Sponsored by 
Here at JOE we remember our first week in college. Well. Sort of.
Armed with only a Spider-Man duvet, a Sopranos poster and a big bag of meat from Mammy, we were the picture of innocence. Then Fresher’s Week happened and we came out the other end older (by a week) and wiser (debatable).
What we needed was a mentor to guide us through our first perilous steps in a world we had to fend for ourselves. With that in mind, we’ve teamed up with KBC Bank to give you some top tips that should save you a lot of hassle.
1. Your student card is your passport to a life filled with discounts
Just as sure as a shepherd should never be without their staff, a student should never leave home without their student card.
It entitles you to huge savings on travel and food. Always be sure to ask if there’s a student discount no matter where you go.
2. Save your socializing for student nights
Find out which night of the week is student night for your college. This can drift around and vary at random, but is easy information to find out from your student union.
Just make sure you have some actual money to spend…
3. Budget around student nights
You don’t want to be in a position where you’ve arranged to meet up with folks only to have two empty pockets when the night in question rolls around.
4. Explore exotic shops in your locality
If you want to save some money on shopping, don’t be afraid to go a bit off the beaten track. You’d be amazed at what you can find.
For example, the Asian Market beside Fade Street have five kilo bags of rice for the price of a box of Uncle Ben’s from Spar.
5. Brand new clothes are for schmucks
Macklemore praised the humble thrift shop through song and we’re inclined to agree with him.
Rather than dropping fat wads on generic clothes, charity shops are full of great options for a tenth of the price of the big retail stores. Instead of spending €75 on a new shirt you could use the same money to outfit your wardrobe for a full semester.
6. Start a school book co-op
Instead of shelling out hundreds of euro for every book on your curriculum, most of which are destined to never have their spines cracked, go splits with a friend on your course.
You’ll save a bit of money and have a defacto study buddy when exam time approaches.
7. Get into the habit of having healthy snacks
Porridge is filling (true), tasty (debatable) and cheap (true). This is a great habit to get into and it’s infinitely preferable to wasting money on expensive takeaways or fatty snacks.
8. Learn how to cook
A human cannot live on microwaveable chicken teriyaki and oven pizzas alone. Well, they can try, but they’ll probably end up with gout and a dozen or so years shaved off their life.
Start small with something like spaghetti bolognese and work your way up to a stir fry. If you’re a culinary prodigy you can start baking cookies. This little skill will endear you to everyone you know.
This article is brought to you by KBC. When you open and use a KBC Student current account you can get €100 free! You can also keep track of it with the free KBC mobile banking app.
For more information click here. Terms and conditions apply. KBC Bank Ireland plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
