The freedom of living independently comes hand-in-hand with a number of responsibilities, such as budgeting for your utility bills and paying them on time.

Utility bills are the costs you need to pay to keep your house running, with the lights on, water in the taps, heating available and cooking facilities powered. This is broadly covered by your three main bills: gas, electricity and water.

If you’re preparing to move into your first student house in 2019, where you’ll be responsible for coughing up for these utilities, you might be wondering how much you should expect to set aside each month.

Being prepared is key to not becoming that person who’s always behind on your payments, leaving your friends to foot your portion of the bill until you can come up with the money. Unsurprisingly, that’s a one-way road to a tense, uncomfortable living environment.

Gas and electric

Meet what might be described as both your largest bill and your biggest money-saving opportunity. Gas and electricity bills are usually paid as one, referred to as a “dual fuel” bill. They are also infamously expensive with ever-increasing prices.

If you’re relatively plugged in to the news cycle, you may have heard the terms “dual fuel bill” or “energy bills” in the same sentence as “soar” on a pretty regular basis. Unfortunately, average tariffs charged by gas and electricity suppliers have indeed shot up of late, rising by 21% in the five months to October 2018.

The so-called Big Six energy companies have been the biggest culprits. Just this year, every single one has significantly hiked costs for their customers:

• British Gas: Following two increases this year alone, British Gas customers have found themselves paying £1,205/year, 9.4% higher than in 2017.
• EDF: In August, EDF brought up their prices to £1,228/year after a 6% increase added £70 to the average dual fuel bill.
• E.on: While E.on’s £55 rise in energy costs may appear tame in comparison, the company also scrapped £25 worth of annual discounts.
• Npower: Those who get their gas and electric from Npower found themselves paying £1,230/year after an increase in June.
• Scottish Power: Prices at Scottish Power shot up by a whopping £111 in 2018 following rises in June and October.
• SSE: Finally, SSE hiked costs by £87/year, while scrapping a £6 per fuel annual discount for customers.

While many customers are reluctant to venture outside of these companies out of fear of the unknown more than anything else, smaller suppliers tend to have lower prices and better customer service ratings. Octopus Energy, for example, only charges £1,060/year for the average dual-fuel bill and topped a February customer satisfaction survey.

In response to these prices, the government announced an energy price cap for 2019 in November.

Ofgem, the UK’s energy regulator, set the initial limit at £1,137/year for the average dual fuel bill, but noted that this is likely to increase in April to reflect wholesale costs.

Water

Unlike gas and electricity, you can’t switch your water provider to save money. Instead, you will be supplied by one of the UK’s 12 local water suppliers who set their own prices, so your water bill will be determined by where you live. However, this doesn’t mean that students can’t make savings.

Water bills can either be calculated on a metered or an unmetered rate. Metered bills are measured by your water usage, while unmetered is a set rate estimated using the value of your property. While it may sound as though metered would be cheaper, that’s not always the case, as you may be using more water than your unmetered rate is charging you for.

The Consumer Council for Water has created a calculator to help consumers decide whether they should start using a meter. Unfortunately, if you’re already on a meter, you can’t then switch to unmetered.

As we’ve mentioned, water prices in the UK differ between regions and being a student won’t make it any cheaper for you. Water UK estimates that the average four-person household will pay £405/year for water in 2019 after a 2% increase.

If you and your flatmates particularly keen to keep costs down, switching to a meter and keeping your water usage to a bare minimum could help limit the monthly damage to your wallets. It’s not all about having quick showers and saving buckets of rainwater, though. The Energy Saving Trust reckons that replacing your old shower head for a new, water-efficient one could shave £120 off your annual water bill.

How to manage your bills

The Money Advice Service estimates that the cost of running a household is £194/month in total, around £90 of which is gas, electric and water. However, this figure also includes things like broadband, phone and TV License. In the modern age, broadband in particular may be considered a necessity, particularly for students. Price comparison websites can help you shop around for the best deals.

With all these bills to juggle, your housemates will need a fair way of dividing them to ensure that nobody is left covering someone else’s share, causing unnecessary and often long-running tension. As students, you’ve got better things to do than chase down your mate for three months worth of gas money.

Use acasa

acasa is a bill splitting and household management platform designed with house sharers, including university students, in mind. If you’re heading into a new household for university and want to make divvying up the utility bills as stress-free as possible, use the button below and get a free quote for your property today.

Get a free quote

The post What Is The Average Cost Of Utility Bills For Students? appeared first on acasa Blog.

Sometimes, after you’ve moved into your first student home, a particular—and pretty scary—letter shows up on your doorstep after a few weeks. Allow us to introduce you to the council tax bill. It’s usually enough to make your eyes pop out of your head.

At this point, you might start freaking out, asking yourself—and the internet—all kinds of questions: Do I really need to pay this amount? How do I get out of it? These questions are probably how you ended up on this page, right?

Thankfully, if you’re a full-time student, you will likely not have to cough up the full amount on your council tax bill. Allow acasa to explain why.

Do students pay council tax?

The good news is that if you’re living a student house—that being one where every resident is in full-time education—the household will be exempt from paying council tax. This includes undergraduate and postgraduate students and applies to all residences: both student halls and off-campus accommodation such as shared houses.

Of course this gets a bit more complicated if you are living with people who aren’t students or who study part-time, for instance. Part-time students can apply for a reduction in their council tax bill, which only they will be responsible for paying.

