Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think £60 a week to live on will be a struggle for DD at uni?

534 replies

Lex345 · 28/09/2025 08:07

Just that, essentially. DD is looking at moving into halls next September and when we looked at the cost of halls, based on her budget, this is how much she will have left to cover course materials, food, clothes, travel, socialising etc.

All bills would be covered, but I think this will be a very, very tight budget even just on food. She is planning on moving away from our home area and will be looking for a job as well, but I know that isn't a guarantee, especially not immediately in a new city.

AIBU to think this will be really hard to live on, or am I being completely ridiculous and DD will be absolutely fine, £60/week is plenty?

OP posts:
snappyshopper · 28/09/2025 19:14

SpiritAdder · 28/09/2025 18:56

It's much cheaper to buy in bulk. If she buys a big bag of rice and tins of broad beans or butter beans and a big tin of bouillon, she can make quite nice and nutritious meals with whatever veg she can buy on its use by date. Maybe she can split the cost of some items with flatmates.

She won’t have the room for this in halls. She will have 1 small kitchen cabinet for all her dry goods, cooking utensils and dishes. She will have the size of a large Tupperware of room- about 1/3rd of one shelf in the fridge and the same in the freezer. In addition, kitchen mates are known to steal basics. My DD was constantly having her ketchup and ice cream treats stolen.

In addition, it is unlikely the kitchen’s cooking area will be any more than a tiny hot plate next to a combo microwave/toaster oven that you can’t fit anything big in. They are not allowed to use toasters, kettles, or hot pots even in the kitchen.

So there won’t be cooking large batches of anything.

They are not allowed to use toasters, kettles, or hot pots even in the kitchen.

that's not true of all halls.

Mine had full size kitchens albeit with not much shelf or fridge space.

SpiritAdder · 28/09/2025 19:14

I agree OP that £60/week for everything other than rent and utilities will be a real struggle. Getting a job is by no means realistic. Usually the local uni students will have locked down student type flexible jobs over the summer so students coming in from out of town won’t have much of a chance.

As you are on a low income, would your DD be able to get any bursaries/scholarships? Even if she got a few small ones, 500 here 250 there can add up.

https://www.ucas.com/money-and-student-life/money/managing-money/scholarship-guidance-uk-students

https://www.thescholarshiphub.org.uk/

https://www.ukscholarships.uk/scholarships-for/united-kingdom

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/applying-for-university/getting-into-university/university-scholarships-and-bursaries

here is a US website but I am sure your DD’s Uni web page might be more useful? https://search-study-uk.britishcouncil.org/scholarship/search-results.html?qualificationid=2&nationalityid=210

another
https://scholarshipstostudyabroad.com/scholarships-for-british-students/

SpiritAdder · 28/09/2025 19:15

snappyshopper · 28/09/2025 19:14

They are not allowed to use toasters, kettles, or hot pots even in the kitchen.

that's not true of all halls.

Mine had full size kitchens albeit with not much shelf or fridge space.

Show quote history

Agree, not true of all halls.
Perhaps OP and DD should have a talk with the student acc folks to find out what her hall has and allows?

SpiritAdder · 28/09/2025 19:17

Spinmerightroundbaby · 28/09/2025 18:25

Very tight for one person for food alone? As a family of 4 that’s what we live on weekly. Unless she’s hitting M and S or Waitrose daily, that’s a sufficient amount.

Show quote history

It’s not just for food,
cover course materials, food, clothes, travel, socialising

course materials alone can easily run into several hundred £/$ a term.

knor · 28/09/2025 19:17

Not sure if I’ve missed something, but can you give her money each month? This is really common among uni students (their parents giving them extra top ups)

House4DS · 28/09/2025 19:17

@Lex345 which uni are you looking at? That rent is pretty high. Could she look at less expensive room or city choices? Which subject? I don't remember if you said already.

SpiritAdder · 28/09/2025 19:21

Smeegall · 28/09/2025 19:06

She can survive on that for food - easily. I could feed a family of 4 for £100.

If she was smart - she could feed herself for less and then save £30 for going out.

Pasta and tomato sauce is dead cheap - baked potatoes and tuna and beans a cheap lunch. She needs to figure out lots of cheap meals she likes and focus on those.

No she's not going to be having nice wholesome meals all the time... But she would easily survive.

It is for
cover course materials, food, clothes, travel, socialising

some places £60/week would barely cover transportation let alone anything else.

