Surviving in UCD

passive

So... Not sure how to come at this. I'll be back in UCD next year, after a year on erasmus (living on campus), and will be returning to my 1.5 hour commute, staying out there 'til late evening/nighttime for social events and/or living in the library. I'm slightly worried about my financial prospects for the next year, being currently in a few thousand euro debt and not overly sure if I should work through my final year (kinda hoping to stay on 2.1 path or get suddenly kickass hella good and for for a 1st)

Aand... from what I recall; It's very difficult to feed oneself out there without spending a fortune. Over here, ignoring the fact that I have a home to cook in (as I often do(ignore)), I can go to the resto-U and get a subsidised meal (€2.80 for a small plate of salad, meal of chips/rice, burger/chicken nuggets/misc meaty thing, vegetables, a dessert or cheesey spread and a small bread roll). or get the €2.50 sub of the day at the local subway dispensary.

So... How do people feed themselves on a budget in UCD? If I become disciplined enough to prepare sandwiches & snacks with parental food every day, I'm still only covered for a 6-7 hour stay, before I'll need to eat again, to hold me over until I microwave the neglected dinner that awaits me back in Beaumont.. Have microwave facilities arisen? Has anyone prepared a bloody revolution to make the main restaurant a little more affordable? Not even overly concerned about the healthiness of food on offer, just the "keeping me alive" factor..

Sorry if this seems trivial... Last year, despite living at home, I spent about twice as much a week as I do to get by over here. Have only just gotten used to sticking to a budget, and not looking forward to the cost of everything (except drink in pubs ) raising seriously... Neverminding extortionate bus costs . Cheers for any advice!

sweet-rasmus

ah, i've survived 4 years in UCD and i brought food in every day. sandwiches, salads, crackers... gets boring but i'm vegan so don't have much option of eating out on campus. so long as you bring enough, it'll last you the required 8am til 6pm shift

the pain is getting up that little bit earlier to prepare it

Lizziepoos

hey dude,
i'm kinda similiar to you but i find it reasonably manageable. For the 1.5 hour commute, i get the 18euro student weekly public transport ticket to save money. Get in there around 9 and keep up with college work by working in the library between classes. leave ucd around 4.30 to get back for dinner (also living on parental food). I always have a huge breakfast before i leave and bring sandwiches and stuff so i don't have to pay for lunch.
I don't have your debt probs luckily but my plan is i work as much as possible during the summer and christmas months and save up so i don't have to work during the semesters. that way you can focus on the grades. maybe you could ask your folks to look after the money you owe now so that you can owe it to them instead and pay them back with less pressure once your finished college. my big bro graduated oweing our folks about 4000 and paid it back within 2 years in his new job.
also, i kissed pubs and clubs goodbye for the most part and replaced them with cans and friends gaffs. go out in town occasionally (drink beforehand) to student nights like fibbers (5euro in, 3euro drinks). if you get the nitelink home then you can get away with a night out costing up to 30euro.
it can be a bit crappy having to budget and organise all the time but once you get into the habit it's not bad at all.

Good luck!

seraphimvc

get some craic and study,what more?welcome on board!!:)

1.5 hr travel?i do that for the last 2 yrs not doing that from now on yeay!i think you will need about 5euro on the lunch in campus,while have your own breakfast and dinner at home,plus some bus ticket,calculate that your self,say about 50euro a week?then extras money go to night out etc,about 100euro per week,for me,thats the maximum.always buy stuffs from SU shop,if you wanna have something nice,go element;sometimes i have dinner in the restaurant beside student bar,cheap but loads of food*strangely,cause their foods are normally overpriced*

wanna save some money on water?lots of places in campus have the drinking machine...

always go to those students cheap drink night...

get your book online,never step in the campus bookshop unless emergency or you are 100% sure thats the last place you can find the book...

what more?thats my 2cents for now

pretty*monster

I'm not a lot of help, I've been on the "drink when you want; eat when you can afford to" diet for the last four years. Also, those years of training has taught my body to accept that dinner happens at 10pm or after, which is about when I normally arrive home to have it for free, eat when your at home, whatever time it is.

