Graduation Ball & beyond

Student budgeting tips with Martin Lewis and Brian May becoming Chancellor of John Moores

I don’t know about the rest of you but I can’t even afford to eat Heinz beans because they're 12p more expensive than ASDA’s own, never mind afford the £55 a ticket to go to the graduation ball (and that’s not including an outfit and drinks).

You can buy a lot with £55: a week's worth of shopping, at least a couple of nights out, and most of Primark. Even the devoted Liverpool fans must object to paying so much for a meal at their beloved club’s ground, Anfield.

But what do you get for your money? Well we're promised the delights of a bucks fizz reception, a three course meal, including half a bottle of wine and entry into the student union afterwards.

"Where do I sign?" I hear you calling, with that plethora of treats in store. Well, you can buy tickets from the union or online, but beware of this option as you have to pay a £5 booking fee.

I know what you're thinking, I’m being too cynical, so lets be fair to the organisers. The President of the union Eddy Symons has promised a great night, and most of us will only graduate once in a lifetime.

Almost every table is booked, the prom dresses are being bought, the tuxes hired and the shoes polished and maybe for one night we can forget about the money that we students think about far too often. Let’s just enjoy this night because it will be for many the last chance to see many course friends and former house mates.

The graduation ball is the end in many ways, it’s the end of your student life in Liverpool. The only thing left to do is pick up your scroll at the graduation ceremony and you are officially a fully fledged adult and the big scary, credit crunch-filled world is waiting for you - and may I be the first to wish you all the best.