Half of students starting university this month are planning to generate extra income by selling their possessions on auction websites, according to research from Abbey Banking.
The traditional student lifestyle may also be under threat as 40 per cent of respondents said they were planning on going out less, while 34 per cent said they would cut back on eating out.
Commenting on the findings, Abbey's director of banking Steve Shore said: "The majority of students living on a fixed income may find the coming months tough with the price of essential goods and services such as food and energy continuing to rise.
"Students more than ever will need to set themselves a strict budget and should ensure that they are shopping around for the best deals, this includes financial products such as the bank account they use."
Just 22 per cent of members of the public questioned said they would think about selling their own possessions. On the whole, 84 per cent of Brits said they intended to cut back on non-luxury items due to the effects of the credit crunch.
