Surviving Inflation

This is the third annual student budget calculated by SSCO (Stockholms studentkårers centralorganisation), and not much has changed since last year regarding the situation students in Stockholm face when it comes to their financial situation. The only income included in the budget was the CSN bidrag and loan for full-time studying, which comes down to 12 052 kr. The expenses included in the report were sourced from a Novus investigation, Konsumentverkets “Koll på pengarna 2023”, SL, Centrala studiestödsnämnden (CSN), as well as from negotiations completed so far on increases on rent in the Stockholm region. The expenses came up to be 14,671kr, with food costs making up the biggest cost increase of the bunch. How are students supposed to put any food on the table in their tiny studio apartment??

With that said, we are going to be losing money every single month if we don’t see any change! During the presentation of the budget report, SSCO had invited three student representatives from different parties that all had different solutions for easing the financial stress put on us. Cheaper housing and increased CSN-bidrag was most mentioned, which all could help... Especially considering the fact that students as a group spend about 43% of their income on accommodation, compared to the rest of the population that spend about 23% of theirs.

It's all looking kind of dark for us, but it doesn’t have to end like this! There are several ways to properly control your finances and to end up even saving money! Here are some tips on how to save money today:

• Become a member at every single grocery store. Coop, ICA, LIDL, Hemköp, Willys, T-Snabben. If it exists in Stockholm, you are a member. They usually have nice member discounts!
• Buy food with discounts, like meat and chicken, and freeze it!
• Bike. Like, everywhere. You live 2 hours away? No excuses, bike.
• Make your own lunch boxes. Then fight for a microwave.
• Drink at home - pre-drink - don’t drink. Or something.
• Get your groceries in the suburbs/shop in bulk
• Share course literature with your friends, especially during exams
• Get a subscription on coffee or collect coffee stamps when you buy a cup
• Go to lunch seminars
• Shop second-hand clothing and furniture
• Can’t find what you want second-hand? Someone on facebook marketplace is probably giving that out for free!

And some even more unhinged ones (to be done at your own risk!):

• Dumpster dive
• Freeload your family and friends subscriptions
• Collect pant on campus during the evenings
• Rob your parents’ pantries, fridges and freezers on food when you visit
• Plank to and from school
• Hunt your own meat, fish your own fish, pick those berries on your way to school.