Today, to kick off my uni tips series, I thought I'd talk about fending for yourself at uni. Let's get started ^^
1 Start learning how to cook before you leave for uni if possible: ask your parents for recipes/ find some simple stuff online and learn one or two meals
2 Shop at a bigger supermarket: they will have more 'basics' that will be cheaper
3 Buy online and club together with your flat to get free delivery or split the cost between you
4 Buying stuff in bulk can save a lot of money.
5 Having said that, larger packets aren't always better value: compare price per 100g or 100ml etc to work out which is the best deal
6 Lidl and Aldi. Enough said really.
7 Try shopping at your local market. One of my flat mates saved a lot of money that way.
8 Frozen food is great value: a bag of frozen broccoli, edamame or mixed veg will be like £1-2, be pre prepared and easy to cook and lasts forever
9 Cook family sized meals and then portion it into takeaway tubs and freeze them: so convenient and easy to do
10 Mark the date when you put things in the freezer with whiteboard pen to keep your freezer organised
11 Making your own lunch will save you a tonne of money over the year compared to buying a meal deal
12 Bring your own water too: bottled water is expensive
13 Have some healthy snacks on hand e.g fruit, popcorn
14 If you get on with your flat, sharing things like butter, milk and flour could be a good idea
15 Meal plan! This will save impulse buying of snacks
16 Whenever you see a sale or a deal on something you know you use often (for me this was things like tuna and green tea) snap it up! This will save you money in the long term.
17 Join a supermarket reward scheme if you always shop in the same place- I didn't do this soon enough
18 Keep a loaf of bread in the freezer and you can defrost a few slices as and when you need it rather than having the whole thing go mouldy (and believe me, it wasn't a nice experience)
19 Slice some bananas up and freeze them: it's like homemade ice cream but healthier
20 Don't keep junk food in your cupboard: this makes it easier to resist temptation if you have to go to the supermarket to buy something rather than just going to the kitchen and eating a spoonful of Nutella ^^;;
21 Don't food shop when you are hungry as it makes you more likely to buy junk food. I've also heard that chewing mint avoided gum helps you resist impulse buys of unhealthy stuff.
22 Know what is worth spending money on
Things like meat. I also always like to buy free range eggs (only a few pence more anyway). However, branded goods are the same wherever so it is worth shopping around for a deal. Things like tinned kidney beans and chopped tomatoes can also be bought from the 'basics' range in my opinion ^^
23 Some good resources for learning to cook:
24 Here is a list of how long different foods will keep in the freezer
Thanks for reading, I hope this was helpful ^^
Anyone at uni/ been at uni/ is living on your own: how did you get on? Do you have any tips of your own to share?
-Amy xoxo
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