Money diaries – Nahla
By Nahla, from Sierra Leone and Scotland, studying MA Social Anthropology with Development
Year of study: Second year undergraduate
Accommodation type: Private
Part-time job: waitress and Student Ambassador
Nahla with her car
I feel that most people worry about budgeting in Edinburgh, where student living isn’t cheap, and stress that they won’t have fun. However, if you know roughly what’s needed to survive (not just surviving off dry pasta, which is very possible, don’t get me wrong) but living well and having fun, you can do it without eating away at your money. What I’m saying is it’s very possible to have fun on a budget. #BaddieOnABudget
Day one
On Mondays I have no classes, which is a result, as I can prepare for an intense week ahead. So, I do have a little bit of a lie-in. I have started running, because who said you can’t start new resolutions in February! It’s an amazing way to achieve my 10,000 steps a day. No money was spent because running is the best free exercise. It is, however, only day one, so let’s just wait and see how far I’ll go. After my run, I headed home to read and prep for my lectures that I had put off over the weekend.
Later on, I needed to feed myself dinner, and I had most things in the fridge already, from my food shop last week. I noticed I was quite low on breakfast items, so I drove to Tesco to pick up brekkie things for tomorrow. I only spent £2.50, and that also included bin bags, something that I forgot I would have to purchase on the regular when I moved out of the house. Owning my own car is the biggest lifesaver, especially when I am running late for things or just need to do a food shop. It’s quite simple and stress-free to park at my flat because it has free parking, which is something I made sure to prioritise when flat-hunting.
Total: £2.50
Dinner at home
Day two
I had an easy morning considering I had no classes until 3pm, so I psyched myself up for a run despite it being extremely windy. One thing about Edinburgh is that it can be very windy, so wrap up warm. To continue this fitness streak and add to my fitness era, I bought myself a gym membership, which provides me access to the gym for four months. It was £99, and I do have to say the bank account didn’t like to see that payment, but it will be okay! After the gym, I spent an hour with my friend at Not Just Coffee. I didn’t end up getting anything, but I caved and brought a £4.50 sandwich from Picnic Basket next door. I highly recommend it. After the catch-up with my friend, I headed towards my lecture.
Afterwards, I got the bus back home, which is free if you have a Young Scot card.
Find out more on how to apply for a Young Scot Card.
Once I got back, I made something to eat before driving to the charity SolidariTee pub quiz near campus. I drove because I was running late, and luckily, it was free parking, as it was past 6:30pm. Which I am thankful for, as usually parking can be £5.00/£8.00/£6.80 an hour, very expensive! My ticket for the quiz was £3.00, which goes to the charity. Unfortunately, I was not successful at the quiz, and as a little post-dinner snack, I ordered nachos costing £5.95. Frankly, I thought that was a rip-off, but oh well, we live, and we learn. I shared these with my friend, and once it was over, I drove back home.
Total: £109.45
Day three
This Wednesday was a very eventful and packed day that started at 9am. Not because of a lecture but because I was meeting a friend. Thank goodness for the bus because I was running late. Whoever makes it on time for socialising for coffee at 9am has their life together. We met at Black Medicine Coffee. I didn’t buy a coffee because I was so busy chatting to my friend that I ran out of time and had to head to my class. After class, I met a friend for lunch that I hadn’t seen for at least 10 years.
At this point, I was starving, so I got a massive lunch that cost me £14.00. To be more precise, I had two different types of meals: McDonald’s and a burrito from Tortilla, which I didn’t realise gave a student discount. So, I fell into a food spending trap that day. After lunch, my friend and I took a stroll down the Royal Mile and ended up entering St Giles’ Cathedral, which had free entry. For dinner, I saved myself money as I ended up going for dinner at my friend’s, which was so lovely, and she refused to let me buy any ingredients.
Total: £14
Tortilla on Forrest Road Edinburgh
Day four
Thursday is my busiest day at uni, where I have back-to-back meetings and lectures all starting at 9am and ending at 4pm. I ended up planning a presentation that I need to present next week. Also, I met up with a friend amongst all the chaos. I had made a packed lunch, so I didn’t spend any money. Once I finished up, I headed home and went for a run.
Total: £0
Day five
On Friday, I woke with my SAAS payment (which is a loan and bursary from Student Awards Agency Scotland) in the bank. This went straight into my savings for next month’s rent.
I had one class today but before it started, I met my friend to study in the Crystal Macmillan Building. Because I was ravenous at lunch, I decided to grab something at Ting Thai, which will always be my go-to lunch spot. I got the £8.25 Khao Sawy.
That evening, I decided to go out for dinner with my friend at an Italian restaurant. I ordered burrata, an amazing pasta dish, and a glass of wine costing around £32 in total. I had genuinely never tasted anything quite like that!
Total: £40.25
Days six and seven
On the weekend, I didn’t spend money. The reason is that I had no free time because I worked from 12 midday until midnight both days.
Total: 0
Weekly total: £169.20
Other costs
Rent: £950/month
Utilities: £50/month
Internet: £12.50/month
Earnings: £1,100/month
Student bursary and loan: £950/month from SAAS.
Car fuel: £20 every 2 weeks or whenever its extremely low.
Car Insurance: £1,500/year.
Related links
Other studying and living costs
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