Right. Now we all know that all mumsnet children have been working down the mine since they were 6....

[Hakluyt]

... and wouldn't expect their parents to contribute a penny towards their living expenses from the stroke of midnight on their 18th birthday.

But here in the real world, there are 18 year olds going off to university with very little or no savings. And with loans that barely cover their accommodation. And who will probably not be able to find a well paid job within a week of arriving in a new town and living away from home for the first time.
For those of us with pathetic, dependent, useless teenagers like this- what is a reasonable amount of money to give them to cover sensible expenses and have a bit over for fun?

[AgentProvocateur]

I give mine both £100 a month - one at home and one away. But both have p/t jobs, where they can do more shifts if they need more money.

[Hakluyt]

Thank you, agent. But what if they haven't got/can't get a job???????????

[Bowlersarm]

Out ds (lives in uni accommodation) gets £200 at the beginning of the month from us, so effectively £50 per week.

[Chopchopbusybusy]

We give DD1 £400 per month on top of her accommodation costs. She doesn't work in term time (apart from a very occasional bar shift).

[TheWordFactory]

hak
I think if you look on the Bristol IMO website there is a decent calcjlator about this, And some useful tips.
The reality is that most students living awAy from he need help

[eatyourveg]

I looked at the student loan calculator and worked out the total amount available in loans/grants if we had a household income of nil. Then I subtracted what loan he was actually going to get and the remainder was what I figured our contribution was supposed to be.

[Hakluyt]

Thank you, We've got a similar thing from the place she's going- but I was hoping for some real life examples. But as usual, Mumsnet is doing it's "you can feed a family of 6 for a month on one chicken, and send them with old chipped plates and anyway no 18 year old should even need anything from her parents ever again" schtick!

[purplemurple1]

I always worked on the basis that my rent should be no more than half my income. This makes it flexible based on where you are living (which town etc) and the lifestyle you want /can afford (pound shop, Sainsbury, shared house, flat, bedsit etc).

Where are they planning to study, will they need to make that decision based on living expenses or are you able to help if they choose south east / London? I found area made the biggest difference esp if it's a course where working isn't really an option because of placements etc.

[DownByTheRiverside]

Mine had £50 a week, but she's good with money and budgeting. She didn't have a job whilst at uni.

[purplemurple1]

For the record in my house we consider cooking an extra chicken just to make a roast for 3 adults and one toddler there are no leftovers!

[Bonsoir]

DSS1 gets £120 per week for food/clothes/entertainment. DP puts it in his account every Monday.

DSS1 never drinks but eats a massive amount to prop up his gym habit. He doesn't have a term time job.

[Bonsoir]

Oh, and we took him to Ikea and bought him all new cooking and kitchen equipment this time last year. And a brand new duvet, pillows and sheets.

[DownByTheRiverside]

Now I think back on it, she did get top-ups if something loomed that she hadn't budgeted for, or was more expensive than planned. Like the precious princess she shared a house with who managed to rause their electricity bills beyond logic through fan heaters.

[DownByTheRiverside]

We did the IKEA trip too Bonsoir. Not essential, but fun and made her leaving home special.

[BeckAndCall]

We've always done it the other way round, hak - we pay their accommodation costs up front and they keep the maintenance loan. That's worked out just fine so far - whether it be halls of residence or private house. Two different cities so far, about to add another one. Same for boy and girl - even though spending patterns are different!


It then gives them about £100 a week to live on for books, clubs, food, clothes, Christmas presents, train fares etc.

Summer is covered by their vacation work, but no part time jobs in term time.....

[blueberryboybait]

My sister gets £220 a week which includes her £146 halls fee. So she has about £70ish after fees are paid.

[Bonsoir]

In all honesty I didn't have any old pans/chipped plates/threadbare towels to send him away with! And I don't want any girls he brings back to his bedroom to be repulsed by the bedding

[Polonium]

My sons get their rent paid plus £7,000 on 1st September each academic year. Son 1 has managed to save some if his in an ISA.

I don't agree with doling out money by the week. They need to learn to budget and be free to make financial decisions tempted by jam today.

[Bakeoffcakes]

We do the same as BeckandCall.

We pay accommodation costs, then the DDs keep their maintenance loan for most other things.

We do pay for most books, phone bill and any prescription/dental costs.

Both DDs have jobs only in the summer holidays.

[Bonsoir]

It is far more financially efficient to keep money in a high-interest account until the last minute than to give them am annual lump sum.

[Bonsoir]

We pay for books separately too. And phone.

[Polonium]

I also bought new (good quality) things for son 1's halls room. (I've yet to do that shopping for son number 2 as he starts his uni career in September.)

[Polonium]

Bonsoir - there are no high interest accounts.

I just pay the accom up front. Too much faffing to pay by instalments.

[Bonsoir]

We go in for a lot of "faff" in order to keep our money hard at work! We think this is a valuable lesson for DCs.

[TheWordFactory]

Speaking to lots of students and friends with children at university, it's common for parents to pay for the accommodation, then let the young people use their loan/earnings to live on.

This also makes things more equal for siblings at different universities because the accommodation varies so much in price (whereas beer and pot noodles are fairly consistent ).