7 ways for students to save money over summer

The beginning of the summer holidays is the highlight of most university student’s year. No more lectures, weeks of lay-ins, festivals and catching up with friends – summer is the time for students to chill out and enjoy themselves after a hard year of learning.

Unfortunately, all this enjoying yourself doesn’t come cheap. Unless you’ve been a super savvy saver over the last 10 months, your student loan well is likely running dry and the prospect of working full-time to get all the money you need is not really what university summers are all about.

While you’ll probably have to work some part of the summer break, you can still get a pretty good work/social life balance if you look for ways to save money over summer.

By following a few simple of our money saving tricks, you’ll have a little bit of extra money in your back pocket for all those pub garden nights, last-minute road trips and even to take back to uni with you for those long winter months.

To help you on your way to getting the most out of your summer holiday – here are 7 ways for you to save money over summer

1. Start saving ASAP

The quickest and easiest way to save money this summer is to not spend it. Easier said than done of course but even putting aside a small percentage of your wages or allowance will soon add up to a decent amount by the end of the summer.

Something like £5-£10 a week for the next 5/6 weeks will set you up with a nice little pot for the start of new university term. Whether it’s for supplies or to fully enjoy freshers’ week, you’ll be grateful to your summer self for helping you out.

2. Get a bank account that helps you

You’re probably already well into your overdraft by the time the summer comes around but that doesn’t mean you can’t switch accounts to get a better deal.

It’s really important to compare the deals you can get and make a choice that gives you the most bang for your buck. Don’t, as Money Saving Expert explains, just go for the one with the best freebie…

You could get a larger 0% overdraft or be able to keep that overdraft for longer by switching student accounts. While obviously, you will have to pay the overdraft back in the future, this could give you an extra bit of money over summer.

3. Shop smarter

As a student, if you’re paying full price for clothes and accessories you’re doing something wrong! From student discounts to second-hand clothes, there are so many ways to save money and shop smarter this summer.

Discount cards like UNiDAYS and NUS Extra can give you 10% and more discount for a range of high-street and online retailers like:

• Accessorize
• Adidas
• Asos
• Boohoo.com
• Burton
• Dorothy Perkins
• New Look
• Topman
• Urban Outfitters

If your circumstances mean that even with discount these shops are out of your price range, or you just want to save even more money this summer, you can get top quality second-hand clothes from loads of different places.

As well as the usual charity shops and second-hand stores, sites like Vinted and apps like Depop have become super popular in recent years as students and other young people look to make some extra cash by selling their unwanted clothes. You can pick up some real bargains on there and if you’re into the retro look, you’ll be in heaven.

Whatever you’re looking for this summer, seek out sales, deals and bargains where ever you can. The money you save on your new wardrobe can put towards a night out where you can show off your new purchases.

4. Sell! Sell! Sell!

Why let other students make all the money by selling their clothes? If you’re looking for a bit of extra spending money this summer, selling a load of your old clothes can be a great way to boost your balance – plus you’ll be making some room at home and stop you having to take tons of clothes back to uni with you.

As well as a number of different online marketplaces, you can also make money by selling your clothes by the kilo. This can be a great alternative if you have loads of clothes to get rid of or if you don’t want to take the time and effort to set up a profile and take pictures of all the clothes you’re selling.

5. Only pay for the car insurance you actually need

If you’re busy socialising this summer, you’ll want to be able to get around. Most university students don’t own a car and if they want to drive during the summer holidays, they’ll need to either get a car and buy an annual insurance policy or get added as a named driver to their parent’s policy.

Both options come with their own downsides. Buying a years’ worth of cover when you’ll actually only need a few weeks is a huge waste of money and something that’s not going to help you save the pennies this summer.

Being a named driver is certainly the cheaper option, but it does come with certain risks. If, while using the car you have an accident, the owner of the car normally your parents or other family members would lose their No Claims Discount.

A No Claims Discount can save a driver up to 65% on their annual insurance premiums and if losing it, especially when they’re not even the one driving, can be extremely frustrating and certainly won’t put you in their good books!

There is, however, an option that allows you to borrow your parent’s car, as and when you need it without having to fork out for an annual policy that also protects the car owners No Claims Discount.

Temporary student car insurance is fast, flexible and affordable insurance option for students looking for short term cover to drive a family members car.

Policies are available from 1-28 days at a time and come with comprehensive cover as standard. As the cover is a separate, standalone policy, it will have no impact on the owner’s annual insurance.

To get a quote, all you need is:

• A university student with a valid university email address
• Aged between 18 and 25
• Home from university wanting to drive a parent or other relative’s car
• The vehicle must be in a roadworthy condition with a current and valid MOT (unless you are using the insurance policy to take the vehicle to a pre-booked MOT)
• The vehicle must be taxed (unless you are using the insurance policy to obtain tax for the vehicle immediately after purchase)
• The vehicle cannot be declared as SORN

If you don’t meet these requirements, or you need to add an additional driver to the policy, Tempcover.com can still offer great value short term cover through our standard temporary car insurance scheme.

6. In fact, don’t overpay for any transport

Regardless of how you plan to get around this summer, if you’re a student, there are so many ways to save money on transport.

If you frequently get trains, you could save a third on tickets with a 16-25 Railcard. It’s £30 for a year, or £70 for 3 years. It’s a bit of an investment up front but after even a few journeys it will soon start to pay for itself.

There is also a wide range of different young person’s bus passes available depending on where you live and the bus operator in your area. Check your local councils or local bus operator’s website for more details.

7. Stop paying for what you don’t use

While at university, especially if you’ve moved away to study, you’re likely to have signed up to classes, memberships, and clubs that you won’t be using over the summer.

You don’t want to have to pay for things like the gym when you’re not going to be using it, so try and freeze or cancel the direct debits for the time you’re back at home.

You can always restart the memberships when you go back to uni but in the meantime, these subscriptions will be draining money that could go towards something more exciting.