Living Costs

Find out how to cut your household bills and how to save on socialising.

Food

Food costs have increased. But with careful planning, reducing your spend on food is probably one the easiest things you can do.

choose value brand goods over premium branded goods
try local markets instead of supermarkets for fruit, vegetable, meat and fish
look out for discounted and reduced items in supermarkets
- there's often some bargains to be found towards the end of the day
plan your meals, make a list, and do a weekly shop
set up a ‘kitty’ with housemates for shared goods like toilet rolls, bread and milk
- agree on what items should be included in the house fund
stick to homemade meals
- avoid spending on takeaways or eating out at restaurants

Take a look at our Money Saving Tips: Food (PDF: 148KB) for more ideas.

Useful links

There's lots to do around the city – it's very easy to blow your budget on socialising and going out with friends. With a little bit of restraint and planning, you can make sure you don't overspend on the fun things and leave yourself short for the essentials like rent and bills.

look out for offers, vouchers and deals to help you save money
set yourself a spending limit on a night out and only take out this amount of cash with you – leave your bank cards at home
try getting fit for free
join the Newcastle parkrun at Exhibition Park

Take a look at our Money Saving Tips: Socialising (PDF: 81KB) for more ideas.

Thinking about a new outfit for a night out? Our Money Saving Tips: Clothes (PDF: 84KB) will give you some ideas about how you can revamp your wardrobe on the cheap.

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Travel

Newcastle is a compact city to get around, but you might still incur some travel costs. Make sure you don't spend more than you need to.

find out whether an annual travel pass would help cut your travel costs
try and plan your travel as far in advance as possible, to take advantage of cheap tickets and deals
walk wherever possible – it's good for your wallet and your health
check out the events and incentives provided by the University's Sustainable Campus – bike MOTs and advice on walking routes are just some of the things on offer

Useful links

Utility bills

Making sure you have enough to pay household bills like gas, electricity and water is essential. There are lots of simple steps you can take to cut your bills.

make sure you shop around and get the best deals on your gas and electricity
turn down your thermostat
don't leave appliances on standby to reduce fuel bills
find out the energy demand of domestic items – see the e-on guide to What's a (kilo) Watt (PDF: 1.1MB)
use energy saving light bulbs and don't leave lights switched on

Take a look at our Money Saving Tips: Utilities (PDF: 108KB) for more ideas.