However, the bill isn’t judged individually but by household, meaning that if there are three full-time students and one person in employment the individual in employment will be responsible for one hefty council tax bill for the whole house, which can be pretty uncomfortable.

How do I know if I’m exempt?

Getting the letter in the postbox can cause you to go into a blind panic, thinking that you’ve missed your opportunity to be granted an exemption and you’re now liable for paying this substantial amount. However, generally you can provide evidence that you’re all in full-time education to the council tax office and it will all go away. You’ll even get a new letter with a glorious £0 due at the end of it.

You usually won’t need to provide evidence in your first year if you’re living in student halls, as the council automatically classifies these as exempt. However, remember that you’ll need to re-submit evidence at the start of every academic year that you’re living off-campus!

Use acasa

acasa is designed for anyone sharing a house, from students to young professionals to couples. With acasa, you can avoid unnecessary conflict around splitting utility bills with our direct billing and balance tracking systems.

Get a free quote for your property and enjoy a more stress-free approach to managing your shared house.

Get a free quote

The post What happens if you’re a student and you don’t pay council tax? appeared first on acasa Blog.

For students, this is particularly important. Amid rising living and transport costs in cities and university towns, the unexpected expenses of joining and participating in societies and the inevitable impulse purchases you’ll live to regret, making your student loan stretch all term long and still having money to enjoy yourself with in your final week should be every student’s end goal.

One of the most reliable ways of doing this is by keeping your energy bills low. You’d think that something as vital as utilities—water, gas and electric—would be affordable, right? Wrong. Energy is one of your biggest expenses.

However, every successful student budget is about making lots of small smart decisions that add up. Let acasa teach you how to prevent energy becoming an unseemly weight on your wallet.

Wrap up warm

If you’re walking around the house in shorts and a t-shirt, or just your nightie, in December, then we’ve got news for you. The luxury of walking around your house in a flimsy outfit is indeed a luxury—meaning that it comes at a price!

We’re not saying that you need to constantly be wrapped up in onesie, a dressing gown, a scarf, hat and gloves! Although believe us, we know that’s not unheard of. But before you turn up the heating, maybe look yourself up and down first. Are you wearing socks or slippers? Do you have a comfy jumper or hoodie you could throw on?

Perhaps you’ll be a bit more tempted when we tell you that by turning your heating down by just 1°C, you can save 10% on your annual bills? Those insulated socks may not have been such an unwise impulse purchase after all.

Learn how your heating works

It may sound silly or patronising, but a lot of students will be living in a house without adults to help them with basic things, like using the washing machine and adjusting the thermostat on a radiator, for the very first time.

It can really pay just to understand how your heating works, and where your costs are coming from. Is your boiler electric or gas? Where’s the meter, and are you submitting regular readings to your energy supplier? Are you leaving the heating on all day while everyone is out without realising? Or all night when you don’t need the house to be as warm?

Do some Googling, read your boiler instructions, and get the household involved in coming up with clever ways to keep your energy use to a functional minimum.

Split bills fairly

Every student house splits the bills in a way that suits them, but it’s important to sit down with your flatmates and figure out exactly what that is. If there is a notable difference in financial backgrounds between you all, it might be reasonable to suggest that everyone pays a percentage relative to what they can afford.

The other bill-splitting conundrum is when one person has decided not to pay up. Most student houses still choose to split the bills by having a nominated person for all bills who is reimbursed by the others, or by each taking charge of a single bill and everyone reimbursing one another. This leaves anyone paying the bill vulnerable to being taken advantage of by their housemates.

Try to find ways of minimising the risk in this area, because your personal share of the energy bill could quite literally double if someone decides not to pay—and this can make for a very awkward household.

Shop around

While it might be everyone’s first port of call to go with one of the Big Six energy companies—British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, npower, Scottish Power, SSE—this would be your first mistake. When it comes to low-cost, reliable utilities, reputation is most definitely not everything.

In fact, this year, every single Big Six company has raised its prices at least once. British Gas’ standard variable tariff has been hiked twice, by a total of 9.4%, Npower’s standard tariff shot up to £1,230/year in June, while SSE added £87/year to the average bill in July while scrapping a £6 per fuel annual discount in July.

Scottish Power’s prices have been raised by £111 following two separate increases this year and although E.on’s tariffs may have only gone up by half this figure, it has also scrapped a £20/year dual-fuel discount and £5/year paperless billing discount.

It’s estimated that by the end of 2018, these suppliers will have lost 2.35 million customers to small and mid-size companies as people realise they can find the same service elsewhere. By going with a smaller supplier, your household could realistically save hundreds on your energy bill.

Use acasa

acasa is designed for anyone sharing a house, from students to young professionals to couples. With acasa, you can avoid unnecessary conflict around splitting utility bills with our direct billing and balance tracking systems.

Get a free quote for your property and enjoy a more stress-free approach to managing your shared house.

Get a free quote

The post How can students save on their energy bills? appeared first on acasa Blog.

Roommate bill-splitting apps are becoming increasingly common as people look for solutions to common household disputes. How many times have you fallen out with your housemates over someone not paying their fair share towards cleaning products, groceries, bills or rent?

In today’s world, roommate bill-splitting apps make perfect sense. Many people living in shared accommodation consider themselves digital natives, and we spend a large part of our lives using smartphone apps to make things easier and more immediate. Using these solutions to manage your household finances is a pretty natural next step.

