Top Gift Ideas for Students starting this September

Posted by David | Filed under University Life

With the start of the university term rapdily approaching, here are a list of things that wouldn’t go a miss in any student house hold! Alternatively a great list of presents for students this Christmas!

The George Foreman Grill

Almost an essential for all students is the Toastie Machine, probably one of the best on offer is the George Foreman Grill, OK so it’s not quite a toastie machine but it can do toasties as well as grill meat and near enough anything else you want grilling! Especially worth considering if your halls don’t have a cooker or the oven hasn’t got a grill. It also means you can cook even when someone else is using the oven!

An All-in-one Printer

Printing at university can be difficult at the best of times! Long queues and the inevitable broken printer are also likely with deadlines looming! To ensure that this never happens a good all in one printer is a definite asset to any student room. The scanner features are also very useful for scanning in figures from text books and photocopying forms.

Crock Pot

May sound daft, but actually its a great thing for students to have, cook your food slowly over the course of the day, just needs turning on at lunch time and you’ll have  a scrummy meal by supper. Also can save quite a bit on bills, as only heating up a small pot instead of an entire oven!

Bike Locks

Thinking about taking bikes to university, well its absolutely essential you have a decent lock or two, especially if your wheel and saddle can come off easily! My best advice for cyclists at uni is to lock down every part of your bike and take your saddle with you during the day, that way your bike is every so slightly less desirable for someone to steal.

Alarm Clock

Yes, without a mother or farther present to wake them up in the morning now, the deep sleepers among us well most definately need something else to wake us up! A decent alarm clock, with snooze function is essential for any student, especially during exam time and after this late nights out!

Blender

OK, so this is not an essential for those in catered accommodation, but for those making their own food, these can be incredibly useful for making a variety of different types of food from soups, biscuits and scones to smoothies and cocktails. Definitely a worthwhile investment!

Student Cookbook

I’ve already written in detail about these. A student cookbook can help the novice chef get off the ground, though not ground breaking recipes they cover the basics of cooking simple and wholesome food.

Kettles and Toasters

No all student accommodation comes with these kitchen basics, and they tend to be a bit on cheap and cheerful side if they are there, a good quality kettle in the room for a tea lover is a must, and a toaster for a quick convenient breakfast!

Plants

Can’t afford anything too fancy? Well don’t worry a small plant well brighten up the baron bare state of a new student room no end! Visit our article in which plant to choose here…

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Read more | Comments (0) | Friday, 6th Aug 2010

Insuring yourself as a Student?

Posted by David | Filed under Student Saving Tips, University Life

Going to Uni is September? If you’re one of the hundreds of thousands that’s preparing to move out of your parents’ house and begin the long, arduous journey through studenthood, there’s probably all kinds of questions going through your mind: – things like how many aftershocks is too many, and how do clothes go from the washing basket to being clean, exactly? (The answers to those questions, incidentally, are eleven and fairies, respectively). You might also be wondering whether you can blag your parents into buying you a laptop to take with you, but I bet you’re not considering keeping all your stuff safe, are you?

I know it’s not exactly exciting to think about, but all that stuff you’re taking with you in the shape of phones, computers, clothes and the rest is pretty expensive, and if something disastrous were to happen, would you be able to afford to replace it all? Well, without proper insurance if the worst happens you could be left hundreds or thousands of pounds out of pocket, and I know from my own experience that raising that sort of money when you’re in university isn’t exactly the easiest thing to do.

This is where contents insurance comes in to play. What this does is simple – it covers the contents of your room from things like fire and theft, but doesn’t include the building itself, as that’s your landlord’s responsibility. This means that the amount covered is lower, the account is easier to manage, and you’re less likely to claim, which are all things that insurance companies love. Covering everything in your room (even stuff you’re likely to take out with you such as phones or bikes) can be covered for just a few pounds a month, and there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t do it.

If you’re going to cover yourself you’d best do it properly though, so here’s a few hints and tips to get you going:

However, make sure you insure yourself properly; if you’re not covered right, the policy you have could end up being worth less than the paper it’s printed on. Here’s a few quick tips to get you going:

Make Sure You Have Enough Cover
You’d be absolutely amazed how quickly the value of your stuff tots up – laptops, ipods, phones, shoes, clothes, TVs, DVD players, games consoles… the list goes on. You’ve probably got a few thousand pounds worth of stuff knocking around your room, so make sure you know just how much you’ve got there.

