Living costs- How much to give?

[SlugsyMalone]

Morning, ds about to head off to university, he has a tuition fee loan and a maintenance loan of around £4000, just wondering how much people give their children a month for living costs. He’s planning on getting a job as soon as he can but obviously that may take a little while whilst he finds his feet. Thanks very much.

[BubblesBuddy]

You don’t choose to pay back the loan, or not! It’s based on income so it’s a tax. However as a doctor she will be the amongst the highest earning grads in 5 years so she should expect to pay a chunk back. If she goes part time, not so much. Paying the loan is not something students elect to do early. Unless they are very wealthy of course, or mad!

[ProfessorLayton1]

Since my last post I tried reading about the student loan in the Money saving expert forum and tried using their calculator... I am not sure if we should maximise the loan she can get?
The amount of money she pays is not different if she gets the full loan for tuition fees and full maintenance cost vs tuition fees and 3000 pounds??

Bizarrely, she was approved full 11000 pounds as maintenance loan when she applied!

[Mustbetimeforachange]

Yes you don't choose to pay back the loan, it comes out of salary as a percentage once you earn a certain amount, so is the same amount per month whatever they owe, like an extra tax.

[BackforGood]

Oh, just thought, whatever you decide upon, you will need to 'load them up' a bit at the start.
Even just food / groceries - you won't be replacing everything at the same time, but you need (or will want) quite a lot of stuff to start - from ketchup to washing up liquid, from teabags to shower gel. In some universities, 'Freshers Week' costs a lot. Some folk will need to buy a bus pass, or want to pay to join a team or something. Some flat shares in halls will decide to chip in to buy something for the kitchen, or they will realise they need a clothes airer or something.
The amounts people are talking about are the 'ongoing, weekly or monthly amounts once they are set up.

[AhNowTed]

We pay the shortfall on her rent, and £360 a month for food, bills, travel and entertainment. She doesn't drink or smoke so copes fine on this amount.

[MarchingFrogs]

Bizarrely, she was approved full 11000 pounds as maintenance loan when she applied!

There shouldn't be anything bizarre about the assessment - if the student is claiming the means tested element of the maintenance loan, then the amount they are able to borrow is based clearly on the level of household income declared by those who have agreed to support thei application. The tables are on the various nations' online calculators. What do you find bizarre about the amount your DD has been able to borrow?

[ProfessorLayton1]

We should not be qualified for the full maintenance loan based on our household income...that's what bizzare about it!

I am going to look into this carefully in the next few days, I left Dd and DH to sort this out and am having a terrible feeling something has been overlooked ?

[ShanghaiDiva]

We gave ds 500 per month when he started, but later reduced to around 350/300. He was in self catered halls. I think it's a good idea to front load the amount to cover one off such as gym membership and purchasing store cupboard items.
We are overseas so there is no loan for him and we pay everything.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

We top dd up to make her income up to the full loan. It seems the fairest way as I actually believe that all students should be able to access the full loan and not be subject to parents income.

She did manage to save some from this - her university is relatively affordable to live at - and she saved a decent amount from her summer job, but that will help her to fund any postgrad studies.

[yearinyearout]

We give ours £50 a week on to a monzo card, it's easier to budget than having it monthly. He manages fine on that for food and has some left for socialising but he does have his own savings from summer job that he uses for clothes or extras.

[MrKlaw]

@ProfessorLayton1 we looked at online calculators and realised we'd be minimum loan so we told DS to not even bother putting in incomes etc - you can just basically tick 'give me the min, no questions asked'.

[Beanjar]

We don't have the option of Government funded student loans / grants here in Guernsey.

Son has just this week started a 4 year University course in UK, so for the first year we've agreed to fund £9,250 uni fees & £450 month rent (includes bills), we're transferring £70 a week for living costs (Based on £10 a day) plus we'll cover his return flights home at Xmas, Easter & Summer and student insurance.

He has to fund his own social life / festivals with his own savings / part time job.

The £70 a week is to cover any books he might need, photocopying/printing costs, food, mobile phone contract, gym membership, guitar strings & travel.

We'll then re-evaluate at the end of his first year but he knows it'll decrease for 2nd year.

