Full time students are exempt from paying Council Tax so make sure you are taking advantage of this benefit.

Make sure you are maximising the money available to you through student grants and finance - you can check what you are entitled to here.

Students can apply for a 16–25 Railcard which can cut the cost of most train journeys by a third. It's also available to eligible full-time mature students aged 26 and over. Sign up here.

Food is often one of the easiest expenses to underestimate. Here are some great tips for reducing spend on food:

• Cooking most of your meals yourself can make a big difference, particularly if you:

  • Plan a few meals before doing your weekly shop

  • Buy supermarket own-brand products

  • Cook in batches

  • Freeze leftovers

  • Take lunch to lectures

• Sign up for the free app Too Good To Go to buy surplus food from restaurants, cafés, supermarkets and other businesses at a much reduced price. The offers can be particularly useful for students who are flexible about what they eat and don't mind picking up food at a specified time.

• Olio is another great, free app which sources free food, based on the users postcode and how far they are prepared to travel to collect it. Much of it is food saved from supermarkets that would otherwise be thrown away.

• TROLLEY is an app which compares the price of food across the large supermarkets in the UK, helping to reduce overall shopping basket prices.

• Local Pantry provide community shops across the UK selling fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and store cupboard favourites. People sign up to be members of a Local Pantry (which costs around £3.50 a week) and are then able to choose food worth £15-20 or more. Here is a link to the Local Pantry’s currently available in the UK.

Reduce energy costs using these simple tips if you are living in a rented flat and your water costs aren’t included in the rent:

• Reduce boiler flow - boilers are usually set at unnecessarily high temperatures by default and reducing them to the recommended 55-60c can save up to £100 a year. Here’s a simple guide to show you how to do it (NB this only works for combi boilers - where there is no separate hot water tank)

• Turn down your thermostat - reducing the temperature by just 1c can save up to £100 a year.

• Draught proofing - find the draughts and use cost-effective solutions to reduce them - read this useful guide for ideas.

• Curtains and blinds - drawing your curtains and blinds around dusk can reduce heat loss by around 15%.

• Unplug or turn off devices when not in use - this can add up to £65 in savings a year.

• Swap to energy efficient LED bulbs - this can save around £40 a year if all bulbs in a house are LED.

• Wash clothes on 30c - lowering the temperature from 40c, and doing one less load a week, can save £36 a year.

• Use an air dryer over a tumble dryer - tumble dryers can cost £1 per use and are one of the most expensive appliances to run.

• Opt for air fryers or slow-cookers - they use much less energy than traditional ovens.

• Put lids on pans - if you do use an oven top to cook, use the right sized pan and use a lid to cook the food more quickly and stop heat escaping.

• Don’t overfill kettles - only boil the amount of water you need. If you do end up with excess boiling water, transfer it to a thermos for use later in the day.

Water costs have gone up so be savvy with your water usage if you are living in a rented flat and your water costs aren’t included in the rent:

• Apply for free water saving gadgets from www.getwaterfit.co.uk - you will receive a bundle of gadgets such as a device to put on a shower head to reduce the amount of water flow without any noticeable difference. These gadgets can save up to £150 a year on water bills.

• Showers tend to use less water than baths (especially deep baths!). The average bath uses 80 litres of water compared to the average shower of 35 litres.

• Make sure dishwashers and washing machines are full before you use them, and use the energy saving settings.