Where were you financially at 18?

[Cherrychops100]

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

I went to uni but dropped out (before going back the next year to do a different course). So I got a job in a garage and was earning minimum wage and feeling soooo wealthy in comparison to what I'd had before. I did not pay rent or bills which with hindsight was very lucky though I pissed away any opportunity that presented. I did buy my own food though. Had a section of the fridge for my own food and a shelf in a cupboard too. I paid for any phone calls I made too - this was long before mobiles.

Terrible. I took a year out before uni, and I ran up thousands of pounds in debt in loans, and credit cards. My dad found out and cleared them all for me but I paid him back every penny over the next 3 years at £150 a month.

For the first half of 18 I had about £15 to my name. I was living with my parents, doing my A-levels, earning £25 a week in the local pub and handing it straight over to my driving instructor to pay for my lessons. In the September I got an admin job paying £18k a year and soon had more money than I'd ever seen in my life (was living at home and parents didn't charge me rent). I managed to have quite a good time and save a decent amount for uni the following year.

I was in second year uni (went just after my 17th birthday) living in a flatshare.

I got a small student grant and full loan, I worked 16 hours a week in term time and full time in the holidays at a chain of bookies. It was minimum wage but there were loads of bank holidays and special races where it was double time.

I was fine, enough to live on fairly comfortably. It's probably lucky I barely drank alcohol so socialising was things like going to the beach or cooking meals for one another.

Those were happy days!

Just started at Uni. Luckily full funded by parents so no financial concerns. Met DH in my first term and we spent the summer inter railing around Europe - life was good!

Better than I am now. Worked around 20-25 hours a week in Woolworths while at college. Still living at home but paid keep, paid for my own driving lessons, own car, spent the rest on clothes, make up and going out.

Err I'm 30 now. I finished college went to uni in seot I was 18 prev dec so financially I had ema and was living at home working 2 days a week in a nursing home. I had applied to nursing got on and then stupidly changed it to childhood studies when I hate other peoples kids. So by dec ahead 19 I had applied to do nursing again lol and changed courses :) I'm a rgn now with 2 kids

just finishing NVQ on YT lived with my boyfriend, also worked in a pub/restaurant, had my own car, at one point rented a house with a friend until we fell out, moved back with boyfriend. By 19 had made quick progress in full time career, and bought my first house on my own.

I had a one year old, single parent, living with my parents (they weren't happy about this) and working part time in a shoe shop. I earned £60 a week got about the same in tax credits and child benefit.

Financially I was absolutely skint because I paid my parents all of my wages in rent each week and had to pay bus fares (not London) of around £20 each week, plus nappy's and anything the dc needed.

I was working on a show jumping yard in Italy with my best friend after finishing agricultural college . We just jumped on a plane and off we went.

I was in a pretty terrible state financially because I was, looking back, pretty heavily addicted to drugs. I was absolutely maxed out overdrawn, owed money to lots of family/friends etc, behind on my rental etc. I am incredibly lucky that our dealer wouldn't do tick, it was always cash upfront so I had no debts to him because that could have got really nasty. I was working full time but I think I got about £800 for a full months work! My dad had bailed me out and cleared all my debts once and I was right back in debt again. A lady at work used to buy bread and I'd 'borrow' a slice at lunchtime (only realised years later that she was buying it for me as I had no money at all)
I used to say that if someone said give me 10p and I'll give you a million pounds, I genuinely wouldn't have had 10p to give them.

I had a child at 20 and changed my life around, things are very different now and we are financially secure.

I didn’t have two pennies to scratch my arse with. No cash saved for me by parents or anything like that.

I got pregnant and got my shit together.

At uni so student loan and that was it.

I was still at school.

So basically I had no money. Instead of flying back from Italy we couldn’t afford it so we had to get a train from Rome back to London. Quite an adventure!

I was working and about to leave home.

Lol squatting but working full time as a secretary in an international bank

Living in halls of residence, living off a student loan and spending all my spare money at the student union!

Lived with parents, went to college. Had a part time job and income bonds which gave me an extra £40-50 a month. I didn't have much money but was enough for what i needed at the time. Didn't have a car or pay housekeeping to parents as still in education.

Living at home but barely ever there.
Just started my degree, working part time, having fun, drinking and doing lots of drugs, good times but 15/16/17 were much better.

Living on ten quid a week after bills in my first year at uni (this was in the 90s).

I had a holiday job to give me a bit of pub money. I still managed to have fun by tracking down all the pound a pint student nights.

Living in a squat. Working part time and budgeting £5 a week for food. The rest went to the pub. I was a mess.

still living at home(moved out at 20)still in college studying a computer diploma,i already did gsces there the year before

money wise my parents used to give my the child allowance and tax credits but my grandparents used to give me what ever i wanted

i turned 19 in the winter, left college in the june by the september i was in a well paid computer job

i didnt/still dont drive and didnt/still dont drink or go out to bars and clubs so my money used to last

Regarding uni finances this was 2003 and the loan was something like 3k a year which paid tuition of 1k and my rent/food in catered halls. Everyone lived off their student account interest free overdraft, then worked in the holidays (though in my 3rd and 4th years I worked 16 hours a week all year).

I had a full time job and a mortgage on my first home- 2 bed terraced house, with my boyfriend ( now husband)