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

[Lex345]

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?

Of course it wasn't.

It is a typical rude MN post where someone posts as they get a kick out of making people feel bad.

£8.57 a day to cover everything.

It will be isolating as she won't be able to afford to do anything - even a night out drinking water will be a stretch -they night bus from DD campus is £3.

It is wrong and it will soon be only the wealthy attending.

She does however have a whole long summer- she needs to work as much as possible - ideally looking for a national company with the option to transfer at Uni

My DD finished uni recently.

most course materials are online. You can “check out” books online from the library.

my only concern would be do they have/do they need a computer?

second hand textbooks are usually available for the stuff that is not online.

neither my DD nor my DS drank and clubbing and drinking culture is not what it used to be. Both got on fine and found lots of friends.

Okay, so don't believe me.

I was at uni from 2017-2020. I got the minimum student loan because my parents refused to provide their financial details because they didn't see why they had to. I worked through all winter breaks (I had two jobs in the summer breaks!) to save up for the year. After my rent (I was in Bath, which was the most expensive place outside of London at the time), I was left with £25 per week, all from my savings. I made it work.

I'm interested in actually helping the OP. Clearly you're not.

she probably needs double that amount

£120? Nonsense!

OP - if she doesn't already know, teach her to cook simple, tasty, nutritious dishes and how to meal plan for them. Are her halls in walking distance from classes? That'll save on transport - I've never known DD to walk as much as she has since she started uni!

DD and her friends tend to "pre" together in their rooms then they don't spend much on drinks when they go out for the evening.

Remember she'll be home for several weeks at Christmas and Easter and term ends pretty earlier at many universities. And the £2000 will help a lot if you teach her how to budget.

Costs have risen so much now that £25 a week to live on is really not doable. Food, laundry costs, travel costs - all essential before costs for socialising.

Course materials are pretty much irrelevant now as so much material is available online or in the library.

She needs to get used to working alongside studying - it's what every other student who isn't bankrolled by wealthy parents has to do. Lots of DS friends are working a year out and will also have side jobs at Uni. It's normal. Even 5 or 10 hours a week would help.

Lots of folk speak from their privileged bubbles on MN, sadly. I believe you. Prices have gone up a lot since 2020 though.

Tesco in my area are advertising "winter work" with shifts that will suit "everyone".

Aldi also advertising generally.

Everything is easier if you save in advance. Also, have a look at an app called You Need a Budget (YNAB). Get her into good habits early.

And remember, you are supposed to be skint at uni.

OP, for example, a simple spaghetti and meatballs can be done for under £5 and will stretch to four meals (prices from Aldi):

Everyday essentials spaghetti (500g) - £0.28
Chopped tomatoes - £0.45
Tomato puree - £0.59
British meatballs - £2.99
3 x onions - £0.69 (£0.23 each)
Garlic - £0.37

If you stock her up with the cupboard essentials (salt, pepper, herbs, spices, oil, etc.), she'll be in a better place.

A baking potato at Aldi is £0.24. A tin of beans is £0.27. That's a meal for £0.51. 400g of cheddar is £2.79, so that's £0.22 per portion. You can get a pack of bacon (which freezes well!) for £1.45. So say she uses 1/10 rashers, she can make loaded baked potato skins for just over £1, and she then has the cheese and bacon for other things.

It really is doable, if you put in some legwork now to get her a good foundation.

Luckily DD does like cooking and I have been teaching her how to make healthy bulk options-so things like bolognaise, chilli, soups etc that can be made and bulk frozen. I wish it was a bit closer where she would like to go, but the distance would be prohibitive for a weekly trip there-but when we go and visit, I could take some ready made things for her as well.

How is this remotely helpful? No tips, no examples.

My advice posted was to work over the summer. She could put several thousand into her savings after A levels.

The other alternative is what a lot of people I know do and that is to take a year out. To earn as much as possible to fund the following years university.

DD managed on £75 pw. She went with all the store cupboard essentials, toiletries, cleaning supplies etc and we topped this up on return trips home. She could get a decent shop for £40 pw in Lidl and the balance was for travel and other expenses but it was tight especially as costs keep increasing. She also had a summer job which helped. It also depends on the uni location and how much she will need for travel.

I'm aware, but she's also living on more than double I was - and it's totally possible (I'm looking at Aldi prices right now, and actually helping OP by giving her some recipe ideas). She can get a cheap bottle of vodka for £12.49 and some fizzy drink for £0.49 and that's 2 or 3 pre drinks sorted.

I've given her several tips and examples, thank you.

Have you seen the freezer? It is unlikely she will have enough freezer space for bulk cooking- and it risks being used.

We’re budgeting £100 a week for DS next year for everything over hall fees. DS managed on a fair bit less but that was 8 years ago.

Dd3 is at uni currently and survives on £50.00 a week for food and socialising.

She is in uni in Wales so less expensive than other areas. I do send her a bit extra whwn we can as she has not managed.to get a job.

Ds has been in Essex in uni he has been lucky and had a job throughout. Been able to socialise more. He is doing his last 3 months of his Masters remotely so to not get caught in student gigs for the sake of 3 months.

Dd2 is returning to uni this.week to do her Masters Part time she is working part time to afford it.

My DD had £200 a month off is, but that was 10 years ago. She got the lowest student loan due to our income. She also worked every holiday and saved plenty. She had nice holidays every summer which she self funded and never asked for any more money off us. We paid her phone contract.

OP, are you in a position to fill her freezer when she first goes? I would be mindful that she only gets a small freezer space, but if you could send her with some portions of her favourite frozen homemade meals, that would be a great comfort when the going gets tough!

Yes, as I said, I hear you.
Students also get loads of discounts that other folk don't. She could even get a few hours in a supermarket - that would give her a % discount on food too.
When I was a student, part of it was scrimping and adapting and learning to budget.

I lived on 10 pound for food in the late 80s but would not expect that today. 25- pound , that would be difficult today. I don't think it's unreasonable to struggle a bit. Struggling financially as a student is a rite of passage but she doesn't want to have to struggle re course materials etc. If it's a practical subject these could rack up. She may not be able to go to every paying social event. My mom.was unable to help me financially but if anyone came to visit set me up with a hamper.

Food prices in 2017-2020 aren’t comparable with now. £25 would be no way near enough now.

OP I am giving my Dd £80 a week and she has a job which brings her £50 a week. She will have plenty with this so id suggest you dd either gets a job now to save up or tries to get one once she’s there (which may not be easy, depends where she goes) It’s very expensive. We’ve also just spent £1500 on other stuff (new laptop, bedding, memberships etc) so be warned that could cost you a bit too so start saving now!

It's tight, but it does teach them how to budget. My son now prefers to walk half an hour to the local Lidl to get his weekly shop rather than the Nisa near the campus which according to him is too expensive ...and he has a part time job and can afford it! But he'd rather have the beer money 😆

I have shown how she can make meals for under £5, for a £60 budget.

£130 a week is a lot of money!

Most students will club together and share the cooking so in a flat of 6 students each one makes a meal once a week for everyone.