How to Make a £40 Budget Last a Week
Think it’s impossible to live on a budget of £40 a week as a student in Nottingham? Think again! If it’s getting towards the end of the month, and money’s looking tight, we can help you make your last £40 stretch seven days to include food, transport and essential top-ups! Here’s how…
Make the split
Before you start to spend, it’s time to work out what percentage split you will allocate to each category in your budget. In this case, we’ve allocated £28 for food (70%), £7 for transport (17.5%) and £5 (12.5%) for essential top-ups or emergency items!
Food plan
Making your £28 last the full week means you’re aiming for £4 per day. This might seem low, however, if you buy in bulk and batch-make your meals, it’s definitely doable. Note, however, that this will mean making all your own food and drink for the week - no meal deals, no take-out coffees and no Deliveroo treat meals!
Top tips
Create a menu of 3 x cheap breakfast ideas, 3 x lunch and 3 x dinner, and rotate them throughout the week so every day is a bit different - but you have enough of the same ingredients to last all the days.
This could look like this:
Monday
Breakfast: Porridge and banana (3 x bananas + a small bag of porridge oats + pint of milk should last 3 breakfasts )
Lunch: Tuna pasta (Can of tinned tuna + can of sweetcorn + bag of penne pasta - should last 2 lunches)
Dinner: Lentil curry & rice (bag of white rice + tin of lentils + can of curry sauce - should last 3 dinners)
Tuesday
Breakfast: Toast & peanut butter (a loaf of bread + peanut butter jar - should last 3 breakfasts)
Lunch: Omelette (eggs + choice of filling - 2 eggs per day should last 3 days)
Dinner: Jacket potato with tuna (Jacket potato + can of tuna + butter ((already in fridge - pack of 2 jackets will last 2 days)
Wednesday
Breakfast: Porridge and banana (3 x bananas + a small bag of porridge oats + pint of milk should last 3 breakfasts )
Lunch: Beans on toast (can of beans + loaf of bread for the week)
Dinner: Veggie Noodles (Frozen veg bag + egg noodles + soy sauce + egg - should last 2 breakfasts)
Thursday
Breakfast: Pancakes (Pack of eggs, self-raising flour + pint of milk)
Lunch: Tuna pasta (Can of tinned tuna + can of sweetcorn + bag of penne pasta)
Dinner: Lentil curry & rice (bag of white rice + tin of lentils + can of curry sauce)
Friday
Breakfast: Porridge and banana (3 x bananas + a small bag of porridge oats + pint of milk should last 3 breakfasts )
Lunch: Tuna pasta (Can of tinned tuna + can of sweetcorn + bag of penne pasta)
Dinner: Veggie Noodles (Frozen veg bag + egg noodles + soy sauce + egg)
Saturday
Breakfast: Toast & peanut butter (a loaf of bread + peanut butter jar)
Lunch: Omelette (eggs + choice of filling)
Dinner: Jacket potato with tuna (Jacket potato + can of tuna + butter (already in fridge)
Sunday
Breakfast: Pancakes (Pack of eggs, self-raising flour + pint of milk)
Lunch: Tuna pasta (Can of tinned tuna + can of sweetcorn + bag of penne pasta)
Dinner: Lentil curry & rice (bag of white rice + tin of lentils + can of curry sauce)
Cheap travel tips
The places you need to be during the week will obviously affect how much travel you need to factor into your budget, however, these travel tips should help you to keep costs within your £7 travel budget.
- Walk or cycle wherever possible - free and healthy option! Nottingham is very cycle-friendly, especially around the campuses
- Take advantage of free uni services (like campus hopper buses or inter‑campus shuttles) to get to and from your lectures
- Car share with a friend who is going to the same place or nearby to you
- Consider a student Academic Year Pass - unlimited travel on buses (and some tram routes) so you don’t have to factor this into your weekly budget
More top tips on a tight budget
- Take your own refillable water bottle everywhere and top up using free water stations
- Check notice boards and online for free events happening nearby
- Don’t go shopping when you’re hungry - make you’re you’ve just eaten and you won’t be tempted to buy treats and snacks!
- Bakeries, supermarkets and market stalls often reduce the cost of stock near to closing time, so shop later in the afternoon/early evening for the best bargains
All-inclusive student accommodation helps you budget better
Hopefully, this article has helped offer a bit of inspiration for getting by on a low weekly budget when you need to. Thankfully, our student accommodation in Nottingham has a gym and games den onsite, so you can entertain yourself without the need to go out and spend any money at all. Plus, with Smart TV and Wi-Fi, you can work, chill and entertain friends all from the comfort of your uni room! Book now: true Nottingham