The big question is which one to go for. Most will be readily accessible offering online and telephone banking facilities and free cash machine withdrawals. You therefore need to base your decision elsewhere. Keeping it simple, there are two key issues to bear in mind when selecting a provider.

First of all, do not be taken in by the freebies on offer. Make sure you get the best account first. The value of freebies confuses the longer term issue and they are basically a ‘bribe’ to hook you in at a young age and hopefully obtain a customer for life. The value to you of a freebie pales into significance compared to the second issue to consider.

The key issue is to look for an account offering the longest 0% overdraft facility. All student accounts offer overdrafts, enabling you to withdraw (ie borrow) more money than you’ve put in there. As a student, you will almost certainly have to do this at some point. It is a fact that you are more likely to be in debt than the fortunate position of saving money. When it comes to students, banks allow you to borrow interest free, provided you stay within the limits. Therefore look for the bank that gives the most 0% borrowing for the longest period. This will be the most valuable benefit to you over the longer term.

However, be very careful with overdrafts….

• Never go above the agreed limit without agreeing this with your bank beforehand. If you do, you could be hit very hard with additional interest and penalties. Always talk to your bank first. If you get this wrong it can leave you with credit rating problems, lasting years.
• Never borrow more than you need, always remember that once you graduate you’ll have to repay these debts, so budget as best as you can and never spend more than is absolutely necessary.
• You will be credit scored. When you apply for any debt product, including a bank account with an overdraft, the lender will credit score you. This is to decide how desirable a customer you are based on behavioural predictions from all your prior financial data. Always be careful to avoid anything that can worsen your scoring.

Finally, returning to the freebies if all else is equal with overdraft facilities then these can certainly help make up your mind, so enjoy!

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1. Drinking
Drinking always has been a popular ‘pastime’ for students, but just think about how much you may be spending each month on alcohol alone. Consider visiting cheaper pubs or having a beer or two before you go out and cutting down what you have later. Also, if you like the club scene, then turn up before they start charging entry.

2. Eating Out
Student life doesn’t mean that you have to exclude meals out from time to time. There are simple ways of saving money here. Look out for student specials in local restaurants or go online and search for vouchers offering 2-for-1 deals or other discounts. Also, look out for BYOB restaurants where you only have to pay corkage.

3. Nights out at Cinema
More and more cinemas are offering great deals, you just need to find out what they are. Go online to your local cinemas’ sites and check them out. Also if you are an Orange customer don’t forget about their 2-for-1 deal on Wednesdays.

4. Spending on campus
Avoid buying your lunch each day on campus. If you spend say £5 each day, this could approach almost £1,000 a year! Consider taking in a packed lunch and you could save £100’s of pounds.

5. Food Shopping
Make sure you try out discount stores like Aldi or Lidl. They will be significantly cheaper than other stores and you will be pleasantly surprised by the quality as well as the extra pounds in your pocket.

6. Clothes
Try and avoid jumping onto the latest fashion bandwagon at the earliest opportunity, it will hurt your pocket. Also, have a look at your local charity shops where you will find the quality and range of clothes may be more than you thought and the price much less!

7. Shop Online
Buying online can be considerably cheaper than buying elsewhere. Technology, books, even clothes, are much cheaper to buy from sites like eBay.

8. Travel
If you live far from university you need to ensure that you get the best deal when returning home. To do this, book as early as possible with budget airlines, train companies and others.

9. Mobile Phones
Mobile phone contracts can be very costly if you must have the latest version with all the extras. Ask yourself if you really do need this before your current contract is up for renewal. Then shop around and make it clear that you are doing so. You can potentially make huge savings here by being realistic and doing your homework.

10. Stick to a Budget
Figure out how much money you are likely to have coming in each term and then decide how much you would like to save. The difference divided by the number of weeks in the term is simply how much you have to spend each week. Try and stick to these amounts.

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Life as a student is not all about managing course work, preparing for exams and enjoying an exciting social scene. Nowadays it is vital to manage your finances and avoid getting into a situation that could take years to repay any outstanding debts.

In doing this you must ensure you get the financial help that you are entitled to. This normally depends on your course, where you live while studying and your individual circumstances. However, the main types of help for new full-time higher education students in the UK include:

• Tuition fee loans to cover the full cost of tuition fees
• Maintenance loans to cover the cost of living expenses
• Grants to cover the cost of living expenses
• Bursaries and scholarships from universities and colleges

For the majority of students in the UK, a loan will comprise of the tuition fee loan plus a maintenance loan, and this will be paid directly at the start of each academic term. Everyone on an eligible course qualifies for 75% of the maximum loan, regardless of income, and the rest is income-assessed. The repayment of loans is repaid through the tax system, and only begins after the student has left higher education and is earning over £15,000.

So that you are fully aware of all the issues involved here, listed below is a selection of websites crammed with helpful information and links to other relevant sites. Have a look through one or two of them and you will feel much better informed of what’s involved here.

1) The Official Government Site – Sounds really official but worth looking at. It’s easy to navigate and is kept well up to date. To access Click Here .
2) UCAS – Another useful site which has a particularly good section on managing and saving money. To access Click Here .
3) Student Loan Company – The SLC provides and administers loans and grants to over 1m students annually across the UK. Their site provides useful personal finance information including good summaries of the four types of help mentioned above. To access Click Here .
4) The Guardian – It may not be your daily read but it has included a good site on its website covering student finance so have a look by Clicking Here .In particular have a look at their 10 saving tips to stretching your student budget.

Good luck and hopefully by following some of the guidance provided in the sources above you will be more financially secure on Graduation Day!

Finally, if there is anything that you feel needs more explanation after reviewing the sites highlighted please let us know and we will aim to respond.

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