Cashpoint Issue III
winter 2012
A termly newsletter giving financial information, updates, hints and tips to University of Reading Students
Xmas Presents on a budget Think small. If you know you’ll feel bad if you don’t buy presents for your friends and family, write a list of who you need to buy for, set yourself a realistic budget of how much you will be able to spend, and stick to it. Make the most of the student discounts with your NUS card – shop at stores where you know you will get money off, bagging yourself an expensive present at a bargain price! There is a list of places that offer student discounts on www.nus.org.uk. Everyone gets gifts that they know they will never use – don’t leave them sitting in the back of a cupboard, think
Are you getting what you’re entitled to? about re-gifting! Just make sure you don’t offend anyone by giving them back a present that they bought you.... Don’t be turned off the thought of handmade gifts - they show the kind of thought and effort that family members will really appreciate!
Stay safe when shopping online Online shopping can be a great way of shopping around and bagging some bargains, but make sure that you are staying internet safe as well as internet savvy. Secure websites will often show a padlock symbol in the bottom right of the browser
window, are likely to have a ‘https://’ web address (rather than ‘http’ – the ‘s’ stands for ‘secure’!), and the address bar might go green – all great signs that a site is secure. Check out www. getsafeonline.org for further info.
Instead of presents, why not give the gift of doing stuff for your loved ones? Make your own vouchers promising time and effort doing things that you know will make a difference to your family – like promising to send regular emails to your Dad, or call your Mum regularly.
Distract everyone from the fact you haven’t bought them a present whilst still maintaining the spirit of Christmas – organise a Christmas quiz or treasure hunt, make amazing meals / cakes / decorations, or do all of the post-Christmas dinner washing up!
Are you receiving all the funding that you are eligible for? Having a problem getting your money from Student Finance England? Whether you are studying fulltime or part-time, check www.moneysavingexpert.com or www.gov. uk/student-finance for further information, or visit the Student Advice service in RUSU if you need some support.
TV License If you watch live TV on your PC or laptop, you need to make sure you have a TV License – not having one could lead to a fine and a criminal record. Info on TV licences can be found on their website, along with the payment options. Check it out: www.tvlicensing.co.uk.
Cashpoint
Issue III
WINTER 2012
Produced by RUSU Money Doctors: part of the RUSU Student Advice Team
Leaving your student house over Christmas vacation? If you are living in private rented accommodation but going back home over the Christmas vacation, there are a couple of things you might want to think about:
from cracking.
• Protect your valuables. If you are able to take stuff home with you, do that: otherwise, lock them away or find an obscure hiding place to stash them! If you • No one wants to come have a taken out insurback to frozen pipes af- ance, check what the ter Christmas, which policy says. can cause major problems and costs that • Check that you’ve you could be liable for! switched off any electriThough it is tempting cal items you won’t use to save some money by – including your wi-fi – turning the heating off, ,and that you’ve closed try and leave it on for a all of the windows! least a couple of hours • Make it look like there a day, to keep the pipes is still someone home: warm and prevent them timer switches can be
bought from DIY-type stores (try B&Q, Homebase or Class Olsen), and can be used to switch on lamps or even a radio at set times of day. This’ll make it look like there is someone in, even if there isn’t! • If you share the accommodation, it’s helpful to know who will be in the house and when: check with your housemates!
Question time
You probably know that if you live in a household of full-time students you won’t need to pay council tax - but did you know you need to let the council know you’re a student? The University has some useful info in the Online Student Handbook, available on their website. If you get a letter from the local authority about Council Tax DON’T IGNORE IT!!! Come and see us if you need some help.
Free Money Advice
My bank has charged me for being overdrawn – I thought my overdraft was interest-free because I’m a student? Student bank accounts will generally have an element of free over drafts – but this is only up to an agreed amount. Once you go over the amount, your bank will start to charge you. How much they charge differs between bank accounts: it may be a flat rate, but they may charge an additional amount for each day / week / month you re-
Council Tax
The RUSU Student Advice Team offer are trained professionals, offering confidential and independent information and advice to all students.
main over your agreed overdraft limit – check your terms and conditions. If you need to use your overdraft, try and leave a ‘buffer’ amount, to make sure you don’t go over your agreed overdraft limit.
Contact us by email at: stu.adv@reading.ac.uk or come to a drop-in session: Got a question for our next edition? Ask stu. adv@reading.ac.uk with “cashpoint question” as the email title.
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays 10.00am – 12.45pm Wednesdays 2.00pm – 4.30pm We are open through the Summer holidays.
Top tip of the issue Carry around some cash: In a recent survey of 2,000 Brits published by Skrill, 13% of people said that they would buy something that they didn’t need or want just to make up the amount they needed in order to pay by their debit or credit card – not a great idea when you have limited cash! Avoid this by carrying around a small amount of money around with you.
Website we like Interested in some more tips for saving money over the winter? Check out www.nasma. org.uk/students/Money-Hints-Tips