Operation Budget

So, it's that time of year again.The time of year where I get my student loan but it doesn't stretch far enough. The time of year where they give you less than it actually costs you in rent and then land you in £20,000 of debt three years later.

Anyway, moving on. I'm moving in, as a tenant, into the home of one of my university's librarians and I've got a fantastic deal on my rent. (Perhaps I shouldn't jinx things but I'm sure she can't go back on it now). They seem to be a lovely couple and they're both deaf. As harsh as this sounds, that's fantastic for me because noise does my head in. I want to live somewhere silent and because my landlords can't hear they use BSL to communicate and subtitles on the TV. It's an absolute dream, noise wise. For £70 per week, I get a double bedroom at the back of the house overlooking the garden and fields with built-in wardrobes, a bathroom either to myself or shared with one other tenant, Sky TV in my bedroom (TV provided), wireless internet, use of the kitchen and washing machine and a driveway to park my car in. Absolute bargain compared to the fact that I was paying £77 a week to live on campus in a single room sharing a bathroom with 7 other disgusting people and having a kitchen that was too filthy to use no matter how often I cleaned it. So, all in all, I'm quite looking forward to moving in there... Well, as excited as I can be when I'm dreading the whole year as it is. The only issue is that this year my rent is paid monthly whereas previous years allowed me to pay the whole thing off in one lump sum. I'm paying it all myself too so it's going to take some serious budgetting to be able to save a little money for my postgraduate degree tuition fees, afford my car insurance AND pay rent monthly myself.


I knocked up a week by week budget on a table in Microsoft Word and plan to pin it to my wall when I move in. I also found these fantastic monthly budget sheets on Sissyprint. They have some AMAZING printables for absolutely free so I really recommend you have a look. They have everything from budgets to cards and little messages to stick on packed lunches. So adorable. Anyway, I printed off their monthly budgets and filled one in for all the months I'll be living at university as of October. They have a section for everything and a section for you to write down what you actually spent in comparison to the amount you should have. That should be interesting, right? :P They're a really handy size and I'm in love with my new download. If you want to print them yourselves, pay Sissyprint a visit and have a scroll through their blog. You might find something else you like as well. :)