20% off at Borders Books!

We've been busy getting some great discounts for students across the UK:
Check out our latest http://www.money4students.co.uk/studentmoney/studentdiscounts">student discounts to find the best deals online.

The latest offers include:
1) A whopping 20% off at Borders Books
2) 10% off all books at Waterstones
3) 2 games of bowling at Hollywood Bowl for just £6!
4) 2 for 1 on main meals at Cafe Rouge.

Until next time...

800th Birthday Celebrations for Cambridge University

The University of Cambridge marked it's 800th birthday in style, organising several events to highlight the greatest achievements of students who attended the university.

On the 17th January churches in Cambridge rang their bells to celebrate the anniversary to kick off proceedings. Further events are planned including science festivals and a Charles Darwin festival.

Later in the year a 'Festival of Ideas' is planned for October, which will be funded by the university. This fund will also cover the closing ceremony in November 2009, together with further events put forward by individual departments at the university.

So how did it all start? Way back in 1209 groups of scholars used to congregate at the ancient Roman trading post in Cambridge to study - this is now the University of Cambridge as we know it. We certainly see it lasting another 800 years as one of the top universities in the world.

Are you a a student at the University of Cambridge? Why not send in your stories about the celebrations to let students across the UK get an insight into how wild the parties really are! Just contact feedback@money4students.co.uk

Latest Student News - The effect of the recession on Universities

The UK officially fell into recession (defined by 2 quarters of negative growth yesterday which means less public money will be earmarked for colleges and universities - so what does this mean for you? The first signs of the effect on universities was evident in last week's annual government grant letter to the university funding council for England. John Denham (Universities Secretary) began with a warning in it that universities have enjoyed great "security of income and level of customer demand" than the majority of businesses and individuals that they deal with. Denham also berated universities for recruiting more students last year that they were supposed to, which led to him stating that he would not fund them to recruit any extra students for 2009-10. Most importantly he then announced that due to this 'over recruitment' he'd reduce the university funding that he indicated they would get by a whopping £19 million! So what does this really mean? Well after several years of growth in student numbers across the UK, an abrupt cap has been put on any further expansion. During times of recession when jobs are more scare there's a tendancy for a greater number of students to apply to university to gain better skills - therefore competition for places is likely to increase due to this cap. And the effect on student tuition fees? Well there are already indications that due to the lack of funding universities will be looking for a bigger contribution from students, i.e. higher tuition fees. Leeds Met (one of just two universities which set tuition fees below the maximum of £3,145) looks set to raise it's fees above the current level of £2,000 amid fears over the financial situation of the university. As the financial climate gets tougher there is already a widespread feeling that there will be more institutional mergers across the UK. There are clearly tough times ahead for universities which is clearly going to have an impact for students, both in terms of competition for places and the cost of university - in times of recession surely larger loans are the last thing we need.

Money4Students Is Now Recruiting!

Become a Money4Students Student Rep and get loads of great benefits, including exclusive discounts and offers, entry to all Rep competitions and free entry to all Money4Students events.

Another huge advantage of becoming a M4S Rep is that we'll give you a great reference when you apply for a job, so whether you're looking to go into PR, Marketing, Journalism or any other related field this is a great way for you to gain some invaluable experience. Sounds good doesn't it?

If you're keen to get involved get in touch by contacting info@money4students.co.uk. It's as easy as that! If we think you're suitable you'll be able to be a fully fledged member of the M4S team in under a week!

Got a burning question? Ask an expert....

We've just launched a brand new feature to the site - 'Ask an expert'.

We know how many questions you have as a student about all aspects of student life, from STD's to when to start looking for a student house. You can now contact info@money4students.co.uk with any questions and our experts will try their best to get back to you within 24 hours with some advice.

Christmas at Money4Students

So Christmas is getting closer and closer and we've been busy planning for 2009. We've launched the Christmas Offers Blog to try and save students some cash over Christmas but there's lots more in the pipeline to save students money in the New Year.

We're dedicated to trying to find the best offers on the market to try and save students across the UK loads of cash so that you've got more of your student loan left to spend on stuff you want. Why not sign up to a Free DVD trial over Christmas so you've got an unlimited supply of free movies to watch, or try the online games on the site (all free).

In the New Year we'll have loads of new features on the site to help you save money in your student life, and we'll be having some great new competitions which will all be free to enter.


Have a great Christmas!

The team @ Money4Students

The new VAT rate of 15% - how will it affect students?

The government decided last week to reduce VAT (valued-added tax) from 17.5% to 15% - a cut of 2.5%. This was done to try to stimulate consumer spending during the recession. Everyone in the UK (including students) is required to pay VAT on goods and services - you won’t normally see it as it’s incorporated into prices. The new VAT rate comes into force from Monday, 1st December 2008.

Previously a new TV costing £99 (inc. VAT) will consist of the following:
- Base price: £84.26
- 17.5% VAT: £15.74

With the new VAT rate of 15% the same TV should now cost you £96.90. This is a reduction of £2.10, which equates to 2.13%. So in reality the 2.5% cut in VAT will only result in a 2.13% reduction in prices as the VAT is charged on top of the base price.

So what does this mean for students?

Well you should find that there’s a 2.13% reduction in prices on all goods and services which are subject to VAT. However, this is likely to be slightly more as businesses are unlikely to price goods at funny prices - they like round numbers. So if we go back to the TV example it’s likely that the retailer will now sell the TV for £86. You may find though that there isn’t a reduction in price - instead the retailer will increase the base price so that the VAT inclusive price remains the same as before. For the TV example the retailer may increase the base price to £86.09 which will mean that the end price is still £99.

We don’t believe this new VAT rate will affect students very much at all. Either prices will remain the same or alternatively we’ll see a reduction in prices but it’s so minimal you’ll hardly notice it (unless you’re spending hundreds of pounds!). You may find that you end up paying more in the longer term when you graduate from uni because the government needs to make the money back it’s lost in VAT from somewhere - it’s likely VAT will rise in the future or they’ll find another tax to try and make some money. From current reports it looks like VAT will return to 17.5% at the end of 2009, before rising again to 18.5% in 2011-2012.