Tom65

pretty*monster wrote: »

I'm not a lot of help, I've been on the "drink when you want; eat when you can afford to" diet for the last four years. Also, those years of training has taught my body to accept that dinner happens at 10pm or after, which is about when I normally arrive home to have it for free, eat when your at home, whatever time it is.

It's probably a bad idea, but this is pretty much what I do as well.

Though I do get home around 4, I was in at 9am 4 days a week this year. Since its a struggle to get up on time, I usually missed breakfast (it was either breakfast or a lecture), and then couldn't afford lunch. I'd just feel hungry for a few hours, maybe have an apple from the SU shop, and then be home by 3 or 4 and eat then.

It's probably not very smart health wise, but my wallet was certainly healthier for it. When I was studying for the exams I was in 10 until 10 and ended up spending at least €10 a day on food, which I couldn't afford.

Brimmy

Lizziepoos wrote: »

student nights like fibbers

Oh god, please don't advertise Fibbers... Why I am even thinking about going back there tomorrow night I'll never know..

But yeah transport is cheap with the bus ticket as long as you splash out for the student ticket at the beginning of the year (12/15 euro) helps you save a lot in transport over the week.

I'm lucky though that most of days end around 1 or 2 and I'm back home by 4ish providing I don't hang around town so I just eat at home..

God I hate Fibbers..

wandering_star

Hey op, this time last year I was in your position, exactly the same, had a deadly year on erasmus, all i had to do was fall down the stairs and i was literally in class (something which after a few drinks did occur once or twice..or maybe three times.. ) and then I came home to living in the styx and commuting for ages to uni. 2 buses twice a day, all day everyday. Grr.
If I survived you'll survive.

This may sound like yer Ma talking but, a packed lunch saved my ass several times, although it can be annoying getting time to prepare it, it helped a lot. Cooked pasta, sambos, etc, helped cut down on the cost, that and bulk buying stuff like cans of coke, etc and leaving them in the locker (man I sound stingy, but I was/am a broke student) and getting a recyclable water bottle and just filling it up from the water fountains. It's free, so why pay 2.50 for it. It sounds stingy, but it amounts up, 2e every day..that's a 10er by the end of the week, which could be better spent on Friday beers. Being a student is all about priorities. Mine, alcohol.

Another thing that helped out was having a change of clothes in the aul locker so if you do get to know someone who lives by you can be fresh (well depending on how much you were drinking) the next day.

The other option is to take out a loan and rent, which looking back now might have been the less stressful option then, however the idea of having to go out now and work straight away to pay off a 6k+ loan would scare the bejaysus out of me now.

It sounds pretty horrible now, and there are times when it really is, I remember one particular rainy November day when I had to be into uni at 9am to hand in an exercise and the 2 buses I taken broke down. What are the fu(king chances eh, suffice to say a mini wandering_star breakdown ensued. However thanks to my wonderful friends and a cup of hot tea when I finally got in I survived to tell the tale. It can be a right pain in the arse, but you can get through it. (Man I miss Erasmus.:()

It's final year, it's tough on everyone, but like Erasmus it's what you make of it.:D

vote4pedro

The price of the Restaurant really is crazy, even more so when you consider how much money is being thrown away on the new SU building (which I've noticed they've started trying to pimp again with new flyers etc)...what price could we get meals in the restaurant down to if we decided to forego a larger room for the SU Designers, Education Officer, or the oh so important specialist debating chambers.

pretty*monster

vote4pedro wrote: »

The price of the Restaurant really is crazy, even more so when you consider how much money is being thrown away on the new SU building (which I've noticed they've started trying to pimp again with new flyers etc)...what price could we get meals in the restaurant down to if we decided to forego a larger room for the SU Designers, Education Officer, or the oh so important specialist debating chambers.

