Hi again KCL! This week, I’ll be focusing on ways to maximise your income – specifically, I’ll share with you the secrets of part-time jobs and ‘side-hustles’, and the ‘gig economy’.
Part-time jobs can be a great way to add to your CV, build your skill-set and confidence, and of course, earn some money to pay for your textbooks (or your next night out!). While part-time jobs can be a huge help when living in a city as expensive as London, I’d say it’s vital that you balance the time you spend working with the rest of your schedule, as holding down a job, doing a full-time degree course, and balancing other commitments can really easily lead to things like burnout and a feeling of being overwhelmed, so make sure you’re taking care of yourself! (If you’re an international student, I’d also advise you to contact KCL’s Visa & International Student Advice to see how many hours you’re allowed to work per week).
I myself have had a few part-time jobs at university, including an auditor, and of course, the fantastic role of being a Money Mentor (which is currently accepting applications if you’re interested), but there are tons of other student jobs up for grabs, with some of the most popular ones being a student ambassador, food delivery driver, student union worker, bartender etc. – if you’re looking for a job here at KCL, then the King’s Talent Bank is a great place to look for jobs that might appeal to you.
Side-hustles are similar, but technically are jobs that you do on the side of your main job. About 60% of students have reported having a side-hustle in the UK, and they can be a great way to not only earn money, but to do so creatively. There’s a lot of overlap with part-time jobs, but I’d argue that a side-hustle is less ‘full-on’ and intense. Some examples of great side-hustles can be paid proofreading of documents and other work, selling videos/pictures online via places like Getty Images, pet-sitting/dog-walking, and selling fashion items such as trainers. Side-hustles are also a great way to show some creativity on your CV, so if you have the time and a good idea for one, give them some consideration.
The gig economy is the name we give to the part of the labour market that depends on temporary/part-time positions filled by independent contractors or freelancers (self-employed people who do jobs for several different organisations instead of just staying at one). There are benefits and drawbacks to the gig economy. On the plus side, these kinds of jobs often give the workers a lot of flexibility, so can be great for students like us.
But on the down side, they can be unstable and have barely any job security, so I’d advise you to think carefully about whether this is the kind of lifestyle that suits you, and it’s also worth a discussion with King’s Careers and Employability, to see what sort of career you would like to have in the future.
Good luck!!
Shivam Chotai King’s Student Money Mentor Part of Money & Housing Advice
The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts.
So, you may have heard a lot about energy prices recently. As the Office of Gas and Electricity Price Markets (Ofgem) raised the cap on energy prices this year, lots of us are worried on how to afford our bills. While students living in halls of residence will often have their energy bills covered in their rent payments, people living in private accommodation may be experiencing some concern at the moment.
But fear not! KCL’s Money Mentors are here to help you understand energy prices and how they can be managed and provide some useful myth-busting tips and tricks.
Saving on energy:
Finding cheaper prices is always excellent, but aside from that, there are some things you can be doing right now to ensure that you’re keeping your own prices down!
From my own personal experience, I know that this can be difficult when sharing a flat, as people often have different preferences for how hot they keep the home. In these situations, having discussions about the benefits of a turning down the thermostat and proposing alternatives such as wearing thicker clothing when cold might prove effective.
Fitting a ‘water-saving shower head’
In terms of saving on water-related costs, one quick and easy way to do this is to reduce the amount of water that you shower with. One way of doing this is by fitting a ‘water-saving’ shower head. These devices can reduce the energy needed.
While tumble-dryers are often much more convenient, they use a significant amount of energy and can add to your costs! A cheaper alternative is to purchase an airer (also sometimes known as a drying rack/clothes horse). Airers are best used when you time them so that you put your wet clothes on them during the times you keep the heating on in the household, but try if possible to use an airer outdoors when the weather allows – the National House Building Council says drying your wet clothes on an airer indoors can cause issues with condensation and damp due to the circulation of the moisture in your home, which is particularly a problem if you’re living somewhere older and more poorly-insulated.
Aside from these useful tips, I thought I’d like to share some myths often shared by students on the subject of energy prices, and see whether or not there’s any merit to them:
MYTH: Painting the radiators black helps to reduce energy wastage
ANSWER: This is not true! While it is commonly believed that painting radiators black improves the absorption of heat, the Energy Saving Trust says that the difference compared to keeping them the normal white colour is negligible.
MYTH: If a socket is switched off, there’s no problem keeping your appliances plugged in
ANSWER: False! While not a significant amount, studies have shown that leaving the plugs of appliances in sockets, even when switched off, can use up energy. This is known as ‘vampire energy’ and means that you should definitely unplug all of your appliances when you are finished using them.
Individually, the amounts of energy saved while doing this may not be much, but over time, with the number of appliances you use on a daily basis, the savings can really add up!
MYTH: It’s cheaper to keep the heating on low all day than to only turn it up when you need to heat up a room
ANSWER: False! While this one is still debated, the Energy Saving Trust says that keeping your heating on low all day leaks a significant amount more energy than to raise the temperature when you need it. I’ve found that keeping your heater on a timer is an effective way of managing the temperature in your home throughout the day.
