National Student Money Week

Each year, the National Association of Student Money Advisers (NASMA) delivers National Student Money Week and universities and student unions across the country join together to promote information and events on money management.

Students talking on the City Hall steps
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For National Student Money Week 2025, running from 3 - 7 March, the theme was ‘Survive and thrive: building financial resilience’.

During the week, Ygam visited campus, giving students the opportunity to learn more about gaming and gambling and the support available if worried about themselves or someone else, and dedicated University of Sheffield Police Officers and their colleagues ran a stand in The Diamond, giving advice and tips on how to avoid being scammed.

65 students signed up to attend a webinar by Luke Blaxhill from the Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding, where Luke advised students considering postgraduate study on postgraduate funding applications, particularly to sources such as charities, trusts and foundations.

  • 66% of the students who provided feedback said that they would be using the Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding following the session; the remaining students said they would maybe use the guide or had already used the guide before the webinar.
  • Feedback from the students stated the webinar was ‘informative’, ‘useful’, ‘a comprehensive guide to finding and applying for funding’, and that they have ‘a much better idea of how postgraduate funding works’ following the webinar.
  • Current students can search the guide by clicking 'Login' if on campus, or register using a student email address (ends in @sheffield.ac.uk). If you are a prospective student, please email financialhelp@sheffield.ac.uk to obtain a PIN.

Some students also attended workshops by The Money Charity: one focused on money issues that matter to students, such as income at university, budgeting, and money-saving tips; the other asked students to consider their ‘money personality’, examine their money habits, and consider how to make positive changes to their money management.

  • 100% of attendees who provided feedback about the workshops went from feeling ‘not very confident’ about managing their money to ‘quite confident’ following the workshops.
  • 80% of attendees who provided feedback said they disagreed with the statement, ‘Before the Workshop I knew how to manage money well’; all of these attendees agreed that they knew how to manage money well following the workshop.

The Student Advice Centre hosted a shopping basket challenge, where students were asked to guess the difference in the cost of the shopping from two different supermarkets. One basket cost £15.65, compared to another which cost £25.46, even with a loyalty card, which goes to show that knowing where to shop can really make a difference! One lucky student with the closest guess won one of the baskets, with the other donated to the SU Community Fridge. Current students can find more money-saving tips on our web pages (student login required).

Thanks to those who took part: this will help us as we continually refine how we deliver our service, the information we provide to students, and our plans for next year’s National Student Money Week.