BooneyBeautiful · 28/09/2025 19:22

RandomGeocache · 28/09/2025 08:10

It'll be tight. But she can apply for student funding/loan, and look at working through the summer. This is what my DD does - she does not work in term time, but does at Christmas and in the summer holidays to save money to use in term time.

Yes, this is what DS did.

Mumandgrandma85 · 28/09/2025 19:23

Some good apps that might help
Too good to go
Olio
Uni days
Also copy and paste your question into ChatGPT it will give you some good ideas and a sample weekly budget xx

ThriveAT · 28/09/2025 19:24

Lex345 · 28/09/2025 08:15

Was this quite recently, as this is reassuring?

Show quote history

It can't be. Come on.

llizzie · 28/09/2025 19:25

snappyshopper · 28/09/2025 19:11

It doesn't work like that @Smeegall
Everyone knows that eating as a single person can be more expensive than for 2 or more because you have to buy smaller portions (or they go off.)

As a student in halls, she won't have much space in a fridge and there may not be a freezer. She can't bulk buy 1kg of mince and make spag bol for a fortnight.

Even when my DCs were out of halls and sharing houses, they had ONE shelf each in the fridge and one small drawer in the fridge freezer.

Show quote history

Students are not the only ones living alone. Perhaps more input from others who live alone? How many have as much as £60 for food and fun?

llizzie · 28/09/2025 19:30

BeachLife2 · 28/09/2025 18:11

The other point is you are expected as a parent to ensure you top up her loan amount if she isn't entitled to the maximum due to your income.

Why won't you be doing this?

Did you read the bit where the OP says she is struggling and would have to take another job?

cordeliabuffy · 28/09/2025 19:30

llizzie · 28/09/2025 19:25

Students are not the only ones living alone. Perhaps more input from others who live alone? How many have as much as £60 for food and fun?

Show quote history

I live alone and £60 is my food budget - to cover cleaning stuff, bin bags, foil etc things and food (I take lunch to work so includes every meal)

doesn’t include washing powder or toilet rolls as I buy those in bulk from Amazon

Thisismynewname23 · 28/09/2025 19:38

Lex345 · 28/09/2025 08:51

Oh bit gutted she won't be allowed a freezer I can stock for her, but all the tips are reassuring. I will be strongly pushing DD to get a job in summer-if for nothing else a reference for a job at uni.

I will keep paying for her phone so at least she can tell me if she is struggling. She has a laptop but she will need a new one. We are planning on buying her one this Christmas though.

I think I might start an emergency savings pot now, even if I can only put a couple of quid a week in, at least I could give her that if she really struggles.

I think after her first year, she may rent privately hopefully with friends she makes at uni, which should work out cheaper?

We don't have extended family, not even grandparents now I'm afraid, so this will be on us to help her as much as possible.

I think which uni it is will make a huge difference and if she will need travel money… if she can walk everywhere and is central that will save her a fortune, our local uni Lancaster has lots of work opportunities around it and isn’t a massively expensive town centre

Buzyizzy217 · 28/09/2025 19:41

No. Food prices have gone thru the roof and even tho I’m being extremely careful, my monthly food bill is £180. Next year prices will be higher still so I would reckon £300 for her for the month for everything.

llizzie · 28/09/2025 19:41

cordeliabuffy · 28/09/2025 19:30

I live alone and £60 is my food budget - to cover cleaning stuff, bin bags, foil etc things and food (I take lunch to work so includes every meal)

doesn’t include washing powder or toilet rolls as I buy those in bulk from Amazon

Show quote history

You,, me and thousands of others. I have to pay a carer too, as do thousands of disabled people who live alone, even those on PIP.

I think the OP should not worry so much about DD's expenditure on food. They have to learn about managing money sometime, and leaving home is as good a time as any.

Someone said parents have a duty to pay for their student dc. If that is true, I don't agree with it. One of the things kids have to learn about growing up is how to manage their income.

To tell the OP - in effect - that parents should flog themselves to death to cover all their dc's expenses cannot be fair, and I doubt if it is true.

jasminocereusbritannicus · 28/09/2025 19:42

My kids had jobs while they were at uni.They got full loans, but worked to top it up. Most of their friends were the same.

LegoPicnic · 28/09/2025 19:44

llizzie · 28/09/2025 19:25

Students are not the only ones living alone. Perhaps more input from others who live alone? How many have as much as £60 for food and fun?

Show quote history

It’s not just “food and fun” but transport and course costs as well.

