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6 shares 6 View comments Petrol and diesel prices continued to fall in the last month but costs remain ‘fragile’ as traders and speculators exert increasing influence over the fuel market, according to the AA. The average price of petrol at the forecourt fell from 136.89p a litre in mid-April to 133.35p in mid-May, the motoring organisation said in its latest monthly fuel report. Prices had hit a year high of just over 140p a litre at the start of March, having started the year at around 132p. Petrol prices: The cost of unleaded and diesel has tumbled since it reached a year high at the start of March Diesel, on average, now costs 138.17p a litre, down from 141.76p a month ago. It also reached a year high on March 4 of almost 146.5p a litre, having started the year at around 140p. Prices are roughly 5p a litre cheaper than this time last year. June and July 2012 saw prices tumble to a year low of 132.18p. A similar 5p fall in the next two months would see unleade

0 View comments Peace of mind: Make sure your insurance covers your possessions such as phones and iPods when you are out and about on campus The common dorm room has changed since the days when a student would turn up with a few LPs and books, a record player and a government grant. More and more students have laptops or desktops, smart phones and cameras in order to keep up with the demands of their education. Criminals know there’s money to be made from this equipment. Liam Burns, NUS President, comments that because ‘the nature of higher education means students need regular access to expensive equipment such as laptops and cameras’ they advise all students to take ‘precautions against theft and damage’ to gain ‘piece of mind’ and ensure they are not left out of pocket. This may be why student insurance deals are popping up all over the web. So how do you decide which one to choose? For those who choose to buy insurance, there are two options to consider: whe

5 View comments The usual fanfare is greeting students beginning university life. That means two-for-one shots, groans about soaring fees and swapping stories about irresponsible landlords. Some are also having a rude introduction to the university of life. At the University of Lincoln, dozens of students will be sleeping in portable cabins after the university was caught short of proper accommodation. ‘It is not what they signed up for,’ as a student union rep put it. It is unclear how long  Lincoln students will have to be in their less-than-luxury £30-a-week digs, but their experience will concentrate the mind. They might want to take steps to ensure that it never happens again. Megan Walsh, who is beginning her third year of Veterinary Science at the University of Nottingham, could be an inspiration.   More... NEW PRODUCT REVIEW: Post Office's new best buy fixed mortgage for 10% deposit buyers Rental prices accelerate at their fastest pace in a year and hav

0 View comments Applications for university courses for 2012 are down almost 10 per cent compared to those for this time year, according to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). The number of applicants has fallen from 76,612 students at this stage for 2011 to 69,724 for 2012. The cap on tuition fees will leap from £3,375 a year to £9,000 a year in 2012, under controversial plans outlined by the Coalition last November. Debt fears: Experts believe university applications will fall by 10 per cent following the hike in tuition fees The teaching budget for higher education, excluding research funding, will be cut by £2.9billion, or 40 per cent, over the next four years, hence the need for additional income. UCAS published the data following an October 15 deadline for applications to medicine, dentistry and veterinary courses at Oxford and Cambridge. The admission service also included the number of students who have applied so far for other univer

13 View comments Students are spending £324,872.06 a year on telephone calls to the Student Loans Company Limited, This is Money can reveal. The company, which arranges financial services for students, does not currently offer contact by email or a free phone number using instead an 0845 telephone number, from which it makes money. Between April 2010 and March 2011 this generated it almost a third of a million pounds. An SLC spokesman said its contact telephone number was not premium rate: ‘Premium rate telephone numbers are defined as “09XX” numbers, and the telephone numbers provided by SLC all start with “0845”. Revenue that it receives from telephone calls is used to offset overall telephone charges, which reduces the cost to the public purse.   More... STUDENT FINANCE 2011: Your essential guide to help students keep on top of money The hidden gadget that can help to curb all of your car bills ‘The amount invested in providing a telephone service to our custom

8 View comments Tory MP Andrew Percy has made a candid admission about his motivation for pushing compulsory financial  education in schools. Borrow and spend: Tory Andrew Percy MP is still paying off student loans The 34-year-old MP has admitted he is still repaying his student debts and said he is  ‘fairly hopeless’ at managing his credit card or knowing what mortgage rate he paid.  And he said it was likely to be worse for younger generations who were unlikely to get on the housing ladder and see a rise in property values to cover their debts. Percy, whose Brigg and Goole constituency straddles Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire, said in a Commons debate last week that it was essential to ‘send young  people out better equipped to deal with an ever-more complex financial world’. Diana Johnson, Labour MP for Hull North, accused the Tories of stopping personal finance  education becoming compulsory in the last Education Bill under the  previous Government.

8 shares 0 View comments Banks are putting school leavers through tough credit checks for student accounts and charging higher unauthorised overdraft penalties than for ordinary customers. Some are also dropping account perks and cutting the interest-free overdrafts for students who graduate next year.  As students face a bigger squeeze than ever before, Larisa Brown reveals how students can beat the banks. 'I HADN'T A CLUE MY OVERDRAFT HAD BEEN CUT' Affected: Jessica Hall has a £500 interest-free overdraft but faces a 17.81 per cent rate three years after she graduates Politics and French student Jessica Hall, 20, is one of the tens of thousands of students to be affected by the NatWest and RBS changes to their graduate account. Miss Hall, from Lancaster, is going into her third year at Newcastle University with a £500 interest-free overdraft. When she graduates in 2013, she will be among the first students to see their graduate interest-free overdr