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Higher education

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

Original poster

Uni money to live on

179 replies

Kattya · 20/08/2017 09:48

Just after a few options/advice. DD off to Uni. She's in halls and her maintenance loan doesn't cover all of her rent so we will have to top that up. I'm just wondering how much she will need to live on. She will get a job she's not work shy but I dont want her to be working all the time as she needs to study so was thinking of giving her so much a week for food etc ??

OP posts:
BackforGood · 24/08/2017 23:46

Mytimenow - I obviously don't know what course your ds is going to do, but I don't know a student who has bought that many books. The Universities have libraries, and there is the internet too nowadays.

IgnoreMeEveryOtherReindeerDoes · 26/08/2017 13:01

My last post on thread, I sincerely wish to thank you for all the replies and messages of support it really has been invaluable not just to me but my DD. I can't no express just how grateful I am.

I'm no longer anxious and tearful that I was failing my DD financially as to other worries I had.

It's going to be a bag of mixed emotions in few weeks waving her off, she really is my right arm (am single parent).

I wish all your children well on their University Journey and once again thank you for your support.

oh Lucy I do like your name its much more easier to prounce

UsedToBeAPaxmanFan · 26/08/2017 13:13

Ds is going into catered halls. We are giving him his accommodation costs less £1k as we figured he would be paying around £1k on food if he went self catering. That leaves him around £65 pw to live on but all his rent and food is covered. Im now wondering if thats enough and maybe we're being mean? He will take out the student loan but because of our hoysehol incomd he will only get £3600 i think. We will also pay his train fares and mobile phone contract. He has enough clothes i hope, including a decent winter coat from last year which he never actally wore....

Being a typical teenager he hasn't actually told us exactly how much one year's hall fees are or when they are due. Its like getting blood out of a stone.

GetAHaircutCarl · 26/08/2017 13:18

We're trying to sort things out so that our DC will be in a similar position to one another in terms of spending money.

So DD is going to get much more because her accommodate is much more and she will be living in London.

poisonedbypen · 26/08/2017 13:21

used to be - £65 on top of his loan?? That will be a huge amount if he has no food to buy. We pay DD & DS's accomodation and they get the minimum loan and survive easily on that, self catering! It would give him something like £120 a week to spend on lunch, buses, alcohol etc!

poisonedbypen · 26/08/2017 13:22

Maybe I misunderstood, the £65 is from his loan?

BackforGood · 26/08/2017 13:28

usedtobe that is almost twice as much as my dcs get, and they are self catering and pay for own phones and transport except at beginning and end of term. I don't think you are being mean Grin

Ifailed · 26/08/2017 13:31

According to the government, someone aged 18-24 can live on £57.90 per week, that covers everything excluding rent.

AldiAisleOfCrap · 26/08/2017 13:55

The government are wrong , thats just barely surviving , if it's to cover all bills and food and council tax.

BackforGood · 26/08/2017 14:10

Students don't pay council tax, and, life is a bit different in a student halls situation, for 36 weeks of the year.

Unless they are doing something like medicine, students have loads of hours a week they could fit a shift or two of work into, and 14 weeks a year (well, more in reality for most students) when they can work FT in the holidays, if they want to fund expensive social lives.

Mytimenow · 26/08/2017 14:35

DS sold his car for £600 and got some car insurance and tax refunded, which he said he'll keep for emergencies. Saw our clinician and she recommended to get one of the anatomy books and buy the rest from the Y3/4 students when he gets to Uni. He decided to get a new copy for under £40.

UsedToBeAPaxmanFan · 26/08/2017 14:49

poisoned no, his loan will be the £65 pw.

He will have a loan of £3600 this year but he needs to put £1k of that towards rent so will have £2600 left which equates to £65 for the weeks he's at uni. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

The £65 will have to cover every tuning except food and rent.

tealady · 26/08/2017 16:03

IgnoreMe and anybody else who might benefit - I just wanted to draw your attention to this information about extra money that might be available to those on a low income to help with Uni costs

www.gov.uk/extra-money-pay-university

SouthWestmom · 26/08/2017 16:12

I am still at head in sand stage tbh.

Loan is 3800

Halls (not any of the choices and catered, again unwanted) 5,800

So we need to find 2,000 for the halls

We then need her to eat.

I feel sick all the time, no bursaries or grants obv. She would get a job but that's not guaranteed. I'm so stressed and she now knows far too much about our finances and debt etc than I would want a child of mine to know.

