20 ways to have fun for less

Going back to or starting at university or college this September?

Here are a few tips that were shared by students at Greenbelt this year during the Student Focus session “Life in all its fullness: Living creatively on a student budget”.

Proof that you can live generously, ethically and creatively, while still being sensible with your finances!

If you've got your own tips, stories or ideas, do share them in the comments section.

• Join a local food co-op, set up your own or simply buy groceries in bulk with your housemates and share the costs. Find your local food co-op here: www.sustainweb.org/foodcoops.
• Cook together with your housemates. Plan your meals, think what you need to buy, and reduce food waste. www.lovefoodhatewaste.com
• Join your local library and check out their fiction and/or DVD collections.
• Have film nights in with your friends and make your own popcorn – much cheaper than a trip to the cinema!
• Grow your own food – maybe a few herbs on a sunny windowsill or find out if your university has an allotment scheme.
• Volunteer at a festival over the summer. Greenbelt (www.greenbelt.org.uk) always has lots of opportunities. Or work at a festival with Workers Beer Company and have your wages donated to a good cause (www.workersbeer.co.uk).
• Go to the park, enjoy nature, play frisbee and share a picnic.
• Visit a local museum or art gallery. Find out if other local attractions have discounts for local residents.
• Go for a walk – fresh air and exercise!
• Make presents for people. Get some ideas here: www.folksy.com/making. If you’re not feeling craft-y then bake some biscuits or make a birthday ‘voucher’ for someone which they can redeem at a later date e.g. I will wash your dishes for a week.
• Join an activity based student society e.g. rambling, kayaking.
• Find a job on campus e.g. library, disability support, student activities centre. You’ll meet new people, learn new skills and won’t have to travel very far to earn some money!
• Do a skills swap with someone if you want to learn something new e.g. teach a friend how to knit, and ask them to teach you some words in Arabic
• Look on Freecycle or your local equivalent (www.freecycle.org) if you’re in need of furniture or kitchen equipment. Free and saves things being thrown away!
• Join a befriending scheme for newly arrived asylum seekers and refugees. You’ll offer much needed support and friendship to someone and it will encourage you to get out and about and explore your own city.
• Rediscover the joy of board games, particularly the more retro ones – you can often pick them up cheaply at charity shops.
• Forage for food. Look in parks or alongside canals for blackberries! Check out a video of some foraging that Earth Abbey folk did at Greenbelt a couple of years ago: http://vimeo.com/6376069
• Take advantage of student discount schemes and 2 for 1 meal vouchers if you want to have the occasional meal out. www.studentbeans.com is just one example.
• Buy your fruit and vegetables from a local market, often works out much cheaper than a supermarket.
• Have a clothes swap with friends – you get something new and clothes get recycled!

For more ideas see the following links:

http://breathenetwork.org: A Christian network for simpler living. We connect people who want to live a less consumerist, more generous, more sustainable life.

www.generous.org.uk: Embarking on small everyday but sustainable lifestyle changes in favour of all the people and the whole of the planet.

www.eauk.org/simplify: Live small, think big

http://livesimplyaward.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/12_baskets.pdf: a great little booklet from Church Action on Poverty packed with ideas for sharing stuff and helping each other.

Share your tips below!