I am Cerys, a fourth year Zoology MSci student based in Penryn, Cornwall. Zoology and animals have always been my passion and completing a degree in Zoology was always my aim. But University hasn’t been totally easy. Money troubles have always been a huge concern for me, but when taking the leap to move away for university I wanted to ensure that my memories were not limited by my bank account. I am here to share my experiences with you to show you how you can have a fantastic student life, without breaking the bank, to ensure that you can maintain balance between study and social activities.
Budgeting
Student life has the association with partying, trips out and generally being an expensive lifestyle, however lots of students budget their money per month to track their spending and ensure they aren’t overspending where necessary. Budgeting is a really efficient way to track how you spend your money, and better plan for future outgoings, providing peace of mind and financial security for anyone who might worry otherwise about finances during their studies. While budgeting can be stressful because you might feel like you need to limit the activities you take part in, or make sacrifices by lower quality products, I have found through trial-and-error methods of planning and money spending, setting a general budget works better for me than being strict on day-to-day spending, and often means that I don’t have to compromise on memories.
Many students have find that using banks such as Monzo is a great way to budget and save because their apps are designed to help you track and managing spending. One friend encouraged me to use Monzo for its ‘round up’ function. This means that you subconsciously save extra pennies, and the pennies make pounds! I also found that there are a range of other apps available to assist budgeting, but a simple Excel spreadsheet can be just as effective if constructed correctly. If I could recommend anything, it would be to try out a few budgeting and saving methods and find out what works for you. Chat with friends, see what they do to stay on top of their finances and test out all the options to see what is most effective for your spending and lifestyle.
Student Deals & Discounts
It’s no secret that students love to make use of their student IDs to get discounts on everything from food and, clothes, to subscriptions. Knowing what shops and organisations offer student discount can be a fantastic way to make sure that you’re saving money on essentials (and non-essentials too!). UniDays, Student Beans and Totum are popular apps that allow students to use discounts on a huge variety of online stores and companies such as National Express, ASOS and Dominos. If you’re studying in Cornwall, many of the small businesses from Falmouth to Truro offer a student discount, so it’s always worth asking too, just make sure you have your ID to hand! My favourite is ‘inhabit’ in Truro, which offers 10% student discount, and has everything from plants to jewellery!
Student perks don’t stop here, with the FirstBus App offering a discounted student ticket for terms or annually. Making purchases like this can be highly beneficial in the long-term saving money on travel to campus. There are also discounts available on campus, with the University’s FLEXSI Fitness Gym offering reduced gym membership prices at the beginning of terms to encourage students to sign up and get involved in classes and gym sessions.
What does the University offer?
Not every activity and daytrip should cost huge amounts. It is possible to make great memories, whilst on a budget. Down in Cornwall the FXU Student Union runs a fantastic range of workshops and trips, some that are free and others that are at a great discounted rate. The SU activities can range from crafts sessions to, coffee mornings to social walks – whatever you fancy trying there is usually an option with the Student Union. Alongside the SU, Penryn campus has an amazing group of students called ResLife that host a range of affordable, sociable activities all year round. These activities also range from free to a small price and include trips to the Eden Project, pumpkin carving in Koofi (the campus pizza cafe) or free yoga sessions. These opportunities are a fantastic way to spend time with friends and meet new people, without having huge reliance on disposable income.
Societies are also a fantastic way to socialise with minimal payments. My hobbies and interests have led me to joining FXU Athletics and EcoSoc. These societies have been fantastic for me in that they only require one compulsory yearly payment (with optional further payments for equipment, trips or competitions). After paying these membership fees, I then have access to weekly training sessions with FXU Athletics and activities such as mammal trapping, moth trapping and quiz nights with EcoSoc. Through these societies I have met lots of my friends and made some of my favourite university memories. I have been to the Eden Project with FXU Athletics, where we got free entry following attending the Saturday ParkRun. This was a fantastic way for us to complete our weekly Saturday 5k and have an adventure with friends with minimal spending required. EcoSoc also hosts plenty of nature walks for bird watching, learning flora ID and rockpooling sessions. My annual membership fee to these societies has opened the door to so many memories and experiences.
Making the most of Cornwall
Being an avid runner and zoologist, I spend a lot of time outdoors and I’m lucky enough to have friends that do the same. This means that long walks often provide a great way to explore the local area without spending money to do so. College reservoir and Argal reservoir are not far from Penryn campus and even accessible without a car, so offer a perfect nature escape when you want some time away from studying but don’t want to spend money. These are personal favourites for me with an abundance of wildlife to be immersed in and the lovely little café, Wild Vibes, at Argal reservoir. These adventures in the local area can become a bit more exciting with a bus or train ticket! I have had many adventures to places like Marazion, Hayle and Porthleven which offer new scenery and wildlife – particularly lots of birds if you’re a keen birder like me.
The Cornish campus has it’s perks for being a coastal location over being a city campus. There is an abundance of beaches to chose from depending on your selected mode of transport. If you’re walking from campus, Penryn harbour is a lovely place to sit and take 5 from the hustle and bustle of the world, or a stroll down the estuary path is lovely at high tide. It is here that I saw my first Curlew and Sandpiper (birds again haha!). If you’re catching a bus towards Falmouth then Gylly beach is a popular spot for students, where there is an abundance of biodiversity in rockpools. Gylly beach is especially popular in the summer where beach barbecues are a big hit!
Cornwall is fantastic for local events and festivals. From the annual sea shanty festival to the weekly Food Barn food market in Flushing, there are endless events in the area for students to attend. One of the highlights of student life in Penryn and Falmouth is the local festivals, and I can highly recommend giving them a go. The Food Barn is a fantastic opportunity to support local businesses and do something a bit different. My personal favourite is the French food business Bien Manger, and stopping at their stall also may mean that you get to say hello to their lovely Golden Retriever! My friends would all also recommend the sea shanty festival, a popular and iconic annual festival for Cornwall, featuring icons like The Oggymen – You cannot miss it!
Socialising on a budget
When I first moved away from home for university, I was worried about my finances, but I was also worried that my friends would not be in the same situation as me. Whilst I have met a huge variety of people, from various places, backgrounds and financial situations, most people are money conscious like me. This meant that when suggesting cheaper socialising options, most people were still keen to get involved!
University has also opened the door to meeting so many new people originating from different places around the world. One of my favourite ways to learn about other people’s culture and lives is to take part in a potluck dinner. These events involve each attendee bringing a different sharing platter of a food which is then shared with everyone. These get togethers mean there is lots of new and yummy food, with minimised costs for everyone. On a similar note, game nights are also an alternative option to a night out of food and drinking. Game nights can involve board games, homemade quizzes or puzzles where everyone can take part and bring along a few small snacks. I’ve had some of my favourite university evenings during games nights, from learning new card games to head-to-head quizzes against friends. Games nights, movie nights or just general catch-up nights in are a great alternative to expensive meals and pub evenings.
You do not need to compromise on your memories! I hope that through this you can see just how great it is to live in Cornwall for University, and how there are tips and tricks that you can use to maximise your budget.
What next?
- Try out some new budgeting techniques to see where you could be saving money to put towards more adventures!
- Introduce some cheaper activities to your social calendar!
- Check out the Student Union website, and ResLife to see what events you could attend
- Tag @uniofexeter and @uniexecornwall in your adventures!