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Higher education

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

Original poster

I know this will have been asked before but need advice about 'running costs' for DD at uni

88 replies

ladylouanne · 18/08/2016 14:53

Hi

DD had her first choice offer confirmed this morning. Great news, but my thoughts are turning to practicalities.

She's applied for a room in self catered halls. I will buy her all her 'start up' stuff eg books, things for her room, laptop etc. What then feels reasonable in terms of a monthly living allowance? She won't be applying for a loan other than for fees so I will be funding this myself, which I'm happy with and has always been the plan.

Any advice from others would be great thanks.

OP posts:
MissMillament · 19/08/2016 17:40

I would advise against the online shop. Apart from the fact that she needs to be doing that sort of budget planning herself, the typical university self-catering kitchen allows for very little space for their stuff - DD had one small cupboard and a shelf in the fridge plus another in the freezer - she really couldn't buy too much at once.
Her loan didn't quite cover her halls fees so we paid the shortfall and gave her #400 a month. She could have managed on a bit less. In her final term she got a job in the student bar and will continue that in September - she does two shifts a week and takes home about #70. We will probably drop her monthly amount to take this into account - she is happy for us to do this as she wants to be as independent as possible - is living at home for the summer and has got a job locally which is paying for a holiday in September before she goes back.

hennipenni · 19/08/2016 17:46

We plan to pay mobile contracts, tv licence and all set up costs for the stuff DD needs for her accommodation etc, any text books if advised to buy than (hopefully won't have to buy many new but 2nd hand)

She should have about £50 a month left for food etc but we have saved some money for her to have when she goes. She knows that after that she will have to get a part time job if needed. Of course mum here is soft and will probably end up doing online food shops for her when needed!

stonecircle · 19/08/2016 18:00

£50 a month for food? This is why it's impossible to have a 'one size fits all' approach to the cost of living at uni.

DS is 6'3 and plays a LOT of sport so needs LOADS of food! No way could he manage on that.

MissMillament · 19/08/2016 18:08

DD who is a vegetarian and cooks from scratch for herself spends #20 per week on food, toiletries etc - I don't think #50 is at all doable.

justjuanmorebeer · 19/08/2016 18:36

Ok you mentioned oyster card so she must be in London.

Maybe minimum £300 then. I was at Uni in London 11 years ago and would have found that tight to be honest. Obviously it depends on which supermarkets/markets she has nearby. Where abouts are her halls?

hennipenni · 19/08/2016 18:52

stonecircle missmillent she will be able to top up from the savings that we've saved up for her since she was a baby so it's quite a substantial amount, also DH has just informed me that she will have just over £100 a month left not £50. Math was never my strong subject!

homebythesea · 19/08/2016 20:45

£100 a week to cover:

Food
Toiletries
Laundry
Gym membership/any club subs
Books
Stationery
Printing
Travel (locally bus, tram,taxi,trains home and/or to visit friends in other Unis)
Social programme

Yes it may be more than some(but also less than some!) but we are lucky enough to be able to afford it. We will save a lot in domestic grocery bills and his car related costs while he is away too.

Katymac · 19/08/2016 20:52

DD has £25 for food & essential toiletries & she earns during the summer for spending money, 1st year it was £10, 2nd year £15 & this year she is hoping for £20 a week

Her rent is paid along with her mobile contract but she pays the phone insurance

She only over spent the last 2 weeks of term (this year) - where she bought some uniform for the next year and had a lot of convenience food as she was at rehearsal until all hours

Somerville · 19/08/2016 21:16

Hey ladylouanne

My eldest is not quite at this stage yet so I don't know about the actual running costs.

But I was doing some financial planning with my BIL recently, who is a financial advisor. He recommended getting my DC to take out the loans, topping them up, and keeping my savings for them ready to pay the loans back at a later stage.
That's what he plans for my DN's, anyway.

I haven't yet researched it myself, so just passing along the advice.

Well done to your DD for getting into her first choice of university!

GinandJag · 19/08/2016 21:42

It's crazy not to take the maintenance loan.

