<div class="fr-view"><p><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Thursday 9 March is University Mental Health Day, and this year we (at the Association) are focusing on the cost of living. We’ve been asking students, staff and volunteers for their top tips on how to save money, which you’ll find below. Big or small savings, pennies or pounds – they all add up. Perhaps there are one or two things that you’re not already doing that could help you save!</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> ;</span></p>
<p><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB"><strong>Discounts and reward schemes</strong></span></p>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="1">Utilise student discounts! – there are a range of ways to access discounts from free apps such as <a href="http://www.studentbeans.com">www.studentbeans.com</a>, <a href="http://www.myunidays.com">www.myunidays.com</a> and <a href="http://www.totum.com">TOTUM</a>,<a href="http://www.totum.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener" style="cursor: pointer;color: rgb(23, 156, 186);text-decoration: none;font-family: Cabin, sans-serif;font-size: 17px;font-style: normal;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: left;text-indent: 0px;text-transform: none;background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255)" target="_blank"></a> which is great for discount on groceries at the Co-op!</li>
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<li>Take advantage of various store in-house savings / membership cards, e.g. ASDA rewards, Nectar Points and Tesco Clubcard (can be gained from a massive range of shops and on Petrol). Matalan card holders regularly receive discounts across the whole store (up to 20%) etc.</li>
</ul>
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<li><a href="https://www.topcashback.com/" style="cursor: pointer;color: rgb(23, 156, 186);text-decoration: none;font-family: Cabin, sans-serif;font-size: 17px;font-style: normal;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: left;text-indent: 0px;text-transform: none;background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255)"></a><a href="//www.topcashback.com">www.topcashback.com</a> – a free website where you can sign up for cashback on everything you spend on, e.g. groceries, tech, pet care, appliances and even holidays. Money back can be taken as a bank transfer, or as vouchers (with bonus credit added on).</li>
</ul>
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<li>Regularly shop around for quotes on insurance, phones, TV, contracts – many providers will offer discounts to stay with them.</li>
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<li>Always check online banking for any associated benefits that you can use, some can include cashback offers when you buy from certain providers. Check your bank account for any subscriptions that you may not be aware of as these can sneak in at the end of a free trial and you could be paying for a service you do not use.</li>
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<li lang="EN-US">Airtime Rewards (<a href="//www.airtimerewards.co.uk">www.airtimerewards.co.uk</a>) – free sign-up to earn rewards on your spending in linked shops (e.g. Boots) and earn cash that can be used to pay your mobile bills.</li>
</ul>
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<li><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">See the ;</span><a href="//www.moneysavingexpert.com">www.moneysavingexpert.com</a><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB"> ;website, a free website run by Martin Lewis, where you can sign up for weekly emails. These are full of ways to save on everything from household bills to groceries, insurance, pet bills, best bank accounts etc. It also has free tools/calculators that will find you the best mobile/SIM prices, hidden deals on Amazon/eBay, secret sales, complaint and ‘resolver’ templates, haggling advice.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Earn rewards on the <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/">YouGov website</a> for completing surveys on politics, sport, entertainment and more.</span></li>
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<li><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Never buy anything full price – always look for discount codes or vouchers, buy things on sale and, if you can, buy in bulk (so you have plenty in when the prices shoot up and it isn’t on offer for a while).</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> ;</span></li>
</ul>
<p data-empty="true"><strong><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Shopping</span></strong></p>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Having a second bank account to limit spending makes me more aware of what I’m spending money on.</span></li>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">See what bits of your shopping go on sale, and only buy when they&#8217;re on offer.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Use Save the Change® if applicable to your bank account. This will round up card payments to the nearest pound and the additional money is deposited back into a savings account, e.g. £10.20 is rounded up to £11 and the 80p is put in a savings account. If you use your card a lot, this can really add up over a month.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Consider buying books second-hand to reduce financial costs and to reduce impact on the environment (for instance, <a href="http://www.wob.com">World of Books</a></span>).</li>
</ul>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="13" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="1"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Evaluate each physical and/or digital bookshop (including second-hand booksellers) as some used books can be more expensive than a brand new book.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">For big sales events like Black Friday, don’t impulse buy, but instead use them to your advantage. If you know you are needing to make a big purchase (new phone, TV, a subscription etc.) then wait (if you can) until these events to see if you can get something to match your requirements with a big discount.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Purchase groceries in more than one supermarket or shop (for instance) to save on items being sold for less costly prices.</span></li>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Buy second-hand clothes and make those you have last longer, with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/mar/02/crotch-blowouts-and-bobbly-knits-how-to-save-secondhand-clothes-from-smells-stains-and-other-surprises">tips like these</a></span>.</li>
</ul>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Buy in bulk: things like beans, chickpeas, lentils and legumes can be bought dried and cooked at home. This works out a lot cheaper than buying in tins.</span></li>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Use cash and don&#8217;t swipe your card.</span></li>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Hit the charity shops (&#8220;I’ve found them a lifeline since the electric companies have crushed my bank account!&#8221;).</span></li>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Stay out of stationery shops!</span></li>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">You can save a lot of money on food by meal planning so we only buy what we need – it&#8217;s saved a lot of waste too.</span></li>
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<li lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Make use of the reduced section in local supermarkets. At ;</span><a href="https://heronfoods.com/"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Heron Foods</span></a><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">, they have a great section called &#8216;Too good to go&#8217; where stuff is reduced (because its after its BB date) but still safe to eat.</span></li>
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<li><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Try your local freecycle groups and charity shops. Shop in cheap supermarkets, and don&#8217;t get fooled by brand names.</span></li>
