The student life style... Advice, tips and pitfalls

[ApeShapeDeity]

Student life is, by it's very nature challenging.

Mostly when we head off to get our education we have little to no money or other resources (including real life experience).

So, escapists... Why not share your insights about student life? There are a lot of tips and tricks out there, for example;

*Your favourite recipie that only costs five bucks a pot
*How to clean your clothes with baking soda
*Brewing you own beer
*Finding second hand text books
*Advice on sharing living space
*How to entertain yourself on a budget

From me, there's this... Get some mates together and co-op your food buying. Pool your money and get big sacks of rice, bulk buy meat and veg. You can save what seems like a small fortune.

 

[Furious Styles]

Cheap food- Chilli con carne
Just buy beef mince, tinned tomatoes, cumin, kidney beans, onion, chilli powder and garlic. brown the beef, fry the onions then add the rest and leave to simmer. Costs bugger all and goes great with rice.

Also pasta and pesto is great and very easy, but not that cheap.

Entertainment on a budget- movie nights, just get people round, get some beers and a good film and have a good evening

I had to buy a brew my own beer kit, don't know how to do it without one but they don't cost much

Don't know about the rest

 

[Anarchemitis]

Eating out a lot gets very expensive very quickly. Reward yourself with going to restaraunts or buying pizza and such.

 

[Craorach]

Never was a student, but one of the best bits of advice I heard friends who were dispense was this.

"Do not forget why you are there, you are an adult now. Things you do will have repercussions. If you spend all your money on booze, you won't be able to afford food.. or rent.. or tuition. If you go to every class hungover, you will not be able to concentrate. Have fun, but learn moderation."

 

[gamer_parent]

- a rice cooker can be a your best friend.
- a little bit of veggies and meat, mix in pan with a bit of oil + sauce, fry that up + rice = pretty darn good meal
- fast food is both bad for you AND it's actually really expensive, don't do it
- get health insurance if you can possibly afford it
- you'd be surprised at the kind of stuff other kids are willing to throw out. If you're living on a budget, don't feel bad about taking what others don't want. (That's how I managed to furnish much of my dorm room back when I was in college)

 

[ApeShapeDeity]

Council pick-up days are a good source of busted up but free furnishing. Go to the wealthy areas, you'd be suprised what rich people will throw out. Either way, leave the matresses... ew.

 

[Aurgelmir]

Student life is, by it's very nature challenging.

Mostly when we head off to get our education we have little to no money or other resources (including real life experience).

So, escapists... Why not share your insights about student life? There are a lot of tips and tricks out there, for example;

*Your favourite recipie that only costs five bucks a pot
*How to clean your clothes with baking soda
*Brewing you own beer
*Finding second hand text books
*Advice on sharing living space
*How to entertain yourself on a budget

From me, there's this... Get some mates together and co-op your food buying. Pool your money and get big sacks of rice, bulk buy meat and veg. You can save what seems like a small fortune.

Me and my roommate actually DID brew our own beer. We used a kit so its really easy to do, the only issue is that it takes forever to become good, so don't expect free beer the first year or so

I think the kit cost us about $20 so it is dirt cheap for 20 liters of beer.

 

[x0ny]

DO NOT co-op food buying, this will only lead to arguments as some people eat more than others. Keep your money to yourself as money is normally the fuel for arguments, use only what you buy, share only if you're readily willing to share and not expecting something in return.

Bottom line, don't be a dick ie: be considerate, think of the consequences of your actions before going through with them, how will it affect the people around you, if unsure then ask them.

Final note: Don't hog the bandwidth.

 

[CardinalPiggles]

DO NOT BUY FAST FOOD!!!

its very expensive and also makes you very fat.

 

[thylasos]

Pay attention to the lectures, read up over the summer, and get a part-time job in first year before the academic workload overtakes you.

Hang out with some of the international students, they have some interesting parties.

Learn a language, it's probably your best opportunity to get an extra one under your belt.

Also, possibly most importantly, with essays over 5000 words, do a bit every day and don't let the anxiety overtake you as the deadline approaches.

Learn to cook things in batches and freeze it for the next week so you don't get sick of your (most likely relatively small) cooking repertoire.

 

[theevilsanta]

You need to elaborate on exactly what sort of "student life" situation you are experiencing. I went to a high-end, private university in the United States. Are you going to a two year school in the UK? If you're going to a school similar to mine I can offer a lot of good advice. If you're going to school in a totally different environment my advice would almost certainly be counter-productive. Also, are you just asking about inexpensive ways to live (reasonably healthily)? Because I think you're asking more than that, yet most people are responding as if you asked that. We just need more info.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

The Baked Potato. All your basic nutrients for 20p a meal. Equally, packet noodles.

One alcoholic drink, One non-alcoholic drink, repeat.

(s)he doesn't love you, you're just having sex.

Keep an eye on anything you wouldn't want your little bro to thief.

Parents do know what goes on, don't fool yourself.

Equally, smiling sweetly and telling them how much you miss them gets an awful lot of laundry done.

Charity shops will provide you clothes, entertainment and possible jobs. Find them and treat them well.