MYTH: Putting clingfilm over your windows is effective in keeping your home heated:
ANSWER: This is technically true! Although putting clingfilm over your windows may help to insulate your home as long as it’s airtight and completely transparent, you’re better off finding a home that has double glazed windows already.
The clingfilm works by trapping a small layer of air, which reduces how much heat can escape, but is much more effective as a second layer on windows that only have single glazing, than as a third layer on windows that are already double-glazed.
MYTH: It’s cheaper to use one main thermostat in the home than to use multiple thermostats on individual radiators:
ANSWER: FALSE! You can be more in charge of the way your home is heated by having thermostatic radiator valves on your radiators. These valves can be used with the main thermostat to better control the temperature in each room as you desire. One way of doing this is to use the thermostat to heat your main living space (e.g. the living room) and to use valves attached to radiators in other rooms to keep the temperature low in the rooms you use less.
According to the Energy Saving Trust, managing the temperature in this way would enable you to save approximately £75 a year!
I hope these tips and tricks have gotten you on your way to becoming a super saver with your energy bills in the future. If you still find yourself struggling at any point, please don’t hesitate to contact the Money & Housing Advice Team, who’ll be more than happy to confidentially discuss your situation with you.
Shivam Chotai King’s Student Money Mentor Part of Money & Housing Advice
The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts.
With the cost-of-living crisis and inflation, I know many of us are concerned about budgeting and ensuring we stay on top of our finances, which can be quite a feat considering it all can be a challenge to maintain.
I’m going to share some tips on planning your budget, including managing your maintenance loan, purchasing household goods, and working through your expenses. Hopefully, after reading this blog post, you will feel a lot more confident when thinking about your finances and will come to realise that budgeting isn’t as daunting as you might think!
First of all – the maintenance loan. For those of you who aren’t 100% sure of what it is, it is funding provided by the government for day-to-day expenses and is paid directly into your bank account in 3 instalments (September, January, and April). It is easy to get super excited when your funding first comes in but it is very important to set up a budgeting system so that you can stay on top of everything and that you don’t end up running out of money by the end of the semester!
Next up – purchasing household goods. From my personal experience, when doing my weekly shop, it is exceptionally easy to spend a lot more than what is initially intended. I therefore made a set of tips and tricks to avoid over-spending and I’ve noticed a significant decrease in my overall expenditure.
Compare and save – to find the least expensive option, I would recommend using comparison apps to compare prices across online retailers and supermarkets. Quite a lot of the time, you will be able to find a cheaper alternative elsewhere and it really does save a lot of money in the long run! It would be handy to keep an eye out for the price per kg when purchasing goods as that would give you a more accurate idea on what the best deal is.
Choose bargain basics – you should try your best to go for cheaper, own-brand alternatives when shopping. I found that buying supermarket branded items instead of well-known brands saved up to one third of my weekly spend on groceries!
Be a savvy shopper – oftentimes, supermarkets and other stores will put goods up for discounted prices. Therefore, it is always handy to keep a special eye out for offers and discounts when shopping to ensure you make the most of them all.
Plan and prep – buying food last minute tends to be super expensive. Usually, if you know there’s nothing at home, one would either go for a takeaway or buy a ready meal. Both options can be murderous to your budget as the prices really add up. I therefore found that planning my weekly meals ahead of time allowed me to know in advance what I needed to buy from the supermarket and to only buy those items – nothing extra.
When I first started thinking about setting a budget and working through my income and expenditure, it seemed like a very intimidating task. However, when I actually started doing it, I realised that it was a lot easier than it seemed and it really helped to have everything clearly written out. There are numerous different budgeting tools and apps you can use but I think the most common option would be to use Excel.
To get started, just input all your income, whether it is from maintenance loans or from a job, and then start adding all your expenses. There are a few essential expenses that everyone needs to have, such as rent, groceries, bills (student insurance, gas/electricity, water, phone) and transport. Most of these are set prices but you could look into finding cheaper alternatives for things such as groceries and transport. Non-essential expenditure covers things such as nights out, eating out, hobbies, new clothes, and memberships/subscriptions. These are all things that you could technically live without but are things you may want from time to time. I would recommend thinking through each of these and seeing if you could reduce some of them or look for less expensive options.
To figure out what you can allow yourself to spend weekly, you could subtract your expenditure from your income and divide the amount by the number of weeks until the next maintenance loan instalment. I would suggest setting a weekly budget instead of a monthly budget as it can sometimes be easy to just spend all the monthly budget at the beginning of the month and not have anything left over at the end.
I hope this post has been useful to some of you and that you have a slightly better understanding of budgeting and how to save money through the little things!
Amani Parvaiz King’s Student Money Mentor Part of Money & Housing Advice
The King’s Student Money Mentors blog shares our students’ personal experiences and thoughts on money-related topics. Any reference, opinions or recommendations on a particular company/brand are only the views of the student(s) who wrote the blog post. King’s College London, the Money & Housing Advice service and the Money Mentor project do not share the views in the blogs nor endorse any of the companies mentioned. Readers should conduct their own research before using any companies mentioned in our blog posts.
