Going to university (2019/20 academic year) - finance, flat shares, friends old and new and freshers' week to come...

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Following on from thread 8 which filled up in just 72 hours.

Raicard is handy if they want to visit friends in their new town .
Ds's friends are all over the place!

@JennyWreny thank you so much for that link.
It has really helped.
I think if he uses the 60 day expirey he will only loose ? 2 or less months , but much easier to do it that way .
Ok i think i am up to 90% for Santander.

He has a Halifax account but not sure if it is an upto 19 one or full adult ?

if we're topping up his maintenance to pay for accommodation he won't have any 'big' money in his account so that reduces risk of catastrophe. Then limit overdraft to eg £250 to give a safe buffer but not too big.

No CC first year (or at least first term). Let him get comfortable with budgeting and then we can look at maybe moving some things like weekly shop to a CC that gets paid off. Too much risk and too many things to throw at them at once IMO

I agree, MrKlaw. Some youngsters have had more experience than others of managing their money. My ds is good at spending it but has not really had to budget in the way he will have to at uni. Things were so much easier when I was a student and using a cashpoint was a huge novelty. Taking out only what could be spent that week and actually doing it, too. It isn't only the youngsters that tap their card and don't feel that they have spent anything!

@Piggywaspushed did you know you can use Clubcard points on uber too? It's great for when DD comes/goes to uni - to get to/from the coach station with all her crap!

@bigTillyMint good to know. Also a good tip - DS has the uber app on his phone and he is part of my 'family' so he can order uber if needed and I'll pay (I'll also see the payment so its not like he can use it like a private chauffeur)

I did not Tilly. Have never used an Uber in my life!

@Piggywaspushed could be something worth looking into if they have Uber in the area around the uni - kind of like reversing the charges but for taxi

Uber is good - can see the drivers name and reg, know the price before...

I think my ds is quite frugal with his money.
He came across a wallet in his room a gew months ago with 6 old £10 notes !.

Birthday/Christmas money he had been saving 😁😁

Oh no @bizzey. Can he take the old notes to the bank and pay them into an account? Know they are still honouring the now defunct £1 coins (of which there are apparently still about 150 million still in circulation).

I seem to have hit the wall today, emotionally I mean. The last few weeks have been so busy that I haven't really had too much time to consider the reality that DD is moving out. But today both she and my DS are out with friends and although I've been busy I've had too much time alone to think without interruption.
Don't worry, DD thinks I'm as excited as she is and I'm determined to keep it that way. I'll get used to it I know but today is a rough day.

NewModelArmy it was fine .
I took inro the bank then went to the cash point ...and took £60 out !

juicy0 that was me last Friday and for the weekend.
He had got his results and tjat was it . Mu brain could not function any more.
My body was wiped out ..I slept nearly all of Friday
I think emotions are going to hit us at diffetent times .
Take care

Thank you @bizzey I think maybe I'm just overtired so hopefully the long weekend and sunshine will have restorative powers.

I’m a bit overactive and aggressively preparing. Think I’m using it to distract myself. Hopefully DS doesn’t think it means I want shot of him :)

Sorry that you are feeling down @juicy0. Think there's been an adrenaline high running, as much for parents as for students, so a 'down' is likely to hit home at some point. I guess worth watching out for it in our DC too.

Hope you manage to do some lovely things over the weekend to boost yourself up.

Phew @bizzey good outcome.

It will take us all a while to adjust to the new normal. Dd left 2 yrs ago, and when ds leaves we will be empty-nesters. We have planned some holidays that we wouldn't have been able to do with dc at school, so that will help.

Is no one else actively looking forward to their DC leaving for uni ..... ? I am counting the days Can't wait to have a quiet, tidy house, my car to myself and my choice of TV without argument ... roll on 20 Sept. I think DH will find it harder, he's signed up to the local gym to keep himself busy in the evenings.

I'm looking forward to the empty house, lovely and clean, no wet towels everywhere etc, but I'm losing both my boys at once so think after the initial relief, I might be a bit lonely...am seriously considering a dog :D
Talking of transport if you have plenty of Tesco Clubcard vouchers these can be redeemed for 3 x value on national express and megabus coaches... a relief because transport from Durham to South Coast is expensive as well as lengthy..

I'm looking forward to less laundry and less washing up. And less noise at night as she's never been one to be able to get to bed.
And I'm really looking forward to redecorating the bedrooms.
We are going to use her empty room to put our furniture in so we can have new carpet fitted easily.
Then it's being decorated in dd2s style choice as she's having the room.
Dd2s room will then be decorated in dd2s style at some point.

So I'm looking forward to a very happy dd2 as she's always had the box room and its always been the deal that she will swap rooms when dd1 goes to uni.

But none of that makes up for the hollow feeling I get when I think about her leaving home as she's my first to do so.

And less soaking wet bath mats

DS had just made sausage pasta bake at £1.25 a portion. He feeling very smug and I just waiting for him to leave the kitchen without doing the dishes. I’ll be calling him back, if he wants to practice he has to do the whole thing.

I'm not going to my ds that much. But only because I have 2 more ds's at home, plus 2 dogs and dh. I think if the youngest goes to university it'll be very different. 8 years till then.