Spends when catered?

[CantStandTheHeat]

I'm not sure how much money to give - when they are catered, I'm paying for mobile phone/bus pass/tv licence. Would be grateful for your views.

Bump in case anyone else has a DC at uni in the same situation.

We're giving dd £250 a month. She has to find money for lunch (catered = no cooking facilities), library fines, photocopying, more bloody clothes, entertainment, clubs, train fares (min of £50 home), toiletries, mobile, laundrette - and probably lots more. We're also saving £50 a month so she has some money for deposit for next year and to keep her going for a few weeks at the beginning of summer until pay day. I think it's plenty.

We have been wondering about this too. DS has some savings set aside and he's going to see what his expenses are in the first few weeks which should give us an idea.
I did my degree back in the days when I got a full grant so my mum and dad gave me the odd £5 every now and again as a treat. When I lived in a shared house from Y2 onwards mum used to bake cakes for me to take back to share when I went home for the weekend.

We are planning to give £230 per month, so similar to titchy. I said we could review it after the first term. It's roughly bringing her up to the amount she would get if she were entitled to the full loan.

Catered may not be all evening meals and you may have to factor in all meals. We gave more but DDs went out more and just a coat or boots eats up money so I would assume basic clothes only. Socialising costs so depends on the type of young person you have. If a fare home is 1/5 of the allowance, don't expect to see them too often! Mine also visited friends at other universities. It depends whether you want to drop friends entirely during the term. Also sports facilities can cost £400 upwards.

Thanks. I was planning on paying the fare to get home - or driving to collect. I guess a lot depends on the person and I'll have to see how things work out over the first few weeks to judge costs.

We gave her quite a lot but she still ended up broke!

Books, contacts, phone, insurance, tv licence, clubs and activities, gym membership, lunches and breakfast when no lectures first thing, laundry, travel, ball dresses, shoes and clothes, taxi fares, toiletries, money for socialising - meals out, cinema, clubbing etc overseas trips as doing languages, prescriptions. Dentist was free this year but we'll have to start paying.

Ours took the maintenance loan and we paid for accommodation and lots of extras, travel, clothes in vacation, etc.

Sorry - I meant factor in some meals. Yours sounds like my DDs Crumbs. I do wonder how MN offspring manage on £20 a week - or thereabouts! Where did we go wrong?

My cousin was in catered halls and had a small fridge in his room, it was for medication but I don't think anyone fussed over him having it and he could keep milk/bread/butter and make sandwiches. I would say they need to learn not to buy all meals.

This is a tricky one and we've had a lot of different answers on our Facebook group about it.

It varies as to how much people can afford to give, and what it needs to include, i.e. Travel or sports club membership.

If you'd like to join our group you'd be more than welcome. It's all things uni related, basically!

m.facebook.com/groups/488235648182391

What I wish I knew about uni