Depending on the subject course costs may not be that much (I managed my most recent degree without incurring any) but transport may take up a sizeable part of that £60. In my local city a student bus pass is £15/week, leaving £45 for everything else.

LegoPicnic · 28/09/2025 19:50

llizzie · 28/09/2025 19:41

You,, me and thousands of others. I have to pay a carer too, as do thousands of disabled people who live alone, even those on PIP.

I think the OP should not worry so much about DD's expenditure on food. They have to learn about managing money sometime, and leaving home is as good a time as any.

Someone said parents have a duty to pay for their student dc. If that is true, I don't agree with it. One of the things kids have to learn about growing up is how to manage their income.

To tell the OP - in effect - that parents should flog themselves to death to cover all their dc's expenses cannot be fair, and I doubt if it is true.

Edited
Show quote history

But the way the student loan system is set up, in England at least, parents are expected to pay towards costs.

I don’t think it’s fair, either. But the amount students can borrow for maintenance depends on their parents’ household income - a student with a household income of under £25k can borrow more than double the amount of a student with a household income of over £70k.

If all students could borrow the same amount, I’d agree with you it’s about them learning to budget, parents shouldn’t be expected to contribute etc. But that’s just not how it works currently.

BlueFlowers5 · 28/09/2025 19:55

I worked at M&S on every weekend when a student. I got half price foods about to loose their see by date at the end of the working day.
At holiday times I had extra hours especially at Christmas.

EndoratheWitch · 28/09/2025 20:09

DS was in halls (self catering, so he had to buy his own food). He lived, ate (and drank) with £60 a week. He even managed to buy himself clothing! She'll be fine.

IWishToBeAnonymous · 28/09/2025 20:11

My son has £50 a week term time, in the Midlands and he has been fine. We start him off with a big shop at the beginning of each term so probably £60 a week equivalent. He had a holiday job between 1st and 2nd year so has a bit more this year but has saved some. He and his friends all know how to cook from scratch and cook together and save money by shopping at Lidl. No ready meals or takeaway makes a big difference to the budget. They even share the big washing machine wash sometimes if someone can't fill the machine. They have plenty of fun nights in together, board games, making interesting food together, playing music and just go out less.

FlyMeSomewhere · 28/09/2025 20:15

89DaysToLoseIt · 28/09/2025 08:23

I was at uni 2017-2020.

I used to do a food shop in Aldi or Lidl. My parents would send me back each half term with a big cupboard essentials food shop - tinned goods and pasta, freezer food, etc.

Teach her to meal prep on a budget now. You can make a good bolognese for about £6 and it’ll do a week of meals. Even better if she’ll go veggie, it’ll be cheaper. If she has family that want to give her gifts, ask them to do a gift card to a supermarket. Pick a meal each week and see how cheap you can do it, while still having nutritional value. Make sure she’s happy to make her own lunches and take them up to campus with her, make sure she can do cheap breakfasts, and will take coffee etc. in a cup with her. It’s all of those things that add up.

If you’re willing to gift her, get her a supermarket delivery pass. She can do a big food shop and have it delivered, and get all of her tinned goods to her (make sure she has a suitcase to take it back up to her room!). If you have the funds available (or if she works), suggest to her that she does a trial run for a period of time - she does her own food shopping, pays for transport as it would be at uni, etc.

My parents would gift me my bus pass each year for my birthday, so that took off some of the pressure as well. You’re in a good position wherein you have a year to help her prep, and to see if this is a realistic option.

Show quote history

You are talking about a time before COVID and Brexit! The price of everything has sky rocketed since then! A 500g pack of mince beef in Aldi is over £5! Unless she wants the cheaper high fat stuff at £3.50 and that's two or three days tops! My partner and I do scratch cooking and it's not cheap! She needs other ingredients like puree, herbs, onions, chopped tomatoes, pasta etc to make spag bol and that will be £15 gone! Shopping for food, toiletries and household stuff will soon eat that £60! A cleaning product can be £5! You did it in a much cheaper world, she won't have money left for anything else especially not a social life, you weren't paying £5 to £7 for a pint or £7 to £9 for a glass of wine.

caringcarer · 28/09/2025 20:18

A lot of students get half a shelf in fridge and half a shelf in a small freezer. Laundry is extortionate.

User79853257976 · 28/09/2025 20:20

RandomGeocache · 28/09/2025 08:10

It'll be tight. But she can apply for student funding/loan, and look at working through the summer. This is what my DD does - she does not work in term time, but does at Christmas and in the summer holidays to save money to use in term time.

I think they have factored in the loan.