Missfits Magazine: Issue 7

Important lessons I have learned from my first year at University. A regular installment by Rosee Mussen. Photographs by Jess Hodges.

It’s a widely accepted fact that while you’re studying, you’re probably going to have very little money, but that’s okay, because after a few months you will start to really be at one with the lifestyle of the impoverished student. In addition to my sneaky hipflask trick (read on to find out more!) there are many other little ways you can save your money for important necessities like new clothes or paying off the hefty library fine that you will undoubtedly rack up around deadline time. Here are some more of my “handy” tips for scrimping and saving.

1. If ever an occasion arises where you’re having a meal in a cafe or restaurant, pretend it’s your birthday! Once when I was at a sushi restaurant I told our friendly waitress that it was my birthday and they gave us twenty percent off! (Side note: It was actually my birthday, but I’m sure if you invest in a badge or a balloon or something you too can be just as convincing as I was.)

2. Always ask if a shop offers a student discount whenever you buy anything. If they don’t, pay for your items but look really sad and poor in the hope that you appeal to their kinder side and they might suggest doing a student discount to their manager! (I have yet to see evidence of this working but remain ever hopeful.)

3. Steal pens. When you borrow a pen from somebody you don’t know in a lecture or a seminar, if they don’t ask for it back, for god’s sake don’t give it back! They won’t miss one little ball point pen, but do you know how much a packet of pens costs?! A lot. The downside of this is that if people catch on to what you’re doing you might end up labelled with an unflattering nickname like “pen girl” but the trick is to be sneaky.

4. Another good thing to steal, not that I would normally condone it, is salt! If you’re in a fast food restaurant, more often than not there’s a counter where you can help yourself to little sachets of salt. When you’re taking some salt to add flavour to your meal, just take a few more sachets – say, thirty. If you think about it, they’re free, so really you’re supposed to take them. The same goes for other condiment sachets.

One thing that I didn’t really consider until my first year was nearly over was the radical notion that you don’t have to be best friends—or even good friends—with the people you live with. I truly wish that somebody had told me this before starting university, so I do feel the need to share