So you’ve made it to Uni, but there’s just one problem; you’ve never truly had to handle your own finances before, and unless you’re utterly stinking rich, you’ve probably never had this much money available to you before. But stop right there, and while you hover your hand over your bank card, think about everything you’ve got to pay for in the future. Yes, I know it’s tedious, but trust me, it’s worth it. Go on, make a list of everything you’ll utterly need; rent money, food money, car money, unexpected books money, travel money, bribery money… OK maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. By the time you’re finished with that list and tot it all up, you’ll be realising pretty early on that you really don’t want to blow half of it on Fresher’s week.

Beware; Uni turns you into a practical adult, because the first thing you will understand about clubbing is not how many drinks you can down in 10 seconds, but how many drinks deals you can afford on a £20 budget. your work-play balance will be equally important to you, and as long as you stick to some sort of budget for each night, I don’t see once or twice a week being a big deal. In my experience, I found it much too easy to spend loads on a night out, so I stopped taking cards out with me. I would simply bring a note (either a ten or a twenty, depending on where I was going and how many drinks I’d had beforehand), and then try to spend the least amount that I could. I tended to substitute boozing for dancing, and overall kept in pretty good physical shape, too.

Now, I know binge-drinking is meant to be bad for you, but let’s face it, we all do it at Uni so I’ll give you some advice on that. First off, the boring adult bit about drinking water in-between so you don’t get a banging hangover in the morning, and secondly, the cheapest way to do a night out is to do some pre-drinking beforehand. This is not scientific fact, however, it does tend to be true. You can buy a cheap bottle of Kopparberg or rose (please substitute to your preferred drink) from the supermarket, meet up at someone’s house and drink there either until you’re nicely tiddled or until it’s time to hit the clubs.. or indeed you may not leave at all. Most drinks at the clubs are pretty expensive, so you save a bit of money by getting some alcohol into your system before you leave. Plus, it means extra time dancing and less time queuing. Just… don’t drink tons before you go out; it’s a money-saving trick, not a chance for you to become so plastered that you can’t find your way home later. We also don’t want to resort to the ‘tactical chunder’.

Let’s not forget those all-important student nights. Never go out somewhere as a student and forget your ID, as it is classed as Student Sin number 1 (number 2 is forgetting it when you go shopping FYI). Student nights are outrageously cheap if you can find the right place to go; I’ve had some really great nights and have only spent a tenner on them (plus £3 for my pre-club Kopparberg). How is that for proof?

Good Luck.