away into a corner just before exams. Your best bet is to try one of these options.
* You should definitely join the Co-Op Bookshop. Membership is $20 and it’s for life. It gives you a 10 - 15% discount on all of the products in the store, means you can skip those pesky lines out the door and is generally a nifty little discount opportunity. You’ll make your money back at least 6 or 7 times in your degree.
* Check out your SRC’s second-hand bookshop. You’ll be able to pick up your textbooks at a slice of the price, and with only a little bit of highlighting.
* The backs of toilet doors are an invaluable resource. Keen to offload the $100 textbook they only used once, many students will sell them to you for a fraction of the price. Making a little money back is better than having it get dusty and out of date on a shelf, and it’s less money out of your pocket.
Transport
Best advice I can give you is that public transport is your sleep and study friend, not your enemy. While it make seem easier to drive in to uni, especially for those pesky one hour tutorials early in the morning, catching the train or bus give you an opportunity to maximise your time.
* Buy a MyMulti public transport ticket. The most you’ll pay for a whole week of travel on any bus, train or ferry is $30. Each day you’re likely to accumulate at least $8 - $10 worth of travelling, depending on where you’re going. Grabbing bus passes like Travel10s for less frequent travel is also efficient as you get a few rides free.
* Use your time as study time. You don’t have to concentrate on the road, all you have to do is making sure your massive reader isn’t poking your neighbour in the ribs. Busfare is going to be cheaper than driving in, and you have time to catch up on your tutorial prep for the day. Win-win.
Participating in Experiments
Probably one of the most interesting ways of making money at university, students from all kinds of faculties will post fliers to the backs of toilet doors with phrases like “Want to see what your brain looks like?!” and “will be renumerated for your time.” These are the ones you’re looking for. You’ll get asked a few questions, maybe fill in some paperwork about your eating and exercise habits, and then boom - remuneration. At the very least you may get some course credit for participating and the money you’ll be saving on your course costs when you pass and don’t have to repeat the subject.
Take care of your coins and you’ll emerge at the end of the exam tunnel with a few dollars and cents to spend on your end of semester fun and games.
Stephanie has to refrain from taking her bank card to university in order to stop her purchasing Campos coffee. Damn sexy coffee.