Where were you financially at 18?

[Cherrychops100]

What did your life look life financially and generally at 18?

I was working 12 hours a week. 80% of my wages went of driving lessons.

On

I was working full time in an office and working as a barmaid in the evening several days. Spending all my
Money on drink and drugs and holidays abroad. Was a fabulous time before I got serious.

Working 2 part time jobs. Had my own flat, and was in my 2nd year at college.

still in school uniform doing A levels, then off to university , but in the days before Student Loans so broke but not in debt

Living in a shared house, working full time, about to buy a house. I regret not having a normal 18-25 year old life now 🙁

Pregnant, doing A levels, skint.

Started at university, financially supported by parents plus student loans. Got occasional summer jobs. Spent all my money at university having a whale of a time - always hard-up by the end of term!

I was doing A levels until the Summer, so being supported by my parents. Then during the Summer holidays I could claim Supplementary Benefit, while still living at home. Then I got a full grant and went to university. The grant felt very generous - I was never short of money and even saved to buy posh hifi and such without even having to make an effort.

Got first full time job with an absolutely pitiful wage! I didn't know that they would ask me for salary expectations in interview, that wasn't something we'd talked about at careers lessons /mock interview at school and neither did it come up in my Saturday job interview, so I just panicked and did a quick calculation of how much I needed to pay bills in my head and said that! Doh! It would barely have been minimum wage.

Moved in with BF who turned out to be a controlling pushy git. He was useless with money and just used to spend it constantly, max out his overdraft, get a loan to wipe it out and start again. Of course I had nothing really of my own because I only had enough to pay my share of bills

I was at university and had a part time job. I had a loan for part of tuition, my parents paid the rest plus my rent (this was not in the UK) and I worked to pay for going out/extras.

I was still at school, doing my A Levels. I had a weekend job and no bills! It was before mobile phone contracts and I didn't have a car, or the means to even learn to drive.

I was still at school at 18 doing A levels so didn't have a lot of money. Then I got a job after leaving school and was solvent.

At 17 I moved out on my own as my dad was abusive. I was still in full time education so I was claiming income support along with DLA to pay for my flat. Once I turned 18 I claimed student loans and went to uni.

I was a lot better at managing my money than most other students I lived with as I was the only one not coming directly from their parents house. I didn't make any stupid choices and outside of the student loans I didn't get into any debt. I've kept that up through my adult life even though I've been stuck on disability benefits the last 10 years.

Full time job, brought my 1st house with my boyfriend who became my husband, was 18 years ago.

Just wondering if those people who said they had enough savings to pay their way through university by 18, are these savings that parents have put into throughout your childhood, or was it a long time ago and therefore university was much cheaper? I worked from 15 and there's no way I could have afforded university without the loans, and that was before the fees went up to £9000 a year.

At 18 I was at university, working and volunteering, trying to learn to drive but it was too expensive to do more than about one lesson a month, so very slowly!

At 18 I had just finished school and was starting university, had a job in a high end restaurant and also in a clothes shop (summer mostly) so I had major clothing discounts and AMAZING tips from the restaurant. In university I kept the restaurant job. My parents paid my accommodation and I paid everything else. In Ireland everyone goes home at the weekend so I would go home on a Friday and go straight to work on Friday evening, work Saturday evening,Sunday breakfast and lunch and then go back to university on late evening bus on Sunday. Life was so simple and lead a blast!

I was living in a hostel supported by stonewall housing and London Friend, going to college doing my a-levels and working was a waiter. I made some additional money on the side selling ‘goods’. It was a fairly dire time financially.

Doing my a levels, living at home, working at Woolies on the weekends and babysitting for spends.

Relied 100% on the bank of mum until I was 23.

Oh yeah...should maybe have said i was doing a levels which finished in the june before i turned 19

When just turned 18y - at school sixth form, living at home and dependent on my parents. I had a PT job which paid a low wage but covered me for going out, etc.

At 18.5y I went to university. I had a maintenance grant and my parents gave me a bit more to cover my housing and basic living costs. I didn't have a PT job at university as my course didn't really allow the time for that.

I worked a Saturday job and then went to uni. I lived on a full grant and handouts from my grandparents.

Got kicked out of home while parents divorced, started renting a flat and earned £100 pw.

Oddly I don't think i ever worried about money!

I was homeless and trying to work full time and finish college at 18, while also trying to find time to find somewhere to live.
Wouldn't go back to that time in my life if you paid me a billion pounds.