Conquering the credit crunch
Student life can feel pretty safe. Each term, our loans appear unfailingly in our bank accounts, and by the time they start to dwindle it's probably time to go home for a month on Easy Street, courtesy of mum and dad.
We rarely think about money in any context but the personal and quotidian. Its global status, for most of us, is someone else's problem.
Subsequently, rather than sending shivers down student spines, the words 'credit crunch' have actually started to bore many of us.
The credit crunch finds its roots in so-called 'sub-prime' mortgages, those available to customers with bad credit ratings, which were taken out by many Americans.
Unable to keep up repayments, scores had their homes repossessed, and banks had to write these loans off, leading to a global collapse in the money-lending market.
This may still seem not to affect the student population, for whom mortgages are not a great concern.
However, the effects of the credit crunch are starting to reach far beyond the property market.
Two weeks before it was scheduled to take place on 31st May, Wax:On Live, a live dance music event in Leeds with over 60 artists on the bill, was suddenly cancelled.
The promoters gave the following explanation: 'The festival fell victim not to poor ticket sales or lack of support and dedication, but to the credit crunch that has the UK in the grip of an economic stranglehold.'
Such direct repercussions (for many, the first they had felt since hearing about the economic situation) are set to be felt much more frequently in the foreseeable future.
Earlier this year, many banks in the US, including HSBC, ceased offering student loans, claiming risks similar to those in the property market, of borrowers being unable to repay their debts, existed in the student sphere too (Times, 31/03/08).
Here in the UK, our loans are provided by The Student Loans Company, a government body, meaning a situation similar to that in the US is unlikely.
However, the actions of these American banks should warn us that the end of what Mervyn King, director of the Bank of England, called the "nice" decade is going to affect us all.
An aspect much closer to home which students should be considering is the effects of the credit crunch on parents' finances.
While not expected actually to affect their incomes, a rise in mortgage payments would lead in many cases to parents being unable to support children at university to the same degree.
By next year, then, getting by on a smaller budget will be a reality for all students - but what can be done about it?
Your local market is likely to sell you fruit, vegetables and meat at half the price of the supermarket, if you're not averse to creative use of the apostropheGus Unger-Hamilton
Budget chain store Poundland seems to think the solution lies through its doors: 'FIGHT INFLATION HERE! SAME PRICE SINCE 1990: £1', their posters exclaim - and they have a point.
Few students probably realise the economic benefits of shops such as Poundland; sticking religiously to their supermarket of choice, students are paying much more than they could be elsewhere for many everyday items.
Pound shops can furnish you with cleaning products, stationery, toiletries and even with food, often selling snacks and canned products much cheaper than the supermarkets.
Another place where few venture is the local market; most imagine it either as an overpriced, middle class honeypot selling local organic cider or as a shadowy spot where you run the risk of losing your life.
In truth, however, your local market is likely to sell you fruit, vegetables and in some cases even meat for at least half the price of the supermarket, if you're not averse to a lack of plastic wrapping and creative use of the apostrophe...
Owning a car is an another area in which many students could cut back immensely.
The price of oil has doubled in a year, putting petrol at a premium.
A litre of unleaded at the moment costs about 116p, illustrating the vast increase we have seen recently.
Whilst, of course, a car is a useful thing to have at university - not to mention a great way to make friends - it remains an unjustifiable luxury, especially in the current economic (and ecological) climate.
Saving money is a perennial student concern, but not for a long time has it been as relevant a matter as it is now.
It is unclear at the moment how long the credit crunch will go on, but we can be sure that we will be 'feeling the pinch' a good deal more in the coming months, possibly even years.
However, whilst we cannot make changes in our lives to help solve the problem, there are several ways in which students could help alleviate the pressure which will be put on their pockets by the situation, and protect themselves from what are, unfortunately, inevitable ramifications.
