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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

Spent some of his hall fees already

92 replies

Moominmammacat · 05/09/2013 17:38

I put £2,000 in my son's bank account to pay his hall fees for his first term at uni later this month. Warned him not to touch a penny of it ... he's already spent £600 of it on nothing in particular, meals out, travel, coffee ... what would you do?

OP posts:

Ragwort · 12/09/2013 15:47

I just resent the fact that some people seem to think by helping them we are going to 'ruin' them - but in this case the OP has already stated that her son had spent £600 of what he had been given for accommodation at university before he even got there .

Still, if he can earn so much by basking I am wondering why he is bothering with university .

Original poster

Moominmammacat · 12/09/2013 16:08

Because you can only busk when it's warm enough. And he is reading music!

OP posts:

YeahWhat · 12/09/2013 18:51

Lol, nice work OPs son!

If the weather stays good then hopefully he will be able to replace the money by the time Uni starts and, hopefully, he will have learnt his lesson and not blow it again during freshers

Original poster

Moominmammacat · 25/09/2013 10:49

A cheerful note on which to start the term. Wastrel son who at the beginning of this thread, on Sept 5, was £600 in debt is heading off to uni having cleared the bill and saved £425 as well. All done through combination of busking, babysitting, playing at weddings and not spending anything. Has taken vow of poverty until he graduates. Would not have happened had we not had initial catastrophe.

OP posts:

Kez100 · 25/09/2013 12:04

Sounds like he needs to register with HMRC under self assessment.

SilverApples · 25/09/2013 12:09

Well done to your boy, OP.
All youngsters get caught up shit creek on occasion, but instead of wailing for a rescue, he carved himself a new paddle and got himself out. So that is a very satisfactory ending to a mess.

Original poster

Moominmammacat · 25/09/2013 12:56

No Kez100, will be mega-careful not to go over personal limit. I suspect this is a brief patch of activity before he lapses into lethargy or better, actually does some work at uni.

OP posts:

TootsFroots · 25/09/2013 18:58

That's brill. You should be proud of him.

It's what growing up is all about. I know he was a pillock but he learnt from it and DID something about it.

Kez100 · 25/09/2013 19:32

Self employed need to register when they have an income not when they go over personal allowance.

Original poster

Moominmammacat · 26/09/2013 09:04

Oh gosh, I thought it was just when you were coming into tax territory ... what a bother!

OP posts:

alreadytaken · 26/09/2013 09:32

difficult situation. Are you sure he's just splurged the lot, though? Mine has a fairly substantial number of things they have to pay for in the first week (gown, lab coats and a few others I can't remember) and needs about 100 just for that.

alreadytaken · 26/09/2013 09:34

oops - thread had moved on and I'd missed the second page somehow. Glad he's sorted himself out.

MariscallRoad · 26/09/2013 15:59

It happens a lot at the beginning. Costs depend on where he studies. life is extremely expensive and costs are running without warning. Meals can cost a lot and a lot and must be sufficient in quantity. Some portions come half of what they used to be so some people need to double the order. I would discuss with him the costs and see what is more cost than you expected and how he can budget.

MariscallRoad · 26/09/2013 16:01

We had a sandwich each of us at a caffee in central London last week plus just one coffees and this cost over 10 quid, and that was in a cheap-cheap place! I had a shock.

78bunion · 26/09/2013 16:19

I paid the hall direct which avoids the issue, although some will say that does not teach the teenager to manage money of course.

betelguese · 27/09/2013 12:08

I agree that learning to manage the money is important skill but some essential costs cannot be foreseen and can run very high suddenly. For instance a dental treatment or a computer adaptor which after 3 years insurance is not covered.

volvocowgirl · 06/10/2013 22:50

What's all this tax nonsense? It's a loan repayment! And it's cheaper than a bank loan, especially at that age. I almost thought I was reading the DM then!
From someone who has a student loan (my parents couldn't afford to help me out apart from the odd £50 every couple of months) - it really hasn't made that much difference to my wages, I earn more because I went to uni, and I still take home more than most (though not all) of my friends who didn't.
Also the loan repayment route is easier than the old route were lots of forms had to be filled in and the payments were fixed for a year - if you lost your job half way through the year it was a right kerfuffle!
I hope your DS realises the importance of learning to budget whilst at uni as you never know what's round the corner.
On a more positive note, I think most students spend a little too much the first couple of weeks as you try to be as social and as comfortable as possible (to alleviate the homesickness) - and both of these things cost a bit!

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