But with so many options cropping up all the time and roommate bill splitting apps being a relatively recent concept, it can be hard to know what to look for. acasa has put together this handy guide to what your roommate bill splitting app should do for you.

What should a roommate bill splitting app do?

The most important thing a roommate bill splitting app should do is make it simple and straightforward for you and your housemates to track shared living expenses and transfer money accordingly.

There are a multitude of different features your chosen app might use to do this, but the end goal should always be the same: to make your life as somebody living in shared accommodation as hassle-and-drama-free as possible—at least when it comes to bills!

Depending on how good they are, some roommate bill splitting apps might even save you money by pairing you with cheap, reliable and energy-efficient suppliers for your broadband and utilities.

What to look for:

Not all roommate bill splitting apps are made equal, unfortunately. Separating the duds from the delights on the Apple Store or Google Play can involve quite a lot of guesswork. On top of this, you might not find out whether your app of choice is any good until you’ve downloaded it, made an account and perhaps even paid a fee.

Some features are more crucial to that elusive sense of household harmony you’re after than others. In our opinion, these are some of the roommate bill splitting app functions that separate the best from the rest:

• Record Payments: More than simply bill you when things are due, your roommate bill splitting app should enable you to keep a log of payments you have made. This can include transfers between you and your roommates, such as that meal you all went out for last week or the cost of cleaning products you’ve all agreed to chip in for. It’s a way of keeping on top of those smaller expenses that can add up, while also letting the other person know that you’ve paid them.
• Balance History: Every good plan has a backup. While roommate bill splitting apps are almost guaranteed to make managing your money as a household easier, in the event that an issue be raised anyway, your app should give you access to your balance history. By referring to your balance history, you should be able to see a clear breakdown of your personal expenses and payments, immediately identifying if and where wires got crossed or human errors were made.
• Direct billing: One of the advantages of roommate bill splitting apps is that you can share responsibility for your household costs in every way. When you set up an account with your utility or broadband provider using more traditional methods, it will be in a single person’s name who will be charged for the entirety of the bill and then be paid back by their housemates. With roommate bill splitting apps, you have the option of each person being billed directly for their share of the cost. This means that if someone is late coughing up, no one person is immediately left out of pocket.
• Notifications: Juggling all your different household bills and keeping track of who owes what are probably the two root causes of most disputes over money in shared accommodation. It’s essentially considerable unpaid administration that can understandably go wrong sometimes. A good roommate bill splitting app will take this burden off your shoulders and make it easier than ever to stay on top of your household bills. Look for an app with a simple, user-friendly dashboard and notifications of upcoming charges.
• Transparency: Something that can be a roadblock in any and all disputes between roommates is someone trying to cover their tracks when they haven’t paid. Sometimes, people may even be convinced they’ve paid up when they haven’t, trapping the entire house in a Catch-22. This is another reason why you need clear visual tools, such as the dashboard, so that everyone can see who is and isn’t up to date with their payments.

Use acasa

acasa is designed for anyone sharing a house, from students to young professionals to couples. With acasa, you can avoid unnecessary conflict around splitting utility bills with our direct billing and balance tracking systems.

Get a free quote for your property and enjoy a more stress-free approach to managing your shared house.

Get a free quote

The post What should a roommate bill splitting app do? appeared first on acasa Blog.

acasa helps making smart decisions become a part of your lifestyle as a house sharer, whether you’re a student, young professional or a couple keen to split the bills fairly.

But we do more than this. We can also save you money by pairing you with the some of the best value providers on the market, so as well as the reduction in stress, you can save real money with acasa too.

Not quite convinced? Keep reading to find out how much you could stand to lose by not signing up to acasa with your housemates today.

How much do we spend on utilities?

Brits are consistently spending more money than they need to on utilities and other household costs. This seems to be common knowledge, yet people feel somewhat powerless to do anything about it.

On average, a UK household spends £49 a month on electricity, £16.90 on broadband and £48 for gas. With more young people sharing than ever before, including couples living together to cut down on costs of living in the city, these costs end up being split multiple ways.

However, in the age of house sharing, it can be hard to keep track of who’s on top of their payments. If you’re sharing with strangers coming up with a plan for paying bills can create tension, if you’re living with friends… well, it can create tension then too.

With acasa, everyone is accountable for their own payments and everyone can see at a glance how much needs to be paid and when. It removes confusion, leaving you more time to enjoy your new or existing house share. acasa is designed to save you time and stress, as well as potentially save you money on your existing bills by teaming you up with award winning energy and broadband providers.

How much could acasa save me?

Depending on where you live and who your original provider is, acasa has been shown to save households up to £200 a year on their utility bills.

These kind of savings don’t happen by magic, but are made possible with an app that helps you make smart decisions about which provider to choose and then helps you manage your finances going forward.

We don’t believe people should have to compromise on quality or efficiency to save money, which is why we’ve scoured the country to find the most reliable providers at the best prices for our users. More information on our chosen providers’ pricing is available here.

We offer our users full transparency on bills, costs and balances at every turn. This isn’t just about keeping tabs on that one flatmate who seems to encounter money troubles whenever it’s time to pay up, it’s about keeping things fair all year round and making sure one person isn’t inadvertently shouldering more than their share of the cost.

