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?

On that she will definitely need to get a job too, which should be more than possible. The £60 would be used up by 1 night out and maybe a takeaway in most uni towns.

It slightly depends on what course she does but I had loads of free time when I was at uni, so I did evening work waitressing during the week and then (separately) worked on reception in a gym 8-12pm at weekends. I basically always had a job of some sort, as did most of the people I hung out with (apart from those with really rich parents!!).

I think I’d be seeing that as food/ course materials/ travel but getting her to realise that if she wants fun money to go out, have lunch or get takeaways she’ll need to work.

She will also need to work during most of the holidays to try to accumulate a buffer- I tended to work in most of the shorter holidays like Christmas and Easter and then most of the summer- but take a month to travel or do a working holiday.

My friend's daughter was. When they found out that the freezer space was minimal, they bought her a small freezer, quite a bit smaller than an under the counter freezer, for her room.

She kept it under her desk, and the heat it generated kept her feet warm, too!

Take a year out, got a job and save every penny... that gave my DD an extra 8k for uni.

I had that around the millennium, didn’t drink much and still needed a job.

You weren’t at uni in 2025 though were you

@Lex345 which uni? Have you had a look if they (or other choices) offer bursaries?
Other than that, holiday jobs are a must.

DD has just earned around £2000 since A levels - that gives her £66 a week extra for the 30 weeks of uni.

Your DD should start applying April/may time with a hope of starting late June, making it clear she's wanting to come back each holiday. Target supermarkets and places that are busier in holidays (DD is at our zoo).

She needs to find a part time job. That’s what most students do.

I was at uni a lot more recently than half the commenters on this thread!

I have given OP many tips and it is totally doable for her daughter, if she is sensible.

For next year- start investigating now- whatever happens do not end up being guarantor for the whole house, only your DD share.

It doesn't not appear to be cheaper for those people I know that are doing this, if anything more expensive as houses are less energy efficient.

That's exactly how much I had to spend per week after rent and bills, but twenty years ago.

Obviously food and transport has gone up, but this 'course materials' is a bit of a myth. I didn't buy anything, I went to lectures and listened and used the library.

I also didn't need new clothes as I took that ones I had and there isn't really time for shopping sprees and expensive lunches.

I have £70 a week and I have 2 kids a house and a car to run . I’m sure she’ll be able to survive in that . I was better off when I was a student I worked with a care agency and got a discount in my council tax. I was a mature student with a mortgage to pay

What about looking into work at children’s holiday clubs? They always seem to be mainly staffed by uni age people. That way she could just work in the holidays and not have to juggle uni work and work work?

Being a student was the only time I embraced being a vegetarian. I also worked and unless she is doing a very hard course with really high contact hours then she needs to work. I know people bang on about affording socialising but ultimately it’s about the degree.

Does that include the “suggested” parental contribution? Max loan is £10544-4915(min loan)=5629 we are expected to pay for DS. Accommodation is around £5500 for 40 weeks going him £125 per week to live off. For the average family it’s going to be tough but we chose to have kids so it’s a cost we have to pay.

My son receives the lowest maintenance loan which just about covers his halls but we top that up to pay it off each term. We then give him £100 a week to live on (food shop, travel, socialising, etc.)

This is what all our friends do as all the kids receive the lowest maintenance loan so the parents top it up.

My DS graduated in 2021 and had £35 a week to live on after his accom costs. Most of this went on food. I feel bad that he wasn't really about to afford nights out and socially I know he did suffer.

He studied nursing and was required to do shifts on placement so additional work wasn't really an option. Even though he did join the bank and was promised shifts in reality these went to the HCAs.

The cost of living crisis has pushed food costs up even more since then. I think that uni education is going to become a luxury that few can afford soon.

There are next to none now particularly if you don’t want to miss lectures.

Buy a bus ticket. Much cheaper than rail travel.

I hate to say it, but when my DCs were at uni around 15 years ago, we paid them a living allowance per term, OR paid their rent in halls.
Many parents factor this into their own work/ savings, years ahead.
We had 2 at uni at the same time and were paying £700 a month in total towards their housing and living costs.

There was a deficit between their loans and what they needed to live on. IME most parents have to contribute something.

They had holiday jobs (at the end of terms) which meant they had a nest egg to fall back on.

I don't think £60 a week is doable because even if she only spent £5 a day on food, that's £35 a week so very little left for anything else like books, fares, clothes, going out.

Her only option is a p/t job.

First year should be cheaper as most halls provide the laundry for free, all bills included and there was free bus travel.

Mine really struggled to find a job first year (despite working part time since he was 16). He does lots of odd jobs, building site work etc when he’s home over the holidays. It looks like he’s got something now but it seems to be a lot harder to get something at the moment (not even Deliveroo).

She’ll neeed to find a part time job to top up her money.

My dd has taken a year out and saved 10k and will continue to work when she’s at uni.

I had £50 a week to live on in the early 2000s so I think £60 a week now will be very tight if she’s not topping it up.

Particularly when you have to have a family income under £25k to get the full loans. The minimum loans don’t even cover accomodation and it needs to be topped up by parents who also have to pay for any other living expenses whilst paying their own mortgages and increased costs which are ever rising.

Yet again it’s the squeezed middle who will be miss out the most.

I think £60 a week university term time is doable assuming where your dd is living is relatively close to the university and there aren’t massive travel expenses involved.

I used to eat pasta and tinned things sauce, jacket potatoes and beans, pizza, cheese and bean toasties, noodles and generally a lot of toast when I was a student. Those things can still be made cheap and cheerfully and you could start buying tins and packets as part of the shop now so your dd can take them with her. Clothes and toiletries can be bought mainly as birthday and Xmas presents. Which should leave enough for at least a very cheap night out a week. We used to drink a bottle of cheap wine each before we went out back in the day and we only went to cheap student nights anyway 😁

No they do not provide laundry free, it’s extortionate what is charged .

OP,
how long ago was that because its 2025 now......