Oh come off it, the restaurant is not expensive, it's cheaper than city centre prices.
And the money for the new student centre is coming directly out of the reg fee which students, in their infinite wisdom voted for, if you want subsidized meals why not run a referendum to collect a higher reg fee in order to subsidize meals:rolleyes:.

armada104

pretty*monster wrote: »

Oh come off it, the restaurant is not expensive, it's cheaper than city centre prices.
And the money for the new student centre is coming directly out of the reg fee which students, in their infinite wisdom voted for, if you want subsidized meals why not run a referendum to collect a higher reg fee in order to subsidize meals:rolleyes:.

:rolleyes: <-- i really wish this hadn't come back.

FFS, I'd hope it'd be cheaper than city centre prices, because it ain't in the city centre! I'm pretty sure there's no mortgage to be paid either. And most importantly, it serves absoulute tripe. This is cheap, nasty canteen food of the worst order and to compare it to "city centre prices" is ludicrous. I realise money doesn't come from thin air, but I can get a decent meal in Maynooth for nearly half the price of UCD.

For what you get, the restaurant is extremely expensive. I wouldn't eat most of their food for free. Indeed I don't. I recently had three days' worth of €10 vouchers for the place. By day 3 I used my voucher to buy fruit, crisps and soft drinks and got lunch elsewhere. You're defending the indefensible.

Tom65

Really, a lot of the SU stuff could be spent on subsidising meals more. I mean, remember those "there's nothing glamorous about vomit" posters? They looked like they cost a fair bit, and realistically what purpose did they serve? I'm sure a lot of SU money goes on posters and leaflets etc. I'd much rather have it subsidising meals. If I not mistaken you still have to pay for little sachets of ketchup and stuff. There are some city centre places you don't even have to do that.

pretty*monster

armada104 wrote: »

:rolleyes: <-- i really wish this hadn't come back.

FFS, I'd hope it'd be cheaper than city centre prices, because it ain't in the city centre! I'm pretty sure there's no mortgage to be paid either. And most importantly, it serves absoulute tripe. This is cheap, nasty canteen food of the worst order and to compare it to "city centre prices" is ludicrous. I realise money doesn't come from thin air, but I can get a decent meal in Maynooth for nearly half the price of UCD.

Go to Maynooth so. UCD doesn't owe you a cheap meal.
I sense of entitlement out of some students makes me feel ill.

gubbie

pretty*monster wrote: »

Oh come off it, the restaurant is not expensive, it's cheaper than city centre prices.
And the money for the new student centre is coming directly out of the reg fee which students, in their infinite wisdom voted for, if you want subsidized meals why not run a referendum to collect a higher reg fee in order to subsidize meals:rolleyes:.

No I agree with her. The restaurant is expensive. If you compare it to everywhere else on campus especially. For about the same price you can get an amazingly decent meal in Elements that you'd actually eat and enjoy. €4 for a small plate of salad is NOT cheap. Chips are about €2.60 which is the price all over town. UCC too have a restaurant and it is a way higher standard then our crap.

Mushy

wandering_star wrote: »

Hey op, this time last year I was in your position, exactly the same, had a deadly year on erasmus, all i had to do was fall down the stairs and i was literally in class (something which after a few drinks did occur once or twice..or maybe three times.. ) and then I came home to living in the styx and commuting for ages to uni. 2 buses twice a day, all day everyday. Grr.
If I survived you'll survive.

This may sound like yer Ma talking but, a packed lunch saved my ass several times, although it can be annoying getting time to prepare it, it helped a lot. Cooked pasta, sambos, etc, helped cut down on the cost, that and bulk buying stuff like cans of coke, etc and leaving them in the locker (man I sound stingy, but I was/am a broke student) and getting a recyclable water bottle and just filling it up from the water fountains. It's free, so why pay 2.50 for it. It sounds stingy, but it amounts up, 2e every day..that's a 10er by the end of the week, which could be better spent on Friday beers. Being a student is all about priorities. Mine, alcohol.

