Students struggling to fulfil potential as living costs spiral

As students prepare to embark on university life, new research commissioned by Epson for its EcoTank printer range has revealed that two thirds (66%) of 18-19 year olds will find the cost of living at university higher than they envisaged. The research showed that many students are needing to take on more part-time work to manage these unexpected costs. More worryingly though, 39% of UK university students, felt that these extra hours spent earning money had an adverse impact on their academic performance and impacted what they could have achieved without this additional financial pressure.

At a time when finances are stretched, students need to understand how to lower their costs and Epson wants students to feel more prepared when starting their university careers.

Encouraging them to have a better understanding of where they can make economies and hopefully finish their studies with less debt just by making a few simple changes. Living closer to campus and nightlife could reduce travel costs and learning a few core budget meals to reduce food costs would also be time well spent. Investing in a cost-efficient printer would also greatly reduce a student’s printing costs, apart from the additional travel expense and stress of looking for external printing options to rely on.

The research went on to reveal that more than half (51%) of current students still struggle to make ends meet, even though almost three quarters (74%) take a job to help with their daily living costs. While working as a waiter or bar staff is the most common option (32%) followed by cleaning jobs (10%), some students go to more drastic measures to cover their university living expenses.

According to the research, students limited or completely stopped going out sociably to save money. Many students admitted to only buying the cheapest foods available, skipping meals altogether and one even said he had stolen leftover food from bins to save enough money to pay his bills. Others resorted to selling their possessions, from clothes and bikes to electronic devices and cars.

Annika Fagerstrom, head of consumer products at Epson UK commented, “Our research has highlighted just how important it is for students to prepare as much as possible for their time at university. A student’s focus should be on achieving the best they can in their studies, rather than dealing with the stress of financial worries. This research showed that 75% of students who had a printer at the start of university felt it saved them money in the long run. Our EcoTank range is perfect for this as it comes with three years’ worth of ink, is extremely reliable and is a really cost effective solution for today’s students.”