With acasa, you can manage all of your household costs in one place, so there’s no maths involved in money management anymore, if that isn’t your thing. Stay on top of payments for groceries, essential items like cleaning products and loo roll, funds for joint birthday or Christmas presents and more.

Get a free quote

The post How Much Money You Could Be Losing Without acasa? appeared first on acasa Blog.

Each month, rent and the essential housing bills are one of the biggest hits to the student budget. Here at acasa, our goal is to help students save time and money on these major student bills so you can afford more late night chicken. We do this by helping you set up, manage and automatically split all of your major housing bills with your housemates. We even help you track and split small bills like soap and loo roll so you don’t get left out as the only one buying these expenses.

How does acasa help you save money?

Every extra penny counts when you are living on student loans, thats why our focus is on offering providers that are cheap. Octopus Energy, our energy provider is cheaper than the majority of the Big 6 variable tariffs and is renewable. Octopus has no exit fees if you want to end your supply after just 9 months and if you end up using less energy than your fixed monthly fee, you’ll get a refund at the end of the year. Origin Broadband, our broadband provider is also one of the most affordable on the market with deals starting at less than £20 a month for your broadband.

On top of offering you some of the best tariffs in the market, acasa takes the hassle away from “that one bill person” who is always asking other housemates to pay them back. Nick Katz, CEO of acasa says “One person always gets screwed over by having to be the one in charge of bills/finances (which also means they take on all the credit risk which most students don’t realise!).”

Since we know that most students live in shared homes – we make it easy to manage payments with your 5+ flatmates. Through the acasa app, each one of you can pay directly to the provider your 1/6th of the bill. When the bill is due, we automatically collect each share of the bill from the people in your home and send the money straight to the providers. All of this happens at no extra cost to you – we do not charge any ‘splitting fee.’ Lily, a third year student in Manchester says “acasa makes life so much easier. Me and my housemates have used it since moving in last September and makes it so much fairer. Would highly recommend.”

Is it hard to get set up?

Nope! Setting up the bills with acasa takes minutes and can be done from our website or from our app. On the website, after entering your postcode and a few basic stats about your home (approx 1 minute to complete), we’ll let you know how much each person should expect to pay each month in bills. If you are happy with that quote, just add your payment details then we handle the rest! After downloading the app it works the same allowing you to select which services you would like to have set up.

Your housemates will be able to download the app and a cost will automatically be added each month for all of you to let you know bills are due.

What if one of my housemates refuses to pay?

We’ve all had a stickler for a housemate who is slow to pay their share of the bills. If you have one housemate who refuses to download the app or just doesn’t pay their share – don’t worry, you won’t be at risk of late fees. You’ll have the chance to cover your flatmates share of the bill and we will add a cost to automatically reflect that they owe you money inside the app.

The post How to save hundreds of £’s on your student housing bills appeared first on acasa Blog.

1. Pay now, ride later

A bus pass or train season ticket can earn you serious savings on local transport over the year – but you’ve got to work it for the best pay-off!

• It’s only a saving if you travel enough. Divide the price of a pass by the number of days you reckon you’ll actually use it – don’t forget to allow for illness, vacations or duvet days. If the daily amount is less than what you’d spend on cash fares, it’s a saver!
• Paying up-front can take chunks out of your budget, so set aside some of your next loan instalment or pay packet (or save up for it).
• Keep it safe. Not all companies will replace lost, stolen or damaged passes – check the small print before you stump up.
• Keep it with you: “I left it at home” literally won’t get you anywhere …
Finally, double-check the route before you plump for a long-term pass. You could slash the cost by walking to a stop further along the line, or by taking an alternate route with a different operator or type of transport. It’s worth a look!

2. Time your discounts

With a third off most UK train fares, a 16-25 railcard can be a sweet deal. It costs £30 for a year, is free with some student bank accounts, and could pay for itself in just one long-distance trek.

There’s an extra way to reap the savings, though – time your purchases so you get a 3-year railcard (£70) before your 24th birthday: it means you get to ride the rails for less long after graduation!

• Don’t do trains? The National Express Young Person’s Coachcard gives you discounted fares in the UK and starts from a tenner for the year.
• There’s also 10% off bus and train fares in the UK/Europe with budget carrier Megabus if you’ve got an NUS extra card (£12/yr).

3. Get in early

Advance fares are always cheaper because bus and train operators want to get bums on seats asap:

• Set a calendar reminder (some operators’ websites do alerts) to book 12 weeks in advance, when the cheapest tix go on sale. Heads-up: they go quickly!
• Use the ‘best fare finder’, if the option’s available on the ticket site: if you’re flexible on travel dates you should be able to cherry-pick cheaper deals, even if you miss the 12-week window.
• Always be ready to grab sale seats. Virgin usually run a couple of sales throughout the year – so if you’ve got a wish list of fares and dates on the boil you could snag seats for a couple of quid each way. Sign-up to train company newsletters or scour the press to be the first to know.

4. Recoup the cost of your journey

You don’t need to be a cabbie to get paid for your travels!

