You’ve never had the hassle of bills before, mum and dad always handle that kind of stuff… but it’s now time to leave the nest – what can you expect???

Living in halls of residence: Usually most costs are included in your rent, the only extra payments come from bills such as the phone or if your building had optional sky or internet connections in your room.

Living in private accommodation: This is where the big costs begin! Be prepared for gas, electric, telephone, TV licence and sometimes water bills to come through the letterbox, what tends to be a good idea is for you and your housemates to share the bills between you. For examples, one takes charge of the telephone, one for the gas and so on… but do beware the phone bills do get a bit tricky to work out!!!

Outside accommodation, the only real bills you can expect are those for your mobile, and costs for your car (if your lucky enough to have one) and any bank or store card charges… all in all, if you budget well (and stick to it) you should be in the clear… the last thing you need whilst at uni is to be worrying about money!

Tip Why not set up direct debits to prevent you being cut off – you normally receive discounts if you do set them up and every penny counts!