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<li><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Create and stick to budgets, and be prepared for emergencies.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> ;</span></li>
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<p lang="EN-US"><strong><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Household</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{"> ;</span></p>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="24" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="1"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Always update your meter readings if you have a gas and electric meter. A monthly meter reading update can stop large bills from piling up!</span></li>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="1"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Energy and vegetables are really expensive just now. Save money by batch-cooking vegetables when fresh – make them into soups, stews. Don&#8217;t leave a few sprouts or half a swede to wilt – cook the whole lot, eat the rest the next day or freeze for later. Frozen cooked veg are great mashed into bubble and squeak, which makes a tastier (and more nutritious) topping for cottage pie.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="1"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Cook all your vegetables in one pan. If you don&#8217;t have a steamer, cut them into even-sized chunks. Cook the carrots first, after five minutes add sprouts, after another five add broccoli – another five mins should do it. Use the drained vegetable water to improve the flavour and nutritional value of gravy or soup.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="1"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Don&#8217;t boil potatoes for one, microwave whole for six mins. Wash first, remove any black bits, pierce all over and wrap in kitchen paper.  ;Turn at least three times to prevent that nasty fibrous bit at the bottom. Eat as a jacket potato, or mash with a little butter.</span></li>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="1"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">You can turn off your oven with 10 mins to go on your cooking time and as long as you don&#8217;t open the door and lose heat, the residual heat will finish cooking your dinner! This is r</span><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">ecommended in Nany Birtwhistle&#8217;s book, <em>Green Living Made Easy</em>.</span></li>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="3" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="1">
<p lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Turn off the heating where it’s not needed, for example in rooms you are not using.</span></p>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="4" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="1">
<p lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Check out ;</span><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/collections/1_dinners"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">these recipes</span></a><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB"> ;for dishes that come in at a cost of £1 per portion, written by TV chefs including Chetna Makan, James Martin, Prue Leith and Aktar Islam.</span></p>
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<p lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">In light of anthropogenic climate change and elevated levels of inflation, perhaps replace a few meat-oriented meals (including takeaways) each week with vegetarian/vegan options using plant-based options.</span></p>
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<p lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Freeze anything that can be frozen before it goes off – cheese, fruit, egg whites, etc.</span></p>
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<p lang="EN-US"><strong><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Upcycling ;and reducing waste</span></strong></p>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="2"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Think outside the box and upcycle items in the home (which reduces landfill).</span></li>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="2">
<p lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Freecycle (&#8220;I got a cross trainer from the fire brigade off Freecycle today&#8221;). The NUS card gives 10% off Co-op which is our local for-emergency store. Hunt for discounts in food shops in the evening. Study sitting in blankets.</span></p>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="3" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="2">
<p lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Use the ;</span><a href="http://www.toogoodtogo.com"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Too Good To Go app</span></a><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family: Cabin, sans-serif;font-size: 17px;font-style: normal;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: start;text-indent: 0px;text-transform: none;background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255)">. ;</span>Food waste is a big problem, and we can be a solution. Too Good ;</span><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">To Go is an app that lets you rescue unsold food from an untimely fate at your favourite spots.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"> ;</span></p>
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<p><strong><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Travel</span></strong><span data-ccp-props="{"> ;</span></p>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="4" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="3"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Instead of using a personal vehicle when travelling to your chosen destination, use the bus, cycle or walk part of your journey (where feasible to save fuel costs)<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family: Cabin, sans-serif;font-size: 17px;font-style: normal;font-weight: 400;letter-spacing: normal;text-align: left;text-indent: 0px;text-transform: none;background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);display: inline !important;float: none">. F</span>actor in some of your time and structure in some exercise as part of your daily routine away from screens.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="5" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="3"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Try to walk anywhere within walking distance – even small trips in the car add up!</span></li>
</ul>
<p lang="EN-US"><strong><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Exercise</span></strong></p>
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<li data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-font="Symbol" data-leveltext="ï·" data-list-defn-props="{" data-listid="3"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Review whether your gym membership is viable, and exercise at home or use the natural environment for less cost.</span></li>
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<p lang="EN-US"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Save money on gyms – ;</span><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-64790527"><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">exercise done outside is good enough</span></a>!</p>
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</ul>
<p><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB"><em>What money saving tips do you have?</em></span><em> ;</em><em><span data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB">Let us know in the comments!</span></em><span data-ccp-props="{"><em> ;</em></span></p>
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Cost of living advice on University Mental Health Day
Thursday 9 March is University Mental Health Day – we’ve been asking folks for their top tips on how to save money...
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