Cost of Living

Living with inflation and the rising cost of living

The UK is amid a cost-of-living crisis. Prices are rising at rates we have not seen since the 1970s – energy, broadband, water, council tax, food, fuel and more. This is a guide to saving money to get yourself through this situation.

The University and Reading Students’ Union are working together to support you during this time. We have launched a Cost-of-Living Taskforce with Elizabeth, your Pro Vice Chancellor for Education & Student Experience and Sheldon, your 2022/23 Reading Students' Union President. Listen to Elizabeth and Sheldon explain how we are supporting you.

We have highlighted the most relevant support and practical suggestions for making your money go further.

What support is available?

SUPPORT AVAILABLE	HOW TO ACCESS IT
Student Support Fund: designed to help alleviate unexpected financial hardship that may affect your ability to study or support yourself. Awards from the Support Fund can be used towards unexpected living costs of £1,500 - £3,000 depending on your circumstances.	Applications for the Support Fund will re-open at the end of October 2023.
Clever Cuisine Eating Plans: the student financial support team have a limited number of free eating plans it can offer to students during term-time for up to 11 weeks if you are in unexpected financial hardship. These meal plans provide access to home-cooked meals including the University's all-you-can eat locations.	Enquiries for specific discounts to meal plans can be made to studentfunding@reading.ac.uk. Students can also be referred via the Student Welfare Team, Reading Students' Union advice specialists and the Chaplaincy.
Essentials Cupboard: Essentials Cupboard: set up and designed to give in the moment support and can provide three to four days’ worth of essential items including food with recipe ideas, household items and personal care.	Enquiries for access to the Essentials Cupboard to be made via studentfunding@reading.ac.uk or book an appointment to talk with one of our advisers.
Digital Supermarket Vouchers: We have a limited number of £50 supermarket vouchers available if you are struggling to pay for essential items and feed yourself. see our advice on Getting the Most out of your money.	Please enquire via studentfunding@reading.ac.uk or book an appointment to talk with one of our advisers.

How is the University keeping costs down on campus?

Continuing to make campus more affordable by freezing costs and making it possible for students to make savings.

	University accommodation costs are set a year in advance and include all utility bills and council tax as well as some insurance.
	Clever Cuisine Meal Plans are open to all students and cover a variety of plans including partially catered options from three meal swipes and five hot drinks each week which can be used at any time to three meals a day (21 meal swipes per week). Several locations such as Eat at the Square operate all you can eat, offering excellent value for money for a varied meal. All Meal Plans include free hot drinks saving students even more and can be used outside of mealtimes.
	Cafes on campus will no longer charge for milk alternatives when you purchase a hot drink, smoothie, or milkshake. Available milk alternatives include Oat, Soya, Coconut, Lactose Free.
	The SportsPark offers a variety of membership options. The VO2 membership of £24 per month includes unlimited gym and classes. Membership is via flexible direct debit payment scheme that you can cancel anytime you like.

Earn while you learn

Consider working part-time during term-time, and potentially full-time in the University holidays. As well as paying the bills, your work experience will help you develop your skills and learn more about what you want from work. Recruiters love to see people with part-time and short-term experiences applying for them too, so it will help you secure more interviews later in your life too.

View Careers webinars on finding work, earning money, freelancing and hustles to help you identify what to do, and how to do it:

You can find jobs on campus via Campus Jobs, and part-time work off-campus via MyJobsOnline. There are lots more ideas for where to find work in the videos.

If you want to talk your options through with someone you can book an appointment with one of the Careers Consultants via MyJobsOnline.

What is Campus Jobs?

Campus Jobs is the centralised service that provides part-time work opportunities across the University of Reading campuses. There is a wide variety of jobs available including, but not limited to, Bars & Dining Assistants, Student Ambassadors, Student Content Creators, Reading Scholars Mentors and Administration Support roles.

All of the jobs are flexible meaning you can decide how many hours you can work without impacting your studies. The rates of pay vary depending on the role, but the rate of pay will always be clear from the job advert. You can register to view the latest roles, find out more about applying, and becoming a Campus Jobs worker.

Further Information, advice and support

Keep yourself informed and up to date with the latest financial landscape, help others and gain access to money saving tips, discounts and offers.

Blackbullion is available to all current students providing online advice and support on money related matters.
The Student Financial Support team are here to help with your financial questions, whether it's regarding your tuition fee or maintenance loan, Bursaries and Awards or advice on how we can support you if you are experiencing unexpected financial difficulties.
Reading Students' Union Advice Service all students have access to Reading Students' Union's free Specialist Money Advisors, trained and experienced in offering confidential, independent advice and information on all money related matters. Advisors can also support in applications to various support funds and offer debt advice and welfare benefits advice.
Create a personal Budget Planner with Money Helper
Turn2Us have a grants search on their website, so can help you to find any funding which might be available from trusts and charities. They can also offer information which may be useful to students.
Money Advice Trust's offer a range of support and advice including debt management.
The Money Charity highlight savings opportunities for students.
National Debtline 0808 808 4000 offer support and ways to avoid slipping into debt.
StepChange Charity: 0800 138 1111 offer free debt help and advice.
Citizens Advice Bureau offer specific advice on managing the cost of living crisis - speak to someone 0808 278 7819.
Save the Student pulls together the top offers from discounts sites available to UK students.
OLIO connects neighbours with each other and with local businesses so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away.
Too good to go is an app to connect you to local food stores and restaurants offering surplus food waste.
Help for households from the government, see if you are eligible.

Support in your local community

Winter Watch is available to Reading residents who are on a low income and either over 60, have young children, have a disability or health concerns, have never lived independently, or struggle financially.