SouthWestmom · 26/08/2017 16:15

And what on earth do you do Lucy diamonds to have £49,200 a year spare!!! Shock

TheMightyMing · 26/08/2017 16:33

Noeuf I wouldn't worry , there's lots of kids in the same boat . I'm sure she'll find a job . Lots of DS friends will need to get a job as soon as they arrive . He's worked at my place over the summer so he's got a decent cushion before he needs to work but he will eventually have to.

Lucysky2017 · 26/08/2017 16:41

School fees are about £16k per child £32k) at present and I pay two sets. 8% of parents in the UK are able to do that. I am a lawyer. I don't spend a lot of money but I obviously earn more than a lot of people and after 30 yeras of paying a mortgage it is recently paid off (it was £90k a year mortgage at one point! and full time child care was £30k a year (we both have worked ful time for 30 years without a break even for maternity leaves as do many low wage earners too))

So one reason people might want their children on here to go to good universities is to realise plenty of women are able to earn very well. We had a women who earn £100k a year thread on MN once and one woman was on £1m a year. If you set goals when you are 14 as I did and stick to them it can certainly aid your life although lots of people have very bad lucky or just no interest in earning a fair bit.

Loads of children at university do not have much money and the loan is funding theri £9250 fees and the loan for their halls is coming most if not all of the hall rent so it works out okay for most of them.

My advice on income is pick work you will enjoy, always work full time even when babies com, try to pick work which is highly paid with rare skills no one else will have, pick something ideally professional with very difficult exams most people don't pass and make yourself a very scarce resource and then work very hard. Graduating a tee total virgin with law prizes top of the year did me no harm either and surprise surprise I did not get pregnant either. Works a treat.

SouthWestmom · 26/08/2017 16:52

Hi Lucy - thanks for coming back to explain what you do, that's nice of you.

I shall tell dd to aim high; love the tip about tricky exams!

SouthWestmom · 26/08/2017 16:53

Sorry Ming missed that. She does work part time and has saved about a grand. Until very recently she wasn't going to go and we didn't think she'd pass. (Health issues and low attendance rate) so I haven't been in planning mode.

TheMightyMing · 26/08/2017 17:03

Noeuf well more power to her then , overcoming such hurdles to get to university . You must be very proud Smile

SouthWestmom · 26/08/2017 17:08

Ming it's been so stressful there hasn't been much of that around. You have reminded me I need to balance my ratios.

Thanks for the reassurance; at least she's not the only one with parents emptying their pockets and checking the back of the sofa!

UsedToBeAPaxmanFan · 26/08/2017 17:49

BackforGood do you mean your dc survive in £30 per week? Including food? I"ll tell ds that we are being far too generous!

I worked it out on the basis that £100 per week after rent had been paid (by us) seemed fair if he was self catering. As he has opted for catered halls, he will have to contribute to the rent from his loan, which will keave him £2600 per annum to cover everything else, or £65 per week. He will work through next years summer vacation (already has job lined up) which will earn him £300 per week. He does have some savings from working in his gap year but he is hoping not to have to touch those,

Lucysky2017 · 26/08/2017 17:51

MY older 3 have all graduated and everyone they met just mixed with all kinds of people. Most people are just doing normal stuff like going to lectures and dong the work, tutorials and joining some clubs. I don't think it makes a huge difference if some have a bit more money than others.

(And I will be almost checking pockets or my equivalent ... I have no savings just about other than set aside for massive VAT and tax amounts I have to pay all the time and I gave all my pensions to the older children for housing recently (and the largest sum I have ever given to HMRC in the process - please spend that money very carefully Her Majesty's Government.........) and will happily work full time until I die).

indulgentberries · 26/08/2017 17:59

I gave all my pensions to the older children for housing recently

That's a seriously bad idea. How are you going to finance your old age?

dotdotdotmustdash · 26/08/2017 18:13

I have two going next week to Universities in different cities. Neither have tuition costs (Scotland) and both get a loan of £4750. Both sets of halls are coming in at almost exactly £4k for the year.

I don't earn a huge wage as I'm a pt TA. My DH has a decent salary so we'll live on his and half of my wages will go to fund the DC. I'm going to give them each £200pm plus pay for phone contracts and the two sets of Grandparents are giving them another £100 between them.

I reckon that with £75 pw (and the £750 leftover from the loan) they will survive and if they want more they can get jobs.