• Peer delivery site Nimber matches folk who need stuff delivered with commuters/travellers going the same way. If there’s a trip you’re making anyway, it could be worth a peek – you could make enough to cover the cost of your fare (or a bit extra – you set your own price!)
• If you’re not in a hurry, train delays can be a cash-in. Lots of operators have signed up to Delay Repay, which refunds part of your fare in compo if you’re delayed by 30 minutes (15 minutes with some firms). The longer the delay, the higher the portion refunded. Some operators automatically pay up if you booked through their app, but you can claim from their website or at a counter otherwise.
• If you’ve got a car, pimp it out when you’re not using it. The easy way involves hosting advertisements (try usethatspace.com) but if that’s not for you and your shiny paintwork, look out for peer-to-peer car hire instead. easyCar club acts as a kind broker, hooking up the car-less with car owners looking for extra cash. As with Nimber, you set your own price, and they take care of the insurance.

5. Feel the earn

Need to get around, but need to keep your cash in your wallet more?

• Walk or – for extra smug – run or cycle your route (can save you the cost of a gym membership as well). While you’re at it, take a look at apps like Sweatcoin, which gives discounts and freebies in exchange for logging exercise.
• If you can’t walk, bike or run, can you get a lift? Check notice boards for car sharing. If you’ve got a car, obviously get yours listed and see if you can reclaim some of your petrol costs.
• Don’t assume taxis are off the menu. Some short rides can match bus fares (depending where you live!) plus you can travel in a group to pay less per person.
• If you can’t do any of these, use the other tips on this page to save on public transport instead. Happy travelling!

This is a guest post by Ruth Bushi from Save the Student

The post 5 fare busters to save you money on transport appeared first on acasa Blog.

This guide is full of current information about what costs a student in the UK can expect to pay.

The guide also covers tips on how to manage your bills, especially if you’re living with others.

What are the average cost of bills as a student?

If you’re planning to study away from home, you’re going to need some idea of a budget. Any savings you can bring will help. There’s often start up costs associated with moving into a new house (you might be thinking about your sweet new console, but don’t forget the random stuff like towels, potato peeler, desk etc. Aside from the home basics – you’ll need to organise, there also can be additional fees at the start of a new lease. So many student bills! Ph, and not to mention text books and everything you’ll need to actually, you know, study.

We will start with an overall picture of these personal costs then will work down to specifics. On average, you will need to budget about £12 000 per year to cover all of your expenses. Yes, that’s a lot of student bills! (£15 000 if you’re based in London, thanks London housing prices…). This figure does not include the cost of tuition. Yikes!

£12,000 a year just to live?! That seems like a lot! How are these broken down?

This guide breaks down each student bill cost you will need to think about so you can plan accordingly. Remember, all of these are averages and there may be areas where you can save or areas where it will cost you more.

The second section of this article we will share more on household bills. Or you can just jump straight to the Special Student Bills Packages section.

Below we will have a look at what are general student bills.

Rent For Student Accommodation

Weekly cost across the UK: £134

Weekly cost in London: £226

Student Bills Saving Tips:

This will probably be your biggest student bill expense. Roofs tend to be a bit important… Rent prices will be influenced by the location of the property and its condition. Most student properties have more than one person listed on the lease. Quite often the rooms are rented individually. This means you will be responsible for paying your own room rental cost. Student halls will incur different costs. There may be additional charges to cover utilities or meals.

Food and groceries

Weekly cost across the UK and London: £37.50 (£150/month)

Student Bills Saving Tips:

Housing costs are higher in London, but supermarket prices are generally the same. You can be flexible with your food budget, depending on the quality of food you buy, and where you shop. (You don’t need to really need to shop at Waitrose if you’re a student, unless you’re as posh as say, Jack Whitehall) Whoo hoo! A place you can save on the bills.

Public transport

Annual cost across the UK: between £118/year and £347/year, depending on which city you live in.

Annual cost in London: Can be as much as £1000 if you need an Oyster Card during term time (ouch!)

Student Bills Saving Tips:

In London, check out a 18+ student oyster card that covers travel zones 1-3 for £28 per week. The bus and of course walking or cycling are cheaper. Whether that is possible or not depends how close you live to campus.

For anywhere in the UK in general, you can pick up a full time study age 16-25 Railcard for an annual fee of £30. It’ll save you around a third of the cost of each journey you take. You could also buy a second hand bike, which would save more long term.

Textbooks

Cost: variable

Student Bills Saving Tips:

The price of textbooks is difficult to pin down, as they will vary from course to course. The best thing to do is check out second-hand websites and Buy Sell Swap pages on social media. You can usually find (often barely used) textbooks for a huge discount. And always confirm if you need the latest edition too – the older ones are often cheaper again

Mobile phone

Contract: £25-£50 per month

PAYG: £5-£30 per month

Student Bills Saving Tips:

This may not be a new cost to you if you’ve already got a phone and you’re bringing it with you. If you’re in the market for a new one, you have two options. You can lock in to a 18-24 month contract. This will get you a brand new phone, decent downloads and minutes for between £25-£50 per month. If you’re looking to keep costs down or you already have a handset you like, check out Pay As You Go (PAYG). All you need to do is pick up a credit voucher once a month for between £5-£30 depending on your usage.

Insurance

From £10.99/month

Student Bill Saving Tips:

You might not think this is important. When the pipes burst in your apartment or a power problem damages your laptop, you’ll change your mind! From £10.99 a month you can insure your electronics and other belongings against theft, fire, vandalism and more. Check out Money Supermarket or another comparison site to see which works best for you.

Leisure

Cost: entirely up to you!