GinandJag · 19/08/2016 21:44

We've given ours £50 a week, btw.

jaxxyj · 20/08/2016 00:11

I was intending to pay the difference between what my DS and DD get from the loan and what they would've gotten if it had been a full loan.( about £100 per month each) However my DS is now going to a London uni so I am now worried he won't manage on this.I think he will just have to get a part time job, he has worked very part time ( paper round and job at football stadium fortnightly) previously. DD will be at Edinburgh and also looking to get work. AmI being totally unrealistic?

stonecircle · 20/08/2016 01:32

Wouldn't the full loan be more for London though Jax?

jaxxyj · 20/08/2016 01:45

Oh yes I remember seeing that but didn't take much notice cis I thought it wasn't applying to us effort clearing! so will DS get that now he has changed to a London uni? Hope so and hope it is enough to cover the difference! Thanks for that I will feel a bit more relaxed when I find out how much accommodation is costing.

stonecircle · 20/08/2016 01:46

Jax - can I ask you a question? Your dd is at Edinburgh and, I see from another thread that you live in England, as do we. Presumably that means your DD is paying an extra year's fees? DS is interested in Edinburgh but I'm worried about the extra cost. If you can get into Edinburgh then you wouldn't be spoilt for choice with an English uni and therefore only 3 years' fees. So, if you don't mind me asking, why Edinburgh?

GinandJag · 20/08/2016 06:18

His loan should automatically change to the London rate. It did for my DD who had London as her insurance. She didn't have to do anything.

jaxxyj · 20/08/2016 10:54

Thanks GinandJag hopefully that will be the same for DS. Stonecircle my DD was doing 4 years with a year abroad anyway so it doesn't make much difference, although it is a worry re Erasmus.** Also I think she was thinking if she is going to be in this much debt she might not end up paying it all off...

Original poster
ladylouanne · 20/08/2016 12:41

Thanks to everyone for responding - there is so much useful advice here. I think the whole budgeting for food thing is going to be an interesting learning curve for her, but she needs to be doing it now!

OP posts:
stonecircle · 20/08/2016 13:45

Lady - can I recommend a wok? DS lived on wok food in his first year. Really quick and healthy food and endless varieties. I sent ds off with a range of nandos sauces to help ring the changes.

goingmadinthecountry · 20/08/2016 15:08

dd2 has loan which she keeps in a separate account - learnt the hard way with dd1 (who didn't have living costs loan) that funding her PG study plus being in London isn't cheap!! Dd2 can use it for further study if she chooses. Worth considering - wish dd1 had done it.

Dd2 gets £250 a month from me but I haven't been paying it over the summer - she's been temping. I keep asking if she has enough money and she assures me she's about as well off as her friends. All our (older) dcs have a charge card for emergencies/travel home but have not yet used it during term time. Both girls use their cheap small printers a lot at university.

Why would you do an online grocery shop for a grown up??

bojorojo · 20/08/2016 15:11

At DDs university the sports club membership was £500. Second-hand books for some options were like hens teeth! She had a generous prize from her old school that just about lasted theee years - about £400 for books. Some books, helpfully(!) were out of print! DDs never bought expensive clothes, but they did want clothes! As did a lot of their friends! Maybe boys don't bother! What about coffee ! Students like to socialise in coffee shops.

As a slightly different thought - we were dead poor as kids. No money at all. I went to work, not university, to get money. I absolutely do not want my children to scrimp and worry about money and go without as we did. I expect them to do well at university (they have) and then work. However I never felt I gained anything by being hard up! If young people are happy to cook everything at home, never buy clothes, never socialise, never join a club or play sport because they cannot afford it, that is ok, but not to take a loan and scrimp cannot be any fun at all if you see all your friends having a good time and taking advantage of what university has to offer. I am proud to have offered my DDs a higher standard living than I could ever have imagined and I do not expect them to be dirt poor and enjoy it. Thank God life has moved on for all of us!

goingmadinthecountry · 20/08/2016 19:02

Bojo, I agree. I was lucky enough to go to university before tuition fees and loved it. I want my children to love it too - it's the time to work hard and play hard.

Musicaltheatremum · 20/08/2016 20:53

Living in London is expensive. My daughter reckons she needs about £400 per month to live. She has phone, gym membership food travel, which is really expensive. She is an actress so difficult to get jobs for in between. When she was a student she had a loan £4750 per year which covered most things but then she worked at weekends when she could. Her course was mon-fri 8-6 so full on.

Musicaltheatremum · 20/08/2016 20:54

Aaaagh posted too soon. She does one job which is handing out newspapers for 3 hours from 7am which earns £10 per hour.

ChopsticksandChilliCrab · 21/08/2016 03:05

We pay DD's rent and give her 500 a month. Like bojo we want our DC to have a good time at uni, to work hard and play hard. Our money funds a place on the equestrian team and lots of other activities. I was very poor as a child and am pleased that DD doesn't have to experience what I did. She knows what my life was like and appreciates our efforts on her behalf.

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