Mad Dog 20-20/White Lightning/Tesco Value Vodka/WKD/Tequilla are not toys. Although you can have some very fun times.

Avoid all cameras.

Be nice to Mr Policeman. He hasn't been drinking and will throw one of you in the cooler.

No, your friend isn't spontaneous and short-tempered, he's a psycho.

Pro-Plus takes double what it gives, in fact, apply that to all drugs.

Do a bit of exercise, fatty. Tidy up and start your work sooner. Then you can arse about as much as you like.

 

[Dumori]

The Baked Potato. All your basic nutrients for 20p a meal. Equally, packet noodles.

One alcoholic drink, One non-alcoholic drink, repeat.

(s)he doesn't love you, you're just having sex.

Keep an eye on anything you wouldn't want your little bro to thief.

Parents do know what goes on, don't fool yourself.

Equally, smiling sweetly and telling them how much you miss them gets an awful lot of laundry done.

Charity shops will provide you clothes, entertainment and possible jobs. Find them and treat them well.

Mad Dog 20-20/White Lightning/Tesco Value Vodka/WKD/Tequilla are not toys. Although you can have some very fun times.

Avoid all cameras.

Be nice to Mr Policeman. He hasn't been drinking and will throw one of you in the cooler.

No, your friend isn't spontaneous and short-tempered, he's a psycho.

Pro-Plus takes double what it gives, in fact, apply that to all drugs.

Do a bit of exercise, fatty. Tidy up and start your work sooner. Then you can arse about as much as you like.

Best advice ever sir.

 

[ApeShapeDeity]

You need to elaborate on exactly what sort of "student life" situation you are experiencing. I went to a high-end, private university in the United States. Are you going to a two year school in the UK? If you're going to a school similar to mine I can offer a lot of good advice. If you're going to school in a totally different environment my advice would almost certainly be counter-productive. Also, are you just asking about inexpensive ways to live (reasonably healthily)? Because I think you're asking more than that, yet most people are responding as if you asked that. We just need more info.

More specific direction, eh?

Well, I understand the tertiary education system to be fairly different in the US as compared to my good 'ol Australa. If you have good advice for a lifestyle in a different context to most, just present it as such. Even if your advice is to avoid buying the Hummer because it's too big for the student car park...

 

[Wayneguard]

Drinking... makes... you fat... This is the number one reason to not do it. Losing weight is hard and gaining weight, especially by means of alcohol consumption, is very easy.

 

[MagnetoHydroDynamics]

Beans, chickpeas, lentil.
Dirt cheap, protein filled, tasty.

Also, get a room mate who is your long time friend. Then educate each other on good behaviour when sharing a home.

 

[WolfEdge]

Keep track of ALL of your purchases.

Seriously, nothing sucks quite like realizing you forgot about that errant ten-dollar movie charge and now can't pay for you car insurance for the month, or worse, the RENT.

 

[Trivun]

Don't buy text books unless your library doesn't have them, unless you're on a course that is very book-intensive. My course has a reading list but most of it is kind of useless, I haven't bought a single non-leisure book in all my time at university, every book I've needed I borrowed from the library on campus.

Also, make damn certain to get involved in societies and groups while at university, because it's a sure-fire way of making friends fast. I didn't live with my old flatmates this year, I'm living with a girl I met through a society and one of her coursemates, and my social life is built around friends I met through groups and societies. Which is pretty good as my old flatmates were mostly the 'let's go and get drunk!' sort of people, whereas my societal friends are much more like me.

 

[Trivun]

Oh, and another thing. I shouldn't really say this since I work part-time for a supermarket, and it's illegal (at least in the UK), but try hanging around the bins by your local supermarket when they close. Stay out of sight so you're not caught, then raid the bins. There is so much food that gets thrown away because it's 'out of date', that we're not allowed to give away to homeless shelters because it's illegal (we're held liable if the homeless people get food poisoning). Thing is, unless the packaging is damaged, it'll almost always keep for at least a few days afterwards if you get it quick. I've had to throw away so much good food in the past as part of my job, because of the date code. So if you're a penniless starving student, then free food from the bins is certainly worth it (and not exactly unhygienic, as it's still sealed in the packaging ) and gets rid of waste by so much...

And yes, I do know people who've done this themselves, at my university. Though I'm not certain if they've ever done it at the supermarket I work for (never noticed anyone doing it at any rate, though my colleagues have told me stories of their own experiences seeing people around the bins...).

 

[Lilani]

-snip-

I've never been to a college party, and nor do I intend to as being around a bunch of drunken strangers and waking up in a pile of my own vomit does not sound like a fun way to spend a weekend. However I think the most repeated pieces of advice I received before I went off to college were:

* Never let your drink out of your sight
* Never take a mixed drink that you didn't see being made
* Don't let yourself get totally wasted unless you know and trust everyone else present

Because roofies, theft, and sexual assault are not fun.

Also, you'll probably want to be the leader in all of your group projects if you care anything about your grade in that class. Otherwise, you can bet everyone else in your group doesn't give two shits and won't bat an eye at doing no work. Unless you happen to be lucky enough to get paired with an extreme type A (and even then I'm sure they'd appreciate some help, so so that YOU'RE not the lazy group member that doesn't care).