Student Bills Saving Tips:

Also known as discretionary spending, this is the money you spend on the fun stuff. It could be new fashion, a bevvy or two at the pub or your growing collection of lava lamps. This discretionary spend is where you’ll have the most flexibility when it comes to saving money.

What are the other bills you will need to pay for as an adult?

Living as a student is often about simplifying and reducing costs. There’s not always a lot of fat in the budget to cover the larger expenses. Once you graduate and start working full time, there will be additional costs to think about. For starters, you’ll probably want to move out of shared student digs pretty sharply. After all it’s now time to find a place of your own (a place without mystery socks and unclaimed dirty dishes).

Housing

Renting may still be your best bet straight out of university. The cost of renting will likely go up because you’ll be either living on your own or with one or two others. That means every cost will split fewer ways and you’ll have council tax to pay. Let’s be honest, you’ll probably want to rent something a bit nicer than a student flat. If you are considering buying a place, brace yourself. You need to provide a deposit when you take out a mortgage. At the moment, the average house deposit in UK is £33 000. If you want to live in London, you’ve got to find around £91 400. The average purchase price of property around the UK varies a lot. Here’s some average house prices to give you an idea of what it will cost to own your own home.

• Cardiff £192 900

• Edinburgh £200 600

• Glasgow £115 100

• Liverpool £116 00

• Manchester £150 600

• Southampton £223 100

• Oxford £430 200

• Birmingham £147 400

• Leeds £154 600

• Sheffield £128 400

• Newcastle £123 900

• Leicester £160 500

• Bristol £263 100

• Cambridge £418 000

• London £500 000

Transport

Cost: variable, dependent on location

Say goodbye to discounted fares and hello to more expensive public transport. Buying a car might be an option now, but there’s a lot of ongoing costs that come with that. Think: purchase price, insurance, registration, fuel, services, parking charges. It’ll really depend on what sort of work you end up in and how good public transport facilities are.

Attire

Example: Zara 3 piece suit (trousers/shirt/jacket) approximately £150

You can get away with comfy jeans and hoodies in class, but it’s unlikely you’ll be able to pull that off in an office tower. Investing in some classic office gear will set you back, not to mention the dry cleaning costs.

Insurance

Example: average UK health insurance policy costs £1120 per year

Contents insurance is important like in your student days, but there’s more to consider now. When you’re working you need other insurance cover that don’t apply to student life. There’s life insurance, income protection, health insurance and mortgage insurance to start with. If you have a car, that will need insuring too. The list feels long, but the stakes are higher so it makes sense to protect yourself. It’s impossible to say what your insurance costs could look like as a fully blown working adult adult. That’s because the insurance companies set the premiums based on your individual situation.

Special Student Bills Packages

There’s no getting around it – the bills must be paid. We’ll talk about how to manage sharing the bills in the next section. There’s a lot involved with keeping a house running, which can come as a shock if you’ve moved out of home for the first time. Let’s take a look at what sort of bills you’ll be responsible for as a student (and which ones you don’t have to pay – yay!)

Student Utilities Packages

What are utility bills for?

We think it’s a good idea to keep the lights on and the house warm. That’s where making sure your utility bills are paid on time is very important, you know – to have hot water in the shower and a refrigerator that keeps your food cold.

Here is where acasa services can make a very big difference. acasa services will allow you to set up your gas and electric bills in less than 2 minutes and also will auto split your bill with your fellow students. This will help protect you from having a housemate who does not pay his or her share as everyone is billed directly.

If you want to do further research that you are getting the best deal, comparison websites are very helpful! EnergyHelpline or USwitch are great for comparing household services. There are often discounts if you package electricity and gas with the same provider. Organise electronic billing or pay with direct debit for further discounts. Fixing the tariff may also work in your favour, as prices typically increase each year. Read your meter and confirm the figures with your provider to ensure you’re paying the right amount. Here are three of the best value electricity providers to get you started.

1. EDF Energy offers good value and good customer service. There are no cancellation fees – which is perfect for people with 9 month academic year leases.

2. nPower are known for cheaper tariffs but lower quality customer service. They have cancellation fees, so beware.

3. SSE provide competitive tariffs and gift vouchers. The cancellation fee can be quite steep so make sure you’ve planned ahead.

4. Of course acasa services that provides your gas/electricity via Octopus Energy is our recommended option. acasa services does not charge cancellation fees and will keep you and your housemates informed about what you are paying via the acasa app.

Student Wifi/Broadband Packages

There are student broadband packages that are available as a 9 month contract. It may seem better and work with your uni term time, but these deals can be more expensive. If you take on a 12 month contract there may be cancellation fees if you close the account early. The best option may be a 12 month deal even if the house is empty for periods and it goes unused. The router is sometimes included for free, although even if you do have to pay it’s likely to be less than £10. If there’s no landline at the property, installation of a new line can cost extra. Some providers include connection as part of the monthly fee, others require payment upfront.