Citizens advice support and savings for the Reading area with suggestions for reducing costs, consumption and making savvy savings in all aspects of your daily life.

Suggestions for reducing costs, consumption and making savvy savings in all aspects of your daily life:

Energy consumption

With a big chunk of student budgets being spent on energy bills, it makes sense to look for ways to reduce the amount of gas and electricity you use.

Reducing your energy use is good for your bank balance and the planet.

The Energy Saving Trust have great advice on energy efficiency when renting a home.

NUS Student Switch Off+ offer advice on energy charges and ways to reduce your energy use.

Money Saving Expert has a site dedicated to ways to cut the cost of your energy bills and consumption.

Saving energy, saving the planet! is a useful blog post for tips and advice from the University’s Energy & Sustainability Director on reducing energy consumption and saving money and the planet.

Food & Drink

Having a meal plan for the food outlets on campus can be a great way to keep track of your food spending, reduce the cost of individual meals and help reduce your food waste. Check out The Beginners Guide to Meal Planning and The Best Way to Use a Weekend for Meal Planning Success.

Taking stock of your cupboards, fridge, and freezer before writing a shopping list. Planning meals ahead can help a little go further.
Schedule time for shopping. Rushing around the supermarket (or quickly doing an online shop) can lead to random items in the basket. The Money Helper service found that people who shop while tired spend an extra £14.53 each time.

If you are looking for bargains, go early opening or shop late in the day before closing when items are often reduced for last minute sale.
Check out the Save the Students guide for saving money while grocery shopping.

Why not become a Co-op member for £1 so that you can earn rewards and receive personalised offers weekly for Co-op Food at our Whiteknights campus. You can also use a NUS TOTUM card to get an extra 10% off your shopping bill.

Too Good to Go Scheme: Our Catering teams aim to avoid food waste but where this is unavoidable, they offer customers the chance to purchase a “Magic Bag” for £3.39. This bag will contain approx. £10 worth of food items which are still in date but that would have gone to waste unless purchased on that day, before the end of business. Join Our Food Waste Movement | Too Good To Go

Aim to buy supermarket or value brands which tend to be cheaper than brand named goods and taste as good - if not better.Look out for unique offers on food or household items such as 2 for 1 deal - just be careful to only buy what you need and not to buy something just because it seems a bargain.

Lots of shops are removing 'best before' dates on products to reduce waste but do look at the 'use by' dates to ensure you have time to eat the product safely. Remember that best before dates are about quality whilst use by dates are about safety. You can read more about this from the Food Standards Agency.

Refresh your cooking skills and get a student cookbook which will have nutritional but low-cost recipes. A useful website to help budgeting for food is Student Recipes which has everything from learning how to boil an egg to finding inspirational vegetarian recipe ideas.

• NHS Eatwell guide and getting your five a day fruit and veg
• Eat well, spend less food fact sheet from the British Diabetic Association.
• Supermarket shopping tips from the Money Saving Expert.
• How to save money on your food budget from Money Aware.
• 55 ways to save money on food from Save the Student!
• Student recipes from BBC Good Food
• Nosh for students student cookbook (free sample recipes in the preview)
• Feed your family has meal plans, shopping lists and recipes to help cook healthy meals for your family.

Health & Wellbeing

You may be able to save money on prescriptions via the NHS Low Income Scheme or buying an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate.

Mental Health & Money Advice offer support on managing your mental health and financial wellbeing.

NHS Fitness Pass

Explore green spaces and nature trails on campus with your friends.

Travel & Transport

Public transport is by far the cheapest way to travel and as a student you can apply for a range of student bus tickets depending on your travel needs. If you are travelling by train, then you can apply for a Student Railcard for 1/3 off rail fares throughout Britain.

The University has lots of offers for students to help you chose alternative and more sustainable modes of transport.

In response to the cost-of-living crisis the University is providing additional funding to the Student Financial Support team to introduce financial support to commuting students with the Commuter Travel Bursary. This can help with public transport costs to study at our Whiteknights or London Road campus.

General tips, advice and discounts

• Take advantage of a range of student discounts by signing up for a TOTUM card. TOTUM is the only student discount card recommended by the National Union of Students and using this you can access discounts on meals out, travel, fashion, entertainment and more.

• UNiDAYS is a discount website available for free to students across the world. Current university students can sign up to get discounts on a wide range of services and products.

• If you need a new PC or laptop, both Dell and Apple offer hardware discounts for students.

• Try a 'no-spend weekend' where you use up your leftover food from the week, and do free activities like a movie night at home, board game night, visit (free) museums and attractions. Just doing this once a month will have a positive impact on your finances.

• Office 365 available to all University of Reading students provides access to free software. AppsAnywhere is a web based tool which provides access to software applications you use for studying.

• Scholarships Hub can help you check if you could be eligible for any externally funded scholarships.

• Exploit cashback opportunities for online purchases. Although the cashback funds might not be received immediately, it could help you out when it comes to the summer 2023 period. Some cashback examples are Funds4Uni, Quidco and TopCashback. Don’t forget some banks also offer cashback on purchases so do check with your bank too.

• Amazon and Spotify offer student discounts on all of their annual and monthly plans and don’t forget sometimes there are sometimes great deals at Amazon Warehouse. Amazon Warehouse works best if there is something you were planning to buy anyway, and you can now get it even cheaper.

• Reading Students' Union Help Yourself Shelf: Have you visited the Reading Students' Union Help Yourself Shelf? They have lots of great freebies, helpful items and information - like free condoms, sanitary products, and pronoun badges. You can find it at reception in the Reading Students' Union building!

• Follow @unirdg_money on Instagram and Twitter for regular updates and money saving ideas.

Contact the Student Financial Support Team