It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Christmas is well and truly here in Bangor, as a student the run up to the holidays also means a very scary count down to essay deadlines. Obviously we used all out time very productively and had no late nights at all!

A not so quiet night in...

As students we're famous for our wild nights out although it's not all pub trips and crazy clubs. Nights in are a great way to save you and your friends a few precious pennies, also it's getting to the point where it's far too cold to go out! So last week we had a record 2 nights instead of going out (that doesn't mean we went out the other 5). On Thursday we had a curry night in place of a cheeky takeaway then on Friday we all gathered at Jane's to watch children in need staring...MCBUSTED!

Scrimpy Scrabble Magnets

I've been meaning to share this with you for a while but it's been a crazy few weeks! Hopefully now I'll be able to pull myself together and get back to blogging! 

Food for thought - Malala Yousafzai

If you don't know who Malala is then you've probably been living under a rock.

Malala was shot in the head by members of the Taliban in October 2012 aged 15. She was shot because she believed that girls in Pakistan have a right to an education. Luckily she survived this horrible ordeal and she hasn't been silenced since her recovery she has spoken and countless conferences as an advocate for women's rights.

Food for thought - University cleaners.

Welcome to my newest little set of posts, basically I've been reading a few interesting articles recently and I've really wanted to share them with you, so every now and again I'll be popping one on here for you.

For today we have...

Freshers' week fun? Not for the university cleaners

 Personally I'm not a massive fan of how the media depict students but this article did get me thinking about the cleaners I see, or even don't see around Bangor. When we were In halls I never really saw much of our cleaners although I always made the effort to speak to them if I saw them, the guy who came and emptied our bins was lovely! Anyway I digress, have a read and feel free to let me know what you think.

Keep it scrimpy
Laura.

10 Things to expect from freshers week

So freshers week is looming for some of you it's already here. Here is my list of what to expect for freshers.

1. Freshers Fair- 
2. Free stuff-Freshers fairs are great, they give you loads of free stuff, you will never have to buy pens again!
3. Those four questions- Name-Course-Where you're from-where you are staying. You will be constantly asked those questions. It doesn't really ever stop either, just becomes less frequent post freshers week
4. Fire Alarms- Just don't bother even attempting cooking at 3am, just get a takeaway

What to take to Uni

It's been so long since I last blogged and here are my excuses...

• I had no laptop for a while
• I moved into my new student house and we have no internet.

It's all so sad. I'm back home for a few days now so I at last have internet! *Does a little dance*

Firstly congratulations to everyone who got into uni this year, you have an amazing year ahead of you. I thought I would take this time to share with you my list of things you should be taking (and some you shouldn't) to uni with you. 

Money Saving Tip #5 - Money saving apps

Remember this cheeky series? It's been a while since I posted one of these, I felt like I needed a little break from it all.
Anyone who knows me knows my phone is never really that far away and since saving money is a way of life my phone has more than it's fair share of apps to help me with that. So here they are!

Aldi

I love my Aldi app it keeps me up-to date with all of Aldi's special buys week by week, the great thing with this app is that it gives you special buys three weeks in advance so I can adjust my budget around what I need.

Pre-Freshers worries

I've been in contact with a few different groups of would be freshers for a few months now and I'm beginning to find that there are some questions and worries that keep cropping up over and over again. So I've finally been persuaded to write a post about it all.

Just to help I've dragged Al into helping me with this one! Feel free to share your own thoughts as well!


Missing family and friends back home

Al says: I could not wait to get away to be honest. But when I got to Uni there were times when I did miss home comforts and family. The best thing to do is keep yourself occupied. Whether that be getting a part time job or joining societies ( I would recommend the latter for 1st semester if not 1st year). There is so much more to Uni than lecturers so grab every opportunity and really chuck yourself in. If you fill your time you won't have time to miss family! Just remember though they are only ever a phone call away

Laura says: Homesickness can be really hard, for me I was fine until week six which was reading week and everyone in my flat had gone home so I was on my own, it hit me really hard but luckily I had some really good friends who could see I was in a bit of trouble and were more than happy to help me out in the form of cookies and ice cream. Make sure you keep in contact with family back home, skype is great, surround yourself with good friends and keep yourself busy, just don't go all of freshers without sending a text home or your parents might get a little worried. See my post about home sickness here.

Budget Bucket list

Money super market are running a budget bucket list competition so right at the last minute in jumping on the bandwagon and entering. Basically this is a chance for all of us bloggers and internet lovers to share those little things we want to do before we, well... kick the bucket.

Now my problem with bucket lists are that they usually cost a heck of a lot! So here is my take on a bucket list.

The budget list

Watch the sun set from Bangor Pier then spend the evening on the beach round a campfire.

The problem with this one is I'm quite anti camping, I like my luxuries in life, maybe one day the right person will come along and persuade me. Plus deep down I'm an old romantic.

Climb Snowdon 

This will probably be done next year to be fair, and I promise I wouldn't even get the train.