A new enterprise helps cash-strapped students ‘bedroom swap’ to save money
A new social enterprise allows students studying away from home to swap bedrooms in order to cut down accommodation costs.
Unihomeswap, started in Brighton by parents Hermione Pask and Becci Cary, gives those with empty nests the chance to offer their spare bedrooms to other students, while their child is away from home.
The founders say the idea came to them following a conversation about the high cost of university.
“We hope that we’re going to really help people,” says Pask. “It’s not just financial, it’s cultural as well,” she adds, “but the overall aim is to help families that are struggling to afford the cost of sending their child to university.”
It costs students and families £25 to register on the Unihomeswap website for a year. The founders say that any profit made from the venture will go to charity.
To help potential students cope with the costs of university, the pair have also begun giving talks about budgeting and personal finance.
“It’s much better to inform students about money while they’re still at college,” says Pask. “Then they’re so much better prepared to look for ways to save.”
