Hacks For Poor Students Living On Their Own.

Living on our own can be tough from time to time, especially if it is the first time. Also having to manage your own money is hard, so I am here today to give you tips on how to save money but still make the most out of your experience abroad.

1. Save stuff even when it looks like a waste.

My friends and I the other day bought a few cans of some soup inside and when we ate it one of my friends suggested to save the can because she could have used it as a pen holder. The other one said that she would use it to put her toothbrush in it… I think it was very clever so now I have two cans as well for the exact same reasons. Try to reflect upon things and see if you can reuse them before you throw them away, this way you will decorate your room but also save money because you will not have to buy things like classes or pencil cases if you use cans and containers from your groceries.

2. Do not buy a drying rack.

Seriously, you will not need it. Think about it. I did laundry a couple of days ago and for the first time I did not use the dryer because if I did I would have paid almost four euros for my laundry, so I came back to my room with my wet clothes and hung them in the closet, I left the doors open, I did the same with the window and the next day everything was dry and ready to go. Believe me, it works (if your washing ends with the spin cycle, otherwise you are screwed and if you hang your clothes it will take about a month to dry, lol).

My sister gave me another idea. If the closet is full of other clothes because you are a girl and brought the whole house with you, you can use a string. Attach it from one to the other wall and just hang your clothes. Look for hooks or anything where you can tie your string. Look for a handle, a grip or something like that and try. Even better if you have some sort of curtain because that means that there is a pole and you should be able to hang your stuff with it. I do and it is nice because my clothes are close to the window, they get lots of air and also sun, so it is like if they were outside, but better, because if it becomes rainy and I am not at home I know that my clothes are not going to get wet as they hang inside.

3. Get two, pay one.

Watch out for deals like get two, pay one, I literally did that last week with pasta, meat, and other few things. Check the expiration date and if the date is coming soon, just eat it right away or freeze it. But you can also buy canned food and stuff like that. It is not the best probably, but whenever you finish something else you can still rely on soups you can heat up in the microwave and stuff.

4. Go to places like Poundland.

I am in England and here there is a place called "Poundland". I am quite sure that other countries have something similar. In the United States of America, I saw the "Dollar Store". In Milan, I used to go to Chinese shops for things. I know that sometimes is better to spend more to ensure that what you are buying is worth it, but sometimes if you need something like a shaker, you do not care if it is branded or not, you just want to drink out of it. So yeah, I spent one pound for this:

- Cristian

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