Decrease the Amount of Stuff You Have
Look at all the stuff in your room at the moment. How much of it will you really need, and how much of it would you miss if you didn’t take it with you? If you have drawers you haven’t opened in months or years, just tip them straight into the bin, you won’t need them after all. You should also look at selling stuff too: EBay, Car Boot Sales and their ilk are your friends here. CDs you don’t listen to, DVDs you’ve watched to death, games you’re never going to complete: – all these things can make you a few quid and save you money on your premiums.

Another thing to consider is leaving stuff at home, although this would require you to have far nicer parents than mine – but I’m sure that’s no problem.

Make Your Digs More Secure
I know I said that your insurance doesn’t cover the building, and it doesn’t – but if the stuff you own is locked away in a veritable Fort Knox, it’s going to cost you less to protect it. Speak to your landlord about fitting things like a NACOSS approved alarm, 5 Lever Mortice Locks and double bolt windows, as all these things will keep your insurance down.

I know that I said that contents insurance doesn’t include the building itself, but consider this: If the house you live in is a veritable stronghold, then there’s less chance of your stuff being stolen or damaged. Speak to your landlord about fitting things like a NACOSS approved alarm, double bolt windows and mortice locks if they haven’t already; not only will it make your insurance cheaper, his will cost less too.

Many thanks to Moneysupermarket.co.uk for writing this guest post for us. If you are interested in writing a guest post please get in contact with me, via the Contact Me button above.

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Read more | Comments (0) | Tuesday, 27th Jul 2010

The Students Essential Guide to Living in Crookes (Part 1)

Posted by David | Filed under University Life

Crookes is a suburb of Sheffield according to Wikipedia, and at 1 mile or less from the main university and in walking distance to the Peak District it is perfectly location. This article serves to give a brief insight into Crookes, the shops, restaurants, pubs the letting agents and the transport.

Renting a house in Crookes

There are many letting agencies in the Crookes area, below are a selected few, if you know of more please let me know. For rent a house in Crookes you should be looking at a price between £50 and £75 a week depending on the level of luxury you are after.

If you have used one of these letting agencies in the past, please use the comment box below to leave some feedback on them, good or bad!

Alternatively if you do not fancy going through a letting agency then a list of houses with landlord contacts is also available via the Sheffield University House Finder service.

Shops in Crookes

As well as a Co-op store in the centre of Crookes there is a raft of excellent shops along the high street.

  • Just Natural: One of the best fruit and vegetable shops in existence, not only does it look impressive but they have a vast array of fruit and veg, all at fairly good prices.
  • Fulton Foods: Sells loads of really cheap products, in particular pizzas, bottles of squash, 3 litre bottles of Coca Cola and cans of drink are a favourite of me and my housemates.
  • A & K Butler and R Hayman Butchers: There are two brilliant butchers along the Crookes highstreet, both serve excellent meat but R Hayman also do some amazing pork or fresh ham sandwiches!
  • There is also a Cooplands bakery and a Threshers in Crookes both fairly useful shops!

Transport

The Stagecoach 52 and First 52 bus both are very frequent in Crookes coming every 7 and 5 minutes respectively, however the Stagecoach buses are much better for students offering a 50 pence single journey to anywhere along the line.  Heading one way down from Crookes you can get the bus to Broomhill, Sheffield University and Sheffield City Center. Heading the other way you can get to the large Hillsborough Morrisons. With a Dayrider ticket (£3) you can also use the Stagecoach trams which you can take all the way to Meadowhall.

The only disadvantage with the Stagecoach bus is that it finsihes running earlier in the evening then the First. However after about 7pm First offer a £1 return service for students on the 52 line. The First 52 line however ends in Crookes and does not go down to Morrisons.

In Part 2 I shall go into the Pubs, Eating Places and Restaurants of Crookes.

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Read more | Comments (2) | Monday, 28th Dec 2009