My money-saving student days in the 1960s

‘Beer was brewed on an industrial scale to get cheaply primed before an evening out.’ Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Your article (‘It more than halved my rent’: students on their best money-saving tips, 8 September) brought to mind student life in the 1960s. The ways I saved money (not all strictly legal) included living in sub-standard accommodation with an outside toilet, brewing beer on an industrial scale to get cheaply primed before an evening out, showering for free in gyms and halls of residence, studying in libraries to avoid heating costs, finding pay phones that accepted reverse-charge calls so that distant girlfriends could be called for free, hitchhiking home to save train fares, and visiting food shops just before closing to get cheap deals.

Finally, a group of us arranged a gig to raise money to pay for property damage when a rag stunt went wrong. We made enough profit to pay for the damages and for several nights out.
Robert Webb
Yeovil, Somerset

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