| 22/10/2006 Late this afternoon I was sitting on my windowsill trying to read the set text for German Lit, but I kept being distracted by the lazy atmosphere outside. It was wet, very quiet, there was hardly any activity in any of the halls. Halls of Residences are quietist on Sundays. In the morning hardly anyone's up, in the afternoon some people are still asleep but many choose to go to town. In the evening some will choose to go out to eat or go to a bar, however people generally feel lazier on Sunday evening so it's still quieter in even in the kitchen. The neighbour in the other flat even had her dance music turned down (only on Sunday). Doesn't help that in almost every flat at least one room is empty of the person who decided to go home and visit family. It's so quiet it's almost depressing. Although I might have just thought that because I was matching the Hitman Soundtrack to the atmosphere. It's very good to listen to when it rains. It's also good to listen to when I work. Moving on: I've adjusted my dieting habits to save money: don't buy too many sweeties and snacks. Unfortunately this means I've been more frequently getting hungry at strange times, as in, non-meal times. At first I got rid of my hunger pangs by snacking on the remaining Frosted Wheats. They don't taste as good dry but they did the job. Earlier I bought a packet of 6 Rocky Bars (Caramel-I had such a terrible addiction to them when I was 13! Don't worry, I have it under control) so that if I for some reason starve at a strange time I can either eat that or a small apple. I haven't eaten a single one yet (good), so Rocky was a better choice than Jaffa Cakes-I get through them way too quickly. Now that I've been here a few weeks I can better analyse my spending habits. Many experts are warning that getting a part-time job while studying is the only way for a student to be able to properly finance themselves through Uni. Well I can truthfully tell you that's bollocks. Here's the easy way to be properly money independent: in order to feel secure upon entry to Uni you need to have saved at least something in a bank account-it's common practice for parents to have saved money in a savings account (although mine forgot to continually deposit after a while). It's also good for you to have practiced saving yourself, so you have a bit more money when you begin term and have practiced good habits. The Government Loan will pay for your home and courses, so that's a big chunk of money done away with. On average you will then be left with over £1000 (higher if you live/study in London) per term. (Notice I've said "Loan", if you're lucky you might have at least a partial grant.) Now to use the remaining money wisely, keep as much in a savings account as possible (acts as a barrier to stop withdrawal temptation-as well as higher interest). In general, only buy essential things: opt to buy fruit and veg more than sweets (don't buy tons of sweets and eat them up quickly), don't impulse buy, don't regularly buy new clothes, don't go out every night and rely on restaurants as primary food resource and definitely don't feel free to buy lots of alcohol on one night. If you know you absolutely can't stick to these straight-forward rules, then you're screwed so you have to get a job. |