Every single budgeting tip in St. Andrews

I’ve lived in St. Andrews for a year and a half and had to care for a child while unemployed, then worked a combination of jobs while supporting myself as a delivery cyclist, PhD tutor, online tutor, and tour guide. I have never had a reliable, stable income nor any kind of PhD stipend. I had a tuition fee waiver, and that’s it. Nevertheless, survivalism in a town full of reality-divorced posh golfers can be a fun challenge. In case you’re about to be a similar position, here is every tip I can think of right now, though I know some more:

• University of St. Andrews meal deal, available in the Main Library, Walter Bower House, and other University-run (not Union-run) cafés (somewhere in the North Haugh?). £1.75 for a reasonably priced sandwich, snack, and hot drink (filter coffee/tea). This has saved my life when I haven’t got the time to bring some food in a Tupperware (brandonym redacted?).
• Tesco on Market Street have a reduced to clear section in the middle that often includes a diversity of food. They throw everything away at about 9 pm so get there before that.

• Budget shops: There is an ALDI. That’s pretty much it, unless you count Greggs. But, In Dundee, there is a B&M and a Home Bargains. Make these your friends.

• Similarly, if you’re too old for an Old Scot Card, bear in mind the University’s Stagecoach discount. You can get 75% off weekly tickets, which is a huge help. A weekly East Scotland ticket will cost about £7, which can get you to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, and possibly Aberdeen (staying out too late in Glasgow or Edinburgh may result in you getting stranded without the Elemy service, which is reasonably priced.). You need the St. Andrews logo to come up on your app. For help, go to the Main Library help desk.
• Also, as a student, you are entitled to a 16-25 railcard even if you are over 25. This is important and will help a lot in getting to conferences, going home, etc. You need to go to the ASC and get them to stamp a physical railcard application, proving you’re a student, and then you’re off. It’s about £20 and well worth the money for a third discount on all standard tickets.
• Bear in mind random soup kitchens, in St. Andrews churches, which happen a lot. St. Mark’s Parish Church, a Church of Scotland church near the bus station, has a free soup kitchen on Friday starting at 11 am. Don’t think that you are ‘taking food from people who truly need them by doing this. Considering how messed up the university sector is, you deserve free food, unless you have some sort of expensive trust fund, in which case maybe you should consider setting up something like this. There are more, too, and many in Dundee.
• Similarly, St. David’s Community Centre, North East Fife Community Hub, near East Sands, on Albany Park, has an affordable lunch every weekday in which you can get a big lunch replete with much genuine nutrition for about £3. Food banks and a post office are run from here.

• Bikes: Transitions have bikes you can borrow and a bike workshop where interested volunteers will help you repair your bike and not charge you extortionate sums. There’s a really nice chap on Kinnesburn Road who runs a bike shop called Cyclepath. Do not go to Spokes on South Street. These guys are notorious overchargers who will do whatever they can to ensure you pay overpriced sums for a simple and uncomplicated bike repair.
• More on transitions. Transitions’ various community gardens have harvestable produce that is fit to bursting. Among the Transitions gardens that are easily accessible is a garden by the Observatory (nearby David Russell Apartments, where you may be.)
• Similarly, Transitions run drop-in sessions in their garage on Monday and Friday from 12.30-2.30 by the back of the Chemistry department. This is often extremely nice stuff that posh students have got rid of. You can get virtually anything here – clothes, electronics, etc. I have got a blender, a wardrobe, and several furniture items for free here.
• Use apps like Too Good to Go (which operates in St. Andrews) or Olio.
• Consult In The Loop, the staff and PG newsletter. If you say you need something and make a case for why you might need it someone will often get in touch with you. I have acquired a washing machine and two sofas this way.
• Housing: Landlords and landladies will often charge hefty prices, considering they know the housing game. Many of the student letting agents are notoriously immoral in terms of inflating prices. Look around for more ad hoc arrangements in Facebook pages like Get a Room. If you ask your department administrator to circulate a request for housing, something might come forward.
• Also, near Leuchars, there is some amazingly cheap student accommodation nearby some army barracks. If you talk to student accommodation and say you are at risk of homelessness, they will move you here very affordably.
• Castle Furniture Project in Cupar is supposed to be affordable and good. There’s also a similar shop like this in Anstruther.
• Booze: Luvians (on Market Street) have a little expired beer box if you’re looking for something a little fancy to impress at a dinner party or posh student party, or just want to treat yourself, but, like me, are practically destitute. Obviously the Union is the cheapest pub in town, but you might feel a bit awkward in there unless you are 18, so consider other cheap pubs in town: Aikman’s, the New Inn (I think that’s about it.) Aikman’s sell a selection of Belgian beers for about half the price they’d be anywhere else, especially some bougie craft beer pub in Islington.
• Books: try Transitions, Monday and Friday, an aforementioned drop-in session. Quite often if you are looking for course reading someone will be getting rid of them. I’ve taught EN1004 and have seen the entire EN1004 reading list, together, huddled in the Transitions drop-in session. There’s a second hand book shop on the other side of Market Street, near Luvian’s, which I mention because I bear a mortal grudge against Toppings, who won’t let me have a poetry reading there (if you’re reading this, Toppings, once I become a celebrity poet at the same level of Byron, I am never letting you stock my books. If you do I will take legal action against you.)
• Swimming pools, blah blah blah: The Sports Centre is obviously your best bet, but maybe you want to consider working for the Fairmont? Lots of students work here and if you work for the notorious C&B department, often commandeered by UGs, you can simply sign up for particular shifts and not work any consistent or reliable shift pattern. And you then have access to the swimming pool! And also these ridiculous 30% discounts (or some figure to that effect) on stuff like massages, the restaurants (which are not that great), etc.
• Obviously charity shops are in the town. I would avoid Oxfam, which is notoriously overpriced, though it does occasionally have these massive inexplicable discounts on nice coffee and chocolate.
• Naturity has a bargain basket with stuff like soya cream for 75% off, as well as free vegetables.
• Finally, I would strongly recommend a trip to Kinnessburn Eco Hub. A little bit out of town, this is a very affordable refillable shop, in which you can buy rice, shampoo, pulses, etc. I have bought a massive quantity of chickpeas, rice, and shampoo and honestly spent something like about £7.

• More when inspiration strikes.