Category Archives: University

Oops! Better Time Budgeting

Budget Time
photo by Mike9Alive

Well I hope you all had a good holiday, back at university now, apologies for the absence! I must try not to apologise in every post. Which brings me to my biggest flaw at university, my lack of time to do things I enjoy, or more importantly need to do. Probably this is down to me preferring to do things on the spur of the moment. Mind you I doubt I’m the only student who usually says yes to the offer of going to the pub! As people know TIME = MONEY, or for students TIME costs MONEY, and the fact is, the little ‘free’ time available often involves spending money for entertainment, e.g. cinema, pub, clubs, e.t.c.

Having a little extra time can save you money, an extra half hour in the evening could be used to cook a cost effective meal, rather than that expensive take-away or ready meal. Also that half hour could be used to finish that essay due in at 9am!

So what to do?

Plan, Plan, Plan ahead.

168 Hours you have each week, of which ideally you need to sleep 56 especially with exams ahead, therefore 112 Hours of usable time!

Obviously some of that is used up by work/lectures-

But you can:-

  • Get up in the morning (shock horror, students getting up on there days off, see zenhabits ideas if you need a little persuasion!)
  • Plan your meals in advance (no more thinking what shall I have for dinner, spending 10 mins thinking about it and then settling for the easy option.)
  • Set time specifically aside for work and play (sounds sensible but how many stick to it!)

Finally just remember time is like money, you always spend it, but unlike money you cannot earn it back. Just don’t cram to much in, a little relaxation (procrastination) time is always needed!

Still working on the time machine,

Martyn.

Call the World for Free, Why aren’t You Using Skype?

Skype kills the phoneSkype is simple, useful and free.

Well OK not strictly free. But it proved it’s worth in the first year I was at uni. My dilemma was simple, “how could I phone home cheaply and easily without a landline”. Firstly the mobile phone was ruled out, without doubt it is useful but it won’t be cheap, even making calls to a landline. The alternative was (without trying to sound like a geek!) voice over internet protocol or VoIP, for those who haven’t heard of or understand what this is, basicly it involves routing phone calls through the internet, or for more detail see the wikipedia article.

So how is this cheaper, firstly if you are talking to other users of VoIP then your call is completely free, secondly calls to landlines are often cheaper than making normal landline calls and certainly cheaper than payphones. Another positive is calls to international numbers are likely to be cheaper.

The drawbacks, well, people cannot phone you unless you pay for a number and then you have to be online to receive calls. Although if you are using an internet connection in a halls of residence you are unlikely to be paying costs equivalent to line rental. But call quality’s is not always as good as landline services. Also you need to have a microphone and headphones, but you could also use a webcam if you want.

But overall I was really pleased with the service I used, Skype, which is probably one off the most established VoIP operators. It allowed me to phone people cheaply without having to leave my computer, allowing me to do work at the same time! All you need to do is download the free software to your computer and follow their instructions. One last point if you are using university provided internet connection, check to see if Skype will work over it, for me it did but there is no guarantee as you are going over a network connection too. But if it does you should find Skype will help you save money whilst keeping in touch with family and friend!

Martyn.

image: www.freeimages.co.uk

Enjoy More, For Less

Cheap TicketsThere’s no point going to uni, if you just go to lectures and then spend the rest of your time staying at ‘home’. Nothing wrong with spending a little time socialising with your flatmates and friends in your new home, but everyone needs to get out and about at sometime.

The problem, well going out costs money. Going out to a club, costs you entry plus drinks to get you in the right ‘state’. Going to the cinema to see the ‘must see film’, all your friends have seen. The list goes on, but how do you get a great night for less money? Well with clubbing it’s worth setting yourself a limit, e.g. only withdraw a set amount of cash before you go out. Also try drinking at home before going to a club, it’s always cheaper (pubs/bars/breweries put a large mark up on pints, remember you’re paying to use there facilities), just don’t go over the top, else you will never get to the club! If you do want to go to pub first always try your student union bar/pub, they generally give the best deals on drinks. But also listen and look out for pubs and clubs doing student deals, and remember drink responsibly!

So you want to go to the cinema? But if you are not on the Orange network or it’s not Wednesday? What’s plan B?

Well try studentbeans.com

As long as you have a student I.D. you can get great offers to print off including my favourite 2 for 1 at Cineworld from Mon – Thur. There are many other offers in a range of categories such as entertainment or eating out. Some offers are better than others. One slight drawback is studentbeans.com is mainly based in and around major university cities in the UK, therefore not everywhere is covered. Although I would say coverage is pretty good.

Plus things just feel better if you get them cheaper than usual!

Cheers,

Martyn.

image: www.freeimages.co.uk