Living cheaply in galway?

xp90

Anyone got any view on doin the student life in galway? I went way overboard last year!:mad:

Black_Knight

Dont drink so much. Saves ya a bundle!

christina_x

my plan is dried foods, and if you know your going out at night, eat minimum amounts of food so you wont spend as much on drink;)

english4490

any cheap but nice chinese take aways???!! for the few times i might be able to afford one!!:(

loveissucide

christina_x wrote: »

my plan is dried foods, and if you know your going out at night, eat minimum amounts of food so you wont spend as much on drink;)

That dosn't end well.The little you do eat comes flying back up,as I 've learnt the hard way.

MedHead

xp90 wrote: »

Anyone got any view on doin the student life in galway? I went way overboard last year!:mad:

Aldi and Lidl are lifesavers. Try not to eat on campus much, nerdy as it sounds if you're trying to save money then packed lunches help.

Also buy in bulk, tesco do these giant bags of pasta which last for ages and are great value.

thecountessp

Volunteer at the radio station - if you're nice we'll make you coffee for free, and you can use our microwave!

dmcg90

• If you can shop in aldi/lidl and tesco now the prices have gone down. Also try N17 Crazy Prices in Terryland beside the hotel on the corner, good spot.

• Make Chinese takeaways yourself

• Shop around for drink. Try the Fine Wines place across from Dunnes in Westside, its usually good.

• Use the loyalty cards for coffee in the college.

• Get a huge packet of mince and pasta for the week, lasts you about 3/4 days. Or even better get your parents to get your food at the weekends.

• Keep an eye out for second hand books on sale around the college (there might be a few shops in town that do them too).

• Hole in the Wall for cheap pints.

ve

It is possible to enjoy student life in Galway on a relatively modest budget. I was a student for many years and found that there is plenty of scope to enjoy yourself without breaking the bank.

Buying Alcohol in pubs/clubs is the greatest financial drain on the social student, try to avoid doing that. I'm not suggesting for a second that you avoid socialising, actually I advise you to go out and enjoy yourself, but be smart about how you spend your money while out. Students are the prime target for pubs/clubs during the academic year, because they spend the most amount of money. Those of you who have a residence where having a few mates around for a few drinks is possible, use it!. Supervalu does great offers on beer. Tescos was Good last Christmas, but lately it hasn't been that great. If you have a few mates that drink the same thing, split the cost of a case of beer, and you'll end up paying less than €1 for your pint without forking out a large note. The reason why I don't suggest you end up buying a case all to yourself is because students are as flighty as fe<k and no sooner would you have your case ready to go, someone will pull you 50 ways from Sunday and want to go elsewhere, so try and convince people of the merits to your money masterplan and share the cost.

If you don't have a residence where you can freely drink, make friends with people that do and go there instead.

More often than not, you'll have friends who would rather pi$$ money @ pub rates, so when meeting them, do so later in the night after you've had most of your fill. This is where a naggin in a hidden pocket does wonders.

In town, wander around Shop St. and get your free pass/stamp in to a nightclub. Many clubs have pubs that they send their troops to prior to opening. Depending on which club you plan on going to, find the associated pubs and you'll get your freebie. Also some clubs do student discounts, etc. Don't buy in to the notion of getting in for free if before a certain time of night. That is a scam, because clubs make the most out of you at the bar, not at the door. They will have made the entry price back within the first hour anyway. DON'T GET IN TO ROUNDS!!. Yes you might want to make friends, and not come across as stingy, so if you must then only do so with no more than one or two people who are drinking simple drinks. None of this Jagerbombs or triple vodka & redbull craic, you'll wake up the next day really regretting it. If you want to impress a new friend in a pub, sharing some of the naggin is far more impressive than arriving back to the table broke with some multi-coloured poison. It's just foolish. Some would argue that sneaking in a naggin is worse, and my response to that is that pubs are taking the absolute pi$$ out of students so don't lower yourself to their games. DON'T EVER HOST HOUSE PARTIES AT THE END OF A NIGHT OUT. If you go to parties, respect their place. You might think that dipping a football in a load of ink and kicking it around someone's place in corrib village is great craic, but I assure you, you will be the village idiot and labelled a knob in no time.

Oh yeah, if you have central heating in your residence, use it when necessary, also use the fireplace. Don't rely on electric heaters, you'll have a massive bill in no time.

As for food: only buy in bulk if it will keep. I've lived in houses with other students where there was a kitty for essentials. Money would end up going missing from the kitty and people wouldnt contribute when they should have, yada yada yada, they rarely work. Then when everyone is buying their own stuff, things tend to go off before consumed, so perhaps a bartering system in the house can work.

If you have parents that can afford to be buying shopping for you every week, well then you're lucky and that's a great bonus. Use the money wisely, and eat smart. Don't starve yourself, and don't just drink every penny, because that's extremely immature and you will probably be part of the large percentage of students that don't make it far in college and drop out.

Join societies and clubs because they often have money to fund social outings including the obligatory wine and cheese receptions that seem to happen every othe week around the college somewhere. Man the lies I must have told to get free wine.

If I can think of more, I'll post them.

dmcg90

http://www.o2online.ie/wps/wcm/connect/O2/Home/Explore+Services/Broadband/Mobile+Broadband/Student+Broadband/?wpsarea=/wps/wcm/connect/O2/Home/Explore+Services/Services/O2+Broadband/HEAnet#tandc

You can get mobile broadband on the cheap if youre a student now:

€9.99 a month.