Another thing that helped out was having a change of clothes in the aul locker so if you do get to know someone who lives by you can be fresh (well depending on how much you were drinking) the next day.

The other option is to take out a loan and rent, which looking back now might have been the less stressful option then, however the idea of having to go out now and work straight away to pay off a 6k+ loan would scare the bejaysus out of me now.

It sounds pretty horrible now, and there are times when it really is, I remember one particular rainy November day when I had to be into uni at 9am to hand in an exercise and the 2 buses I taken broke down. What are the fu(king chances eh, suffice to say a mini wandering_star breakdown ensued. However thanks to my wonderful friends and a cup of hot tea when I finally got in I survived to tell the tale. It can be a right pain in the arse, but you can get through it. (Man I miss Erasmus.:()

It's final year, it's tough on everyone, but like Erasmus it's what you make of it.:D

Thanks for some of those little tips on how to save money. They'll be coming into effect in September.

Pride Fighter

Tom65 wrote: »

Really, a lot of the SU stuff could be spent on subsidising meals more. I mean, remember those "there's nothing glamorous about vomit" posters? They looked like they cost a fair bit, and realistically what purpose did they serve? I'm sure a lot of SU money goes on posters and leaflets etc. I'd much rather have it subsidising meals. If I not mistaken you still have to pay for little sachets of ketchup and stuff. There are some city centre places you don't even have to do that.

And the SU always have leaflets strewn throughout the lecture theatres which is not allowed and a disgrace IMO. It is not ecologically sound is it, cutting down the Amazon rainforest for their campaigns.

armada104

pretty*monster wrote: »

Go to Maynooth so. UCD doesn't owe you a cheap meal.
I sense of entitlement out of some students makes me feel ill.

I do not feel entitled to a cheap meal. However cheap meals are commonplace in third level institutions. UCD have clearly decided to go another direction, serving substandard food at high prices. I don't know the ins and outs of the restaurant's management or whether it has been franchised to a private company, but the disparity between its prices and those in other institutions is striking. It's not something that keeps me awake at night but I don't understand why you're defending it.

passive

pretty*monster wrote: »

Go to Maynooth so. UCD doesn't owe you a cheap meal.
I sense of entitlement out of some students makes me feel ill.

I think you're being a bit unreasonable on this one . Your policy (which coincides with mine from last year and is the reason for this inquisitive foresight thread) isn't really sustainable or.. em.. healthy. I don't think that "a cheap place to eat if you just want to get by with enough energy for the day of classes etc, and don't care too much for luxury or selection" is an insanely unreasonable expectation.

The restaurant is, realistically speaking, completely awful... And I wouldn't mind that if it was similarly affordable, but it isn't at all cheap and it isn't that far off city centre prices and shouldn't be compared to them in the same sense 911 or O Brien's could be... Is it not on some level supposed to be a service for us, rather than a competitive business? If it is in some way subsidised and doesn't turn a profit I'd be surprised and question the management skillz.

Thanks to wandering_star and others for some good tips... I'll have to work on preparing stuff in advance, in line with my whole "being more organised and better prepared" plan for next year. Are there microwaves available anywhere in UCD though? even... y'know... discreetly? PM . *Passive reviews plans and schemes for "Seduce someone in Belgrove" food&accommodation strategy*

the evil lime

If you're who I think you are (my memory's fuzzy), you should have access to society kettle and room to make noodles in most evenings. That could cut some of the costs.

passive

the Evil Lime wrote: »

if You're Who I Think You Are (my Memory's Fuzzy), You Should Have Access To Society Kettle And Room To Make Noodles In Most Evenings. That Could Cut Some Of The Costs.

^_^