Top Money-Saving Websites for Students

Being in full-time education can leave your bank balance looking a little lower than usual. Check out these helpful money-saving websites to help you save more.

Money Saving Expert

MoneySavingExpert provides free and impartial advice on ways to save money. Founded in 2003 by Martin Lewis – a recurrent face in the UK media – the website is visited by around 13m unique users each month.

The website has several useful tools to assist in finding the most tangible saving accounts, a student finance calculator which works out how much you will eventually pay, and users can search any company or retailer to find out who will offers the most cashback using the Cashback-Sites Minimiser.

On music, MSE’s Tune Checker compares prices of MP3s, and lists its top albums.

If in doubt, visit the MSE forum where you are surrounded by a community of eager money savers.

Join over 7m subscribers to receive the weekly “Martin’s Money Tips” email, offering the latest money-saving advice, accompanied by numerous deals and vouchers.

UNiDAYS

This site provides students with the latest discounts for high street retailers such as Urban Outfitters, Republic, ASK and Office.

Considered as the “official source of student discounts online”, UNiDAYS has 1.1m students signed up to its website.

Once you join, the website verifies that you are actually enrolled to your educational institution and routinely emails offers and discount codes, even if you do not own an NUS Extra card.

Students can currently enjoy a saving of 20pc at Burton Menswear, 25pc off at Dorothy Perkins, and Republic, who is offering 20pc off when you shop on their online stores.

eBay

eBay is an international website where users buy and sell new and second-hand goods from an enormous catalogue.

Many products, such as textbooks or sporting goods can be found for a cheaper price, in contrast to how much it may be purchased for on the high street.

The eBay buyer protection ensures that most payments are made via third-party site PayPal, which is a quick and easy account which safely stores your bank and card details. PayPal is used for transactions by many companies online due to its secure service so it is worthwhile to create an account.

Customers are encouraged to give a rating and feedback after purchase and delivery, which gives future customers information on the product and the service the seller provides.

If you are particularly wary of the website, the customer support team are helpful and emails are generally responded to within reasonable time. Also do not hesitate to contact the seller of the item before buying to put concerns at ease.

RedSpottedHanky

Although the name is ambiguous, this site compares the prices of rail fares and gives you the opportunity to purchase tickets to your desired destination through their website.

Promising to save you up to 80pc on rail tickets, this is an ideal website for students, especially to reduce costs on your daily or weekly commute.

No booking fee is charged once you purchase a ticket, and you are automatically enrolled into their Loyalty Club which enables you to earn points each time you buy.

The website also has the facility to hire a car, and provides live information on train departures and arrivals.

PetrolPrices

For motorists, owning a car is expensive enough without the cost of keeping a vehicle running. Whether your tank consumes unleaded or diesel, the increase of costs per litre can be frustrating.

By signing up for free to this site, you can make big savings as the website scans nearly 11,000 petrol stations in the UK and reveals the cheapest prices of stations located within 10 miles of your postcode.

We recommend this website because as fuel prices fluctuate regularly, it is important to know the comparative prices of your local Shell or Esso to help you save money – no matter how small.

MyVoucherCodes

A host to over 2,000 codes, MyVoucherCodes brands itself as Britain’s top destination to find deals and discounts, ranging from restaurants and bars, to technology and electrical goods.

High street retailers House of Fraser, H Samuel and Clarks are just a few popular names featured on the website.

The design of the website is very straightforward, ensuring easy navigation and removing the tedious activity of sifting through a mass of deals which do not interest you.

The website’s mailing list boasts an overwhelming amount of over 5.7 million users. Simply sign up and receive a weekly newsletter which will keep you abreast with their latest deals.

Skype

Communicating with friends and family is almost necessary as a student. Irrespective of your location, you can make voice and video calls for free- providing there is an internet connection.

Free to download, Skype can also be used for instant messaging- even your contact is offline. The benefits of the program is that you can activate your setting to “invisible”, which then ensures that you avoid disturbances as your contacts will be oblivious that you are online.

If your desktop computer or laptop does not have a built-in microphone or camera, you will need to purchase earphones, a microphone, and a webcam (if you want to make video calls). These may be unwanted expenses, but for the luxury of unlimited and free talk time to a loved one, it is completely worth it.

Gumtree

Gumtree is one of the biggest websites of its kind, with more than 1.5m adverts to browse.

With categories ranging from cars, jobs, accommodation and competitions, literally anyone can upload an advert. If you want to advertise a spare room, or sell off any unwanted goods, this is an ideal place to consider.

The posts all include a contact number or email, so the seller or advertiser can be contacted with ease and at your own convenience.

Although Gumtree has a mass of information to consume, the filters allow you to sieve through your search entry quickly.

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