Minimum Maintenance Loan but we just cant afford the shortfall!

[JufusMum]

Hi all - looking for some advice. Because of DH salary we just about fall into the bracket where DD will get the minimum maintenance load (about £4300). The fact is that doesn't even cover her rent let alone food and travel, so we are wondering what we do? I understand parental contribution but with our bills, even though DH has a decent salary I only earn a very small amount and I am not sure where this extra £4-5k a year is going to spring from. I am considering weekend/evening jobs and looking at scholarships/bursaries but most are means tested. How do "middle earners" cope?

She'll just have to get a job.

Parents don't have to help and if you can't don't force yourself into a position of financial difficulties for it.

Plenty of student work alongside their course and it'll be a good life lesson.

Dandelion 1993 she will get a job but she is doing Professional Policing and as part of the course she also has to volunteer as a Special Constable so cuts down on potential hours for working. I guess the good thing is she is socially reclusive and doesn't go out/drink so there will be more time to work!

My DD supplements her income with a 12 hour a week contract in a supermarket. She works every Saturday and one evening 5 to 10pm. She has managed without any regular contributions from me apart from her phone contract which I pay for. She does get a bit more than the minimum maintenance loan though.

Your bills (food, electricity) will go down a bit when she's living away. So there's that.

But I'd say you'll need to find a full time job or a better-paid part time job, or massively cut back somewhere.

I'm not sure your dh's salary of £60k is middle income - it's in the top 10% of salaries in the UK!

But I get your point. You don't have to support your child - as a pp said they could a job, take a gap year, stay at home, not go to university.

Personally I think it's a bit shitty not to support them though - so if you can maximise your income by working more why wouldn't you. Make cutbacks where you can as well. I do matched betting which bumps up our income.

£60k+ is hardly on the breadline and presumably your bills are to pay for things that you've chosen to consume? Lots of parents work extra hours to support their children at university.

Your residual income for the purposes of calculating the maintenance loan must be over £60,000. It seems pretty mean to not cover your daughters costs and expect her to earn the extra whilst studying for a professional qualification. I speak as the parent of two current students both studying in London and on very time intensive courses which only allow time for a small amount of paid work. They are both on the minimum and we have budgeted to cover this. Is there really no expenditure that you can cut back on?

60k and you can't afford to top it up.... What are you spending your money on?!

My parents managed on 40k to help support me (they had planned in advance for this). Surely university isn't an unexpected expense.

You need a better job, and she needs to get one that doesn't jeopardise her course.

Really our only expenditure that we can, and will cut down on is holidays, of which we have one week overseas a year. We do not go away for weekends, DH has a company car, I have a small economical 6 year old car. DD will require a car for Uni (as shifts for Specials will be any time of day or night) so thats another added cost coming my way. We do not have gym membership, Sky TV, or anything like that. No hobbies other than DH season ticket around £300 a year. DD dances which is expensive but she says she will pay for that whilst at Uni, so we will save around £100 a month on lessons which will help. I'm definitely going to look for a second or even third job though. Don't want to leave my current job, as for the first time in my working life I actually enjoy going to work! Thanks for all the advice folks!

60k! One child? Do you have significant debts or a huge mortgage or child maintenance? Otherwise making it up to the maximum loan amount is about 375 a month which surely should be doable??

Can dd get a job now and save - my ds worked weekends right through from GCSE’s and then the summer before uni worked full time to save. Could also consider a gap year to add to savings.

@Trewser
Large ish mortgage and negative equity from first house, DH is taxed like a beast as he gets personal petrol allowance for the car so take home is never more than £2300, mortgage and bills well over half of that, that's without food, petrol for my car, incoming petrol and car insurance for DD which I know will be hideous, we save around £200 a month but I guess we will just not be able to put anything into savings while DD is at Uni?

I can't see how your DD can afford either the time or the money to carry on her dancing hobby TBH. That's a lot of money for a student per month. Is she good enough to teach it, though? A friend of mine currently does a couple of classes and says it doesn't pay badly. I know she has some qualifications/awards though.

DD works now but is looking for a new job because although she loves it they don't give her enough shifts, she can only work Fri/Sat evenings and some Sundays as she trains at dancing Mon/Tue eves and Saturday 9-5pm with competitions most Sundays.
I don't want to stop her dancing as it is pretty much the only thing that keeps her mental health in check.

Net pay on £60k is £3600. So your DH gets taxed an extra £1300 a month because of his petrol allowance? I'd say that allowance is not worth having!

Has she double-checked about needing a car? I lived & studied with people doing Professional Policing and I don't think any of them had a car, with parking and insurance and things, it's quite a cost! Most people got by with public transport & taxis for the awful shifts, plus there tended to be a few of them on each shift so they made a lot of "shift friends".

If she made do without a car/dancing, she'd probably be able to cover her costs with a part-time job even if she's restricted on hours...

Otherwise it looks like it'll be really tight. Could you go back to work full-time?

Cross posts on the dancing - in that case I definitely think she needs to forget the idea of a car, and make sure she's working and saving a lot during the summers/half terms.

DD dances which is expensive but she says she will pay for that whilst at Uni - how is she going to pay for it if she can't work and you can't afford to help her?

Many kids have to postponed studying for a year, go and earn to save to be able to support themselves. I would suggest that. My DD worked FT during her 3rd year (work placement) earning minimum wage (she was living at home therefore at no cost and I paid her phone and nothing else). She paid her commuting, most lunches and saved nearly 5K which she is using to support herself in year 4.
Some of her friends delayed studying by a year to save money.
I was dreading this year as I have another one in Y1 who just started but it all turned out well.
First year is much more expensive than the rest because the cost of Uni accommodation is higher than when they go privately.
My kids also saved Christmas and Birthday money and use them for buying food etc. That is very sensible and they enjoy the fact that they are in charge of their finances. In fact coming home on trains is the most expensive thing they complain about and often choose coach instead.

Cross post.

Well ... yes ... if you have money to save, that's where the money is going to come from!

I'm sorry, but I can't help thinking this is a stealth boast or a wind up. You can't afford the shortfall but you've money to save each month?

My (fairly well off) mother refused to even submit her details to be considered for my student loan. I had to wait two years (3 years of “suppprting myself”) until I could apply as an independent person.

Anchor - depends a bit on the Uni. If she goes to Edge Hill then the Specials shifts will be in Manchester/Liverpool with no public transport available late at night - and I cannot imagine taxi's all the time will be cheaper than a car!
If she goes to a "city" based Uni then no, she will not take a car.
Dancing is her LIFE. She does nothing else socially, no parties, nights out, drinking, nothing like that at all. She really wants to continue although it will be less training hours when she is at Uni. Also the car comes into play here as competitions are all over the country on Sundays with arrival times at 8am and public transport won't always work.
Yes I am aware DH petrol tax is horrendous but we live rurally and we use a LOT of personal petrol.
Yes I can work full time but not in my current job, I would have to leave and go somewhere else and I love my job and I don't want to leave, so an additional part time job is the answer - I have done this before with 2 x part time jobs in addition to my ft job and envelope stuffing in the evenings.

I take home about that but im on 16k less

You've answered your question. You will save £100 on dancing lessons, and you will have to sacrifice your £200 savings, thats £300 to DD.

I don't think many people can save and send DC's to university. We earn quite a bit more than you and haven't saved anything for years .

What car does your dh drive??! A massive 4x4? We live rurally. THATS 300 A WEEK ON PETROL

Sorry not sure how that happened!