[MrsPellegrinoPetrichor]

It seems the fairest way as I actually believe that all students should be able to access the full loan and not be subject to parents income

Absolutely.

[ChangeItChild]

DS is using £4000 maintenance loan to pay for accommodation (we are covering the shortfall as it doesn't cover the accommodation)

We will be giving him £80 per week (paid in weekly) to live on.

We've chosen to give it to him weekly in the beginning so that he doesn't spend it all at once, as he gets used to budgeting we will shift to monthly payments.

He will get a job for any extras he wants.

[mum2eim]

I'm interested in this thread. Initially we were going to pay the accommodation costs and let DD live off her 4K maintenance loan but then after reading @MrKlaw post on another thread decided it would be best for the accommodation to be paid by her with her loan and we top it up, and then pay X amount each week. But this is where I am stuck. She in in a fully catered college (3 meals a day) so really has no food costs, she isn't a party animal so minimal booze money (!) she will join societies although one is likely to be about £380 for the year. The gym in the college is free and laundry is £20 for the year. so how much per week would she need? I don't actually think she will get through £50 a week. She might need to be pump primed though as she's just had to buy a text book costing £51 and another £20. I dont want to leave her short but them I dont want it to be building up in her account while we eat bean on toast! (Don't think it's going to be that bad!)

[Mustbetimeforachange]

O would give her a small amount yo start with & increase if needed. It doesn't sound as though she will need much.

[BackforGood]

I don't think we, as parents should be funding their alcohol / meals out / 'treats' so much as their 'needs'. If they want the latest fashionable clothes or headphones, or indeed phones, then I think it helps with budgeting to know that 'I'm going to have to do X shifts as a carer / McDonalds staff member / cleaner / waiter to pay for those concert tickets or that instagram recommended face cream'

Does depend a bit on the course too.
If she is doing something that is really full on (such as medicine) then it will be much more difficult to find herself a job than is she is doing something arts based where contact time is tiny. (dcs 1 & 2 both did / doing BAs... I'm not having a go at anyone, just stating facts).

So, if someone is in catered halls, with free laundry.... can they walk to lectures etc or are there buses to pay for?.... there really isn't a lot that then comes under 'needs' rather than 'wants'. (Though catered often doesn't cover weekends).

[MrsPellegrinoPetrichor]

I wish D's had laundry for £30 per year,ds will need to pay £3.75 a wash and £1.75 to dry and apparently they are not allowed to have clothes airers. Lots of ds's shirts can't be tumble dried so he WILL be air drying them on hangers

[KronksSpinachPuffs]

I am absolutely shocked at how much some people are giving to their children, you must all earn very well.

When I was at uni a few years ago my mum and dad gave me £20 a week during term time to buy my food shopping and I was really grateful for that. Rent and tuition fees came from my loan.

[MrsPellegrinoPetrichor]

When I was at uni a few years ago my mum and dad gave me £20 a week during term time to buy my food shopping and I was really grateful for that. Rent and tuition fees came from my loan

Ds's maintenance loan doesn't even cover his rent, we have to make up the difference,no choice of we want him to go.

[Mustbetimeforachange]

Same. Loan just over £4000. Rent £5800.

[IsSummerOverYet19]

I am absolutely shocked at how much some people are giving to their children, you must all earn very well.

The system has changed since you were there. They get a loan for full fees, but the maintenance loan is based on household income, with minimum of 4K for incomes above about 60k. Whilst that is above average earnings, it is not a huge income if both partners are working (30k each)

With most halls charging rents way above that, any student whose parents should contribute but can’t or won’t, will struggle to go away.

So we are not choosing to give them money on top of loans, it’s a necessary top-up and government driven.

[ssd]

It makes the fact uni is only for the better off true then. People think only the better off can afford the fees, when they are covered by the loan. The fact that rent isn't covered by the maintenance loan and parents must make up the difference really separates rich from poor. I don't think a lot of people know about this.

[Mustbetimeforachange]

A full loan will cover the rent, & more. It's the "squeezed middle" who will struggle.

[ShanghaiDiva]

ssd
If the family is on a lower income then surely the maintenance loan is higher and would cover the student's rent and other costs. If the student receives the minimum, it won't cover rent, but it means household income is 60K or above, which is not poor.