Freshers Handbook 2021 24-09

2.4 Money 21
Your College Bill will vary a lot depending on how often you eat meals in Hall,
which room you are in and how familiar you make yourself with the Bar. A typical
student who eats at least one of lunch and dinner in Hall every day, has a bedsit
room and is frequently in the Bar might expect to pay £1100 in rent and £500–£600
on their Kitchen Account (combined Hall, Bar and Formals) each term. You’ll also
have to pay about £170 a term up front on the Kitchen Fixed Charge (unless you
are exempt—more details on this can be found in the White Book or by contacting
Elianna, our Environmental and Domestic Officer, if you have specific dietary requirements
that mean you can’t eat in Hall). You don’t need to worry about heating,
and electricity is rarely more than £5 (but do consider the environmental impact...).
Everyone is different, and you can check how much you’re spending on your
Kitchen Account at any time using UpayChilli (more details will be given to you by
the Catering Department when they set up your account).
2.4.2 Everyday Spending
Most UK high street banks have a branch in Cambridge and almost all of them
have a current account specifically designed for students. If possible, it’s best to
organise things like this before you arrive. Most banks offer freebies to try and
attract students into opening an account with them like a free railcard. While these
can certainly be valuable you should look beyond the offer and see whether the
account suits you. Bear in mind that in the UK you can use most cash machines
without charge, so it doesn’t make much difference to your everyday life.
Since the terms are so short and intense it’s unlikely that you’ll have the time
to balance work, societies, relaxing and having a job. It is for this reason that the
University discourages students from taking up paid positions during term time.
However, as there are lengthy vacation periods, many students do get a job during
the vacations to supplement their student loans. Do make sure, though, that you have
plenty of rest during the holidays and leave time to revise too. Both the University
and Trinity offer many forms of financial support to ensure that you don’t need to
get a job to keep studying.
Many people find budgeting to be a good idea; working out how much you can
afford to spend per week and trying to stick to it is really useful, especially at the end
of term. Each person’s budget will be different, but if at any point you experience
financial difficulty while at University, you should speak to your Tutor about
it as soon as possible. They are there to help you, and have the power to give you
more time to pay your bills and to help find suitable funds and support for you.
Trinity is all about stripping away as many barriers as possible between you and
your subject, and helping you stress less over money is just one of the ways they can
do that.
More information on everything in this section can be found in the White Book.