Here are the top 5 value for money broadband bundles available (as of March 2017)

1. Origin Broadband

• up to 17mbps

• 12 month contract

• £18.49 monthly rental landline included

2. Plusnet Unlimited broadband + calls

• up to 17 mbps

• 12 month contract

• £20.49 monthly rental landline included

3. Virgin Media Superfast Broadband

• up to 50 mbps

• 12 month contract

• £32 monthly rental landline included

4. EE Broadband & weekend calls

• up to 17 mbps

• 18 month contract

• £19.50 monthly rental landline included

5. BT unlimited broadband + weekend calls

• up to 17 mbps

• 12 month contract

• £24.99 monthly rental landline included

Student Water

Cost: standard tariff for England and Wales: £389

Student Bills Saving Tips:

Some landlords incorporate water charges into the rent, so you may not have to worry about a water bill. If you do have to manage the water bill yourself, it’s simple. There is only one water provider per area, so there is no need to shop around for a good deal. For example, in the Greater London area the provider is Thames Water. There are two ways to manage water bills. You can install a water meter. This is commonly free to install and will be read twice a year, which means one bill only every 6 months. The meter gives you the chance to monitor your usage and may encourage you to use less water overall. Otherwise the property may be on a standard tariff of £389/year, billed monthly or annually.

Student Council Tax

Cost: £0

Student Bills Saving Tips:

Council tax is billed monthly to every property. The charge is to covers services like garbage collection and sewerage maintenance. The good news is full time students are exempt from paying council tax. You must contact your local council to register yourself as a ‘disregarded person’. Every council has a different process to do this. Depending on how tech savvy your council is, it may be as simple as an online form. Most councils are online so it’s unlikely you’ll have to run documents to the council office. Be aware that non-students are required to pay council tax, even if they are the only one at the property.

TV Licence

Cost: £145.50

Student Bills Saving Tips:

If you watch live TV on any device or access BBC iPlayer online, you will need to purchase a TV Licence. If you have an individual tenancy (e.g. rent a room in a flat) you will need to purchase your own licence separately. If you share an occupancy with others (e.g. have every tenant listed on the lease agreement together) then one licence will do. You can apply to have a partial refund of the licence fee if you return home for the summer. A TV Licence currently costs £145.50 per year and is payable annually or as monthly instalments.

Satellite/Cable TV

Cost: from around £16/month

Student Bills Saving Tips:

Once you’ve paid up your TV Licence, you’ll have access to Freeview, the free digital TV channels. This is often enough for students with the competing demands of study and a pumping social life. If you do want more than the basics, like more channels or a sports package, check out a Sky TV bundle. They currently start from £16.13/month. Check with the landlord about permission to install a satellite dish before committing! (They are likely to agree, as it tends to raise the rental value of the property). Often, these extra TV services can be bundled with your broadband, so check with your provider.

Managing the costs between tenants – how do you split the bills?

So now we’ve got a good idea of the costs you’ll be facing on a monthly basis. It might feel like a lot, but remember that the majority of these utilities will be split evenly between you all. There’s different ways to do this, and each have their risks and benefits.

Joint Bank Account

This sounds great in theory – open an account with everyone’s name on it and have equal contributions going in. The bills come out and everyone is happy. Not so fast. The risk is that if one person doesn’t play by the rules, they could empty your account or tank your credit rating. Not good. This option is perhaps best suited to couples. Maybe those in a bromance. Or friends who have built a relationship before moving in together.

One bill per person

Each tenant has their name on a household bill, and takes responsibility for it. That entails collecting monthly payments from each housemate to cover their share. This can work if there’s good communication and everyone has budgeted for the bills. It can feel unfair if tenants have to assume higher risk bills. (Bills that can spike such as electricity, as opposed to set price bills like your internet). It can backfire if one tenant is terminally late, as you’ll have to pay for them or risk late fees and bad credit. Clearly setting boundaries with everyone will help to hold you all accountable.

What are the benefits of splitting the bills?

The third way to manage bills is to outsource the management of them to a third party. Each bill splitting company does this differently, but the basic premise is the same. Each tenant logs into a website or app and uploads their banking details. Once everyone confirms the shared bills, the program then does the number crunching. The program calculates each tenant’s share of each bill and sends notifications of due dates. Some programs even coordinate the debit of the funds from your account automatically.

Automating your bills takes pressure off everyone. Instead of inviting conflict by nagging each other for money, it’s automated. The app or website calculates everything fairly and sends notifications. There are often ways to transfer money between tenants, to make things even easier. Some bill splitting companies take on the risk of the bills themselves. This means that if one person fails to pay, your credit is not affected – it only reflects on them. That alone can provide peace of mind, if you’re unsure about the fiscal qualities of a housemate.

What student bill splitting companies exist?

There are plenty of options available if you want to outsource your money stress around student bills. Just look up a bill splitting third party. Many of these services are free, but be aware there are hidden fees and charges sometimes. Read the fine print carefully! Each of these offers a slightly different service. Let’s check them out.

BillHub

BillHub offers product comparisons. It is most useful when you’re first connecting a new home. BillHub allows you to choose different options for your household at that time. Options include auto-pay for bills and bill reminders when the due date gets nearer.

Split The Bills

Split The Bills offers to consolidate your bills into one monthly payment. It provides a single regular payment that aimed at simplifying finances in a shared home. This service costs £1.50 per week plus £10 set up fee per person.

Glide

Glide also consolidates the bills and charges each tenant a monthly share of the costs. They charge each tenant a month’s costs in advance as a deposit. The deposit is refunded at the end of the agreement (like at the end of the lease, for example). Fees are collected when managing specific accounts like water or your TV license. These additional charges can be significant when added up over a year’s management.

acasa

Now, we might be a bit biased here, but we think acasa is the best student bill splitting app on the market! You can easily manage the payments of rent and bills, as you would expect. But you can also add other expenses you’ve incurred for the upkeep of the household. What does that look like? Every time you pick up common goods like loo roll or lightbulbs, you can add the cost to the app. Each housemate will be asked for their share of the cost. This means noone is left paying for common goods all the time. A sliding scale will demonstrate if everyone in the house is ‘all square’ or if they’re falling behind. It’s an easy way to keep track of shared expenses.

