Money is never more precious than when you're at uni, so some savvy students have come up with a hack to avoid paying pricey renting costs.
With lectures and seminars taking up potential paid working hours, and friends constantly tempting you to go out with calls of 3-for-£5, trying to manage money in uni is a real challenge. Would it be dramatic to say it's harder than your degree? I don't think so.
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Add into that ever-increasing costs for food and rent, and it's a wonder how any of us make it through those few years. But in a bid to save money, some students have decided to avoid renting altogether.
You could always choose to stay at home when you're at uni, but the commute isn't always feasible. That is, unless your contact hours are in your favour.
Tigerlily Taylor, a 20-year-old student at the University of Northampton, went viral after she revealed how she's managed to avoid filling a landlord's wallet while at uni.
In her TikTok video, she explained that she was only in uni for two days a week, so she skipped out on student accommodation and instead opted to travel from her home in Hertfordshire to stay in a Travelodge.
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The hack might not work for those with more demanding schedules, but Taylor's contact hours meant her two days were back-to-back, so she only needed to stay in the area for one night.
Explaining her decision to Vice, Taylor estimated that her regular stays work out to £260 per month - hundreds less than some other students have to pay for rent.
“Commuting seemed like the best option for me," she said. "COVID-19 didn’t really impact my decision – I’m simply glad I didn’t spend money on accommodation when all my lectures ended up being online.
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“I don’t think I’ve missed out on the university experience – I’ve made amazing friends at university and I’ve also got a friendship group at home.”
Taylor isn't the only one making use of hotels while at uni, with Jack Train, a student at Newcastle University, choosing to commute to classes from his home in Yorkshire for the past academic year.
“I’ll normally go up on Wednesday and stay overnight so I still get the sports socials,” he told Vice.
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Train believes he saved £70 a week by staying in hotels, saying he would typically pay £400 per month for student accommodation.
But while Taylor's TikTok shows her enjoying a double bed in a spacious room, tenants’ union ACORN has noted that living in hotels is more a 'temporary fix' than a resolution to the real issue - that there isn't enough affordable housing.
“It’s absurd that living in hotels and commuting to study is the cost-effective option for students, but not surprising," a spokesperson said.
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Emily Brown