Students Homesick in Oct, Unemployment Down, New Tesco Price-Match…
Students most homesick in October
Research by the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc) suggests that students are most homesick during the third week in October.
Use of a 16-25 railcard (which, may we add, is a great investment to save money on train travel) was up 13% during the third week of October last year. Travel from uni towns was up 28% during the week.
Our take: It's completely natural to get homesick when you're away from home, but it's interesting to see when it peaks. After the buzz of Freshers' week dies down students tend to long for home cooked meals and a cuddle from mummy. If you feel homesick, you're not alone! We've got some tips to help you cope here.
Unis to be fined if poor students fail
Universities will be penalised and lose funding if their working class students don't pass their degree, or are unable to get a good job after uni.
In a move to try and improve teaching standards, unis will have to attract poorer students and ensure they pass their first year, otherwise their funding will be cut and they will not be able to raise tuition fees in line with inflation.
Our take: Why just poorer students? Unis should encourage EVERY student to do their best in their education and chosen career no matter their background - perhaps unis should be fined if a certain percentage of their students fail to pass?
UK unemployment is down
How's this for awesome news - the unemployment rate is down to 5.4% which is the lowest it's been since 2007! Yay!
Wages, including bonuses, are also up 3% from last year. More money and jobs - who doesn't like that combination?
Our take: It's really scary thinking about life after uni and if you'll be able to find a job, but this is great news for the economy! Finished uni? Try looking at graduate training schemes to find your perfect career, and help finding a part time job to tide you over whilst at uni.
New Tesco price-match scheme
You probably already know that Tesco price-match against their competitors, and if your shopping could've been cheaper elsewhere you would get a voucher for the difference to use next time.
Well, now the Price Promise scheme has been revamped to make it much better! Now, if your shopping was cheaper somewhere else the price will automatically be reduced at the till. The competitors include the big supermarkets Asda, Morrisons and Sainsburys but not Aldi and Lidl.
Our take: The old scheme was okay - I mean, you got a voucher for a few pence off next time but it was a waste of paper and was easily lost in the bottom of your bag. The new Price Promise guarantee will be much better, but it is disappointing that the bargain supermarkets Aldi and Lidl are not included. Want to save money on groceries? We have some great tips here to help you!
M&S launches loyalty card
Are you a Marks and Spencer fan? They're launching a loyalty card... kind of!
The loyalty card has the rather cute name 'Sparks', and customers can earn 'spark' points when they spend money, review products and donate items through their Shwop scheme. When you earn enough points, you can unlock benefits such as early access to the sale and competition entries. You can't collect points to get money off your shopping but you will receive discounts off items.
Our take: It doesn't seem like the greatest of schemes, let's be honest. You'll get a few discount vouchers, but it would be nice if the points had more use. Still, if you shop at M&S it'll be a bonus!
