I am beginning a degree through the open uni. I am entitled to apply for a maintenance loan and I am considering applying for £1,000. This would simply be to set myself up with a decent laptop and any other necessary materials.
I have applied for a student loan to pay for my course and I would expect that, by the time I complete the degree, I will owe Student Finance England around £12k.
This is obviously only payable once I earn a certain amount of money. I have recently got a job which I start next month but DH and I don’t have a great deal of money. We have a small amount of debt and also a small amount in a help to buy ISA. We are both early 30s.
If I apply for this extra £1,000, it will take a lot of the stress out of me starting the course. I won’t get my first pay from my new job until a month or two after my course starts so it would allow me to buy everything I need without worrying but at the same time, I get quite frightened by debt so I’m not sure if it’s worth adding £1,000 to the already huge £12,000 total? Or if I should just struggle for the next couple of months to get by and not take the loan?
Can anyone offer me any advice?
Thanks :)