Cost of Living

Here in the UK, we are seeing an increase in the cost of living and we know that you may very well be worrying about the rises to household bills, food and other living costs whilst studying at University. This page outlines what we are doing at The Union to try mitigate the challenges that come with the cost of living as well as  providing relevant support and tips for making your money go further.

We are continuously updating this page with new campaigns, tips and advice for students, so be sure to check back on a regular basis or bookmark this page. 

Throughout this academic year and so long as cost of living is causing concern for students, we will be continuing to work with and to lobby the University for support, as well as looking at the practical & tangible support we can offer to ease the impact of the crisis.

What we've done so far

We've made sure that cost of living is considered within the ECF process, so that no student is disadvantaged academically, if it's affected your ability to study We've worked with the University to distribute food bundles for students most in need of them through our partnership with the University Student Finance Team
 
We have offered more paid student staff roles at the Union than we've ever offered before, keep an eye on our job page for current opportunities! In partnership with University Catering, we have created budget recipe cards and cooking tutorials so that you can still enjoy tasty food whilst on a budget
@portsmouthsu Episode 1 | As part of the work we are doing to support students worried about the cost of living, we wanted to see where the cheapest places in Portsmouth were to do you food shops by doing the same shop in different places students shop in the city #portsmouthsu #portsmouthuni #portsmouthstudents #costofliving #wherescheapest ♬ FUTURE HOUSE - Sergey Wednesday
@portsmouthsu Episode 2 | We’re seeing where’s cheapest to do you food shop in the city based on where students shop, Tesco is currently still just slightly cheaper thanks to Clubcard prices #portsmouthsu #portsmouthuni #portsmouthstudents #costofliving #wherescheapest ♬ FEEL THE GROOVE - Queens Road, Fabian Graetz

Follow us on TikTok and Instagram for useful tips, guidance and cost of living "hacks"

Other things we've done so far

  • Made our own webpage dedicated to cost of living and fed in to the University's webpage
  • Helped to promote the University's Student Support Fund 
  • Added information about local food banks and free hot meals to our city map

Things we are still working on

  • Access to free sanitary products on campus
  • Creating useful blogs/articles with helpful guidance for you in relation to the cost of living
  • Creating a Help YourShelf initiative on campus
  • Exploring what "cozy campus" initiatives we can offer across campus and in the city
  • Exploring free access to creative cloud off campus for CCI students
  • Planning for a free student breakfast

Helpful Articles

Government Energy Rebate - where does that leave students?

What does this mean? How does this impact me?

Student Loan Impulse Spending - what can you do?

Check out this article all about impulse spending and how you can save those pennies!

Gone Phishing?

There are plenty of phish in the sea - and you'll want to avoid them!

Find Food Banks and Hot Meals on our City Map

The University also have their own pages about Cost of Living Support that references a lot of the resources that the University can provide for students.

For financial support to students facing financial difficulty For information on available laptops and PCs on campus For general financial advice and money savin tips For finding part-time work alongside your studies
Helps you to see how inflation may impact you based on your spending A range of tips, articles and resources specifically targetted for students

Page created: Mon, 07 Nov 2022 12:39:43 GMT
Page updated: Thu, 06 Apr 2023 14:41:50 GMT

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