Phew! Managing your student bills, studying and keeping a decent social life is exhausting. We hope this Ultimate Guide to Student Bills has given you a better understanding of what to expect when it comes to student bills. Now you can find the best deals and you know how to manage those expenses with your housemates. Student life can be a lot of fun, and removing the stress of managing bills can make things even better.

This information is up to date as of March 2017, and is considered correct at time of publication. The world moves quickly so please check prices with your provider before committing.

The post Student Bills: The Ultimate Guide appeared first on acasa Blog.

This is a Guest Post by Tom Gatzen from Ideal Flatmate

If you don’t already do this, you can consider it more of a ‘9 Life Hacks to Live Cheaper in London’ kind of article. You are welcome.

1. You get seriously hyped when you spy an open, but full, pack of food in someone’s cupboard.

Cereal, biscuits, etc. Because let’s face it, when the pack’s open and it’s basically full anyway—who’s going to notice the weeny(ish) bit you’ve had? Unless you have flatmates who count their hobnobs. Ha. Yeah. Weirdos. Maybe do make a mental note to start counting yours, though.

2. Jars/containers of stuff are very good.

Hair wax, makeup, moisturiser: all particularly hard for one to keep track of the contents. No one can tell—or prove, at least—that you’re gradually depleting their peanut butter. Butter, of course, is another key one, and if someone’s bought Lurpak then quite frankly they’re asking for it!

3. You never take a significant amount of food from one person’s cupboard.

What are you, some kind of idiot? Only ever take a little bit from each.

4. If you’re a real pro, you’ll make sure to reposition all condiments exactly as they were, at the same angle, on the same co-ordinate to the nth degree.

But let’s face it, we’re all lowlifes, none of us are real pros, so naturally we forget. We leave stuff out on the side, and lo the pass-agg Whatsapp doth cometh in the group chat: ‘Guys, not being funny but this is the 4th time this week I’ve found my vegetable stock out of its place and I don’t really want to have to get my boyfriend involved again x’. Oh lay off, Gabby!

5. You keep your empty shampoo/conditioner bottles in the bathroom to make it look as though you have your own and you are in fact not using other peoples in abundance.

This was only ever a temporary solution—just to tide you over until you find a minute to run to Boots—except it’s been 3 weeks now, and you can only afford the 99p stuff that makes your hair horrible and Gabby is on £25k now anyway and she still owes you £3.20 from that sink bleach you bought that one time so really, what’s a bit of John Frieda between friends?

6. Admit it—you’ve stolen pants before.

Get it all out in the open. Sometimes you just haven’t had a chance to do your washing, man, and you’re emphatically at odds with the idea of having coarse denim rubbing up against a bare crotch like those commando animals. Commanimals, if you will.

Whatever you do, though, don’t get caught. Panty stealers are the worst. Lowest of the low. If you’re even so much as accused, you’re finished.

7. Sometimes it’s hard to sleep at night—

Because you’ve even used your flatmate’s razor. Their razor. Where the hell has that razor been? You literally walked past Boots twice today, why didn’t you go in and buy a razor that hasn’t been in someone’s…?!?!

But it’s too late now; there’s only one razor in the shower, and it’s not yours but you proceed to rub it up and down your body because that is just who you are.

8. You definitely don’t bother replacing your phone charger when it breaks.

Why bother when you literally have the pick of, like, 2 to 4 others that exist in your flat?

You are hated, loathed, perpetually because no one’s charger is ever in their room when they need it. Sometimes, you will take your flatmate’s charger out of the house with you without asking. No one likes you.

9. It’s not uncommon for you to borrow things and then lose them.

Your flatmates’ clothes seem to evaporate into thin air in the hellhole that is your bedroom, which is precisely why you’re not allowed to borrow them. You then, obviously, have to pretend you never took them—until they show up down the side of your bed six weeks later, and you can’t give them back lest you topple your web of lies.

Naturally, you proceed to stuff them down the side of their owner’s bed, as though they were there all along, thus framing the victim for your own slovenly negligence in what is the perfect crime. You were never here.

So yeah, in hindsight, this article could also be titled, ‘9 Ways to be the Flatmate who Steals’ or ‘9 Ways You Know You’re Going to Die Alone’. You’re just the worst, ever, basically. Your mum probably still loves you, though. So there’s that.

The post 9 Truths if you’re the one Constantly Stealing from Flatmates appeared first on acasa Blog.

This student budget ‘cheat sheet’ is a tool to help students learn how to effectively budget during university. It provides actionable personal finance tips that students can take to save money. The tips included are to help students budget in every aspect of their university life.

Being able to enjoy life on your budget in university is about making a number of little decisions related to your student budget so that you do not break the bank. These slides offer easy tips like turning your living room into an extra bedroom to lower rent, or buying groceries at discount grocery stores. Following these tips can make it easier for students to enjoy life on their budget during university.

The student budgeting tips included are related to: housing, buying course materials, transportation, food and going out.

The post The University Cheat Sheet to Student Budgeting appeared first on acasa Blog.