Saving for a House on Minimum Wage!

Previous video: Switching disciplines:    • Thinking of Switching Subjects for your PhD?  

PhD students get absolutely atrocious stipends considering that we are a vital pillar keeping academia functioning. To add insult to injury, if you can find rent for under £120 a week in the south of England, it's probably unliveable, meaning a huge chunk of our pitiful pay goes immediately on mouldy ceilings and your flatmates' mouldy washing.

You could sit and cry, or you could take action! Start saving every penny you can during your PhD while not compromising on your happiness. Small changes like packing your own lunch, making coffee in a thermos, buying clothes from eBay, and holidaying in your own country could save you thousands per year -- and that adds up to living in your very own house slightly sooner than otherwise.

There are a tonne of tips on how to be frugal yet happy. Several important ones I don't cover here include:
1) Cycle to work! You'll save money on commuting as well as gym membership
2) Live with flatmates. Believe me, this one is hard to swallow for me, but there's no denying this is one of the most effective money-savers
3) Cut out the contracts. TV, music, phone, gym. Music is free on YouTube, exercise is free and parks are lovely places, and spending less time before a screen will do you good as well as your wallet.

These wonderful places and people know far more about being frugal than I, a humble padawan of the subject:
Mr Money Moustache: the god of frugalism, cannot recommend more highly: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/...
The Minimalists: not specifically about money but teaches you how to let go of the material and de-clutter your life: https://www.theminimalists.com/about/...
Frugal subreddit: tips and advice from frugalists around the world!   / frugal  

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Got a question for me?
Twitter: @LeKissick
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.lucykissick.co.uk

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New video every other (ish) Wednesday, please comment if there's a specific topic you'd like to see covered!

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My name is Lucy Kissick, I'm a PhD student at the University of Oxford researching whether Mars ever had an atmosphere (spoilers: it almost certainly did), and in my spare time I write my novel, cry over cats I don't yet have, and eat chocolate oranges.