Try as you might:

You will never pack everything you need.

This brings me to my first regret: bringing two suitcases.  I do not however regret bringing my own bedding, that was smart.  However, I should have packed 1 dressy dress, 1 sundress, a few T-shirts, a few pairs of jeans, and like 3 pairs of shoes.  Why did I bring WAY more than this?

"England is SOOOOO expensive!!!" they told me.  They, were wrong.  Although the pound(£) is worth much more than the US Dollar($), almost double actually, things in Leeds are very cheap.

Let me give you an example today we went to Primark (REMEMBER THIS NAME), which is a department store downtown, and my flatmate bought a bra & underwear set for £2.50.  £2.50!! That's approximately $3.89.  Where in the US can you find that?! Or I bought 7 pairs of socks (I forgot I was here during the winter) for £2.  This place even beats WalMart and there's no controversy about it. I saw cute dresses for £5, it's like forever 21, but WAY bigger and more variety.

Honestly, pack 1 suitcase- you'll thank me later.

Primark isn't the only place like this, but it is the biggest one you'll hear about. If I would have known this I would have saved the extra money I paid for the second bag & bought some stuff here.  In addition to this the entire time you are here you can NOT think of £1 as $2.  You will drive yourself insane and never buy anything you need to think. I have X-amount of £, what is a good budget.  You will figure out your own budget within the first week.

And in case you're bad at self-budgeting *shyly raises hand* they have a great office (Specifically for Internationals!) that will help you figure out a budget with you.  They are the "Money Assistants" and they can be found in the study abroad office.

In addition to clothes being cheap as far as produce goes the Leeds Market is the best, local (most organic) produce for impossible prices you would never see at home.  I came home with almost 4lbs (2Kg) worth of produce for £2.  You can also bargain with the little shop keepers as well. ;)

If you're not into the market scene or don't care if your produce is local you can also check out Morrison's.  It's a huge grocery store and my oh my is it cheap.  For an entire weeks worth of meals I've probably spent around £35 and that's including Wine to go with cheese.

I currently live in St. Marks Residences, they are supposed tearing it down in Feb. but to give you can idea of what laundry costs:

£3 for 1 wash cycle (yikes!)
£0.00 for tumble dry (yay!)

Basically, laundry is pretty compare to Juniata.

So if you are incredibly worried about how much (or how little, for that matter) money you have, don't sweat.  Leeds Uni. has people here to help.  When budgeting also remember your first week you will spend more money than you would any other week because you will need to buy pots, pans, soap, toilet paper, dish towels, etc. all that stuff your parents would normally have for you.

 My best recommendations:

1. Go in on cookware with flatmates (splitting the cost 5-6 ways = Super Cheap!)

2. You do NOT need more than 1 set of dishes (I have 1 mug, 1 bowl, 1 plate, 1 fork, 1 spoon, & 1 knife.  I have made tumbler glasses out of glass nutella jars)

3. Keep a running list (You will forget that thing you so desperately needed)

4. Go in on food with your flatmates (I mean is it really necessary to have more than 1 salt?)

5. Have a communal jar where every week every person in your flat puts in £1 so all of you are contributing to toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc.

6. Check Pound Stores FIRST! (In the St. John Centre & Merrion Centre downtown) Here are some of the names I remember of them: PoundLand (like DollarTree), Pound Stretcher, and UK Discounts.

You'll pick up on money saving things really quick, it's just like Juniata- all college students are poor, whether you live in Europe or not.