Student daughter how much to live on

[howsicklyarsekissy]

Hi my ADHD stubborn daughter has missed the deadline for affordable accommodation at kings college London. It's going to leave her with £50 per week after her Oyster card I am from the north but to live on this just seems ridiculous & setting herself up to fail from the start. I am
Beside myself with worry is it possible she could manage on this small amount???? . (She says she will work but her ADHD is quite debilitating but hopefully she would get work).

As in, £50/week after rent, travel and bills? If so, yes it's possible, but totally depends on her spending habits. I eat well (ie buy avocadoes, nice cheese, local meat etc) and spend about £35/week. I can eat healthily on £20 if I don't buy these luxury items. So that would leave her £30ish for other things. What would she spend it on? Is she into clothes? Partying? etc? Would there be any other costs related to uni that she'd need to meet from it?

In summary, yes, she could probably manage if she is good with money. If not, she may need to get a part-time job during term-time, or a full-time job during the holidays and save that for the coming year.

If she's a spender/terrible at budgeting, she may sturggle.

My DD has to manage on £9 a week.
Luckily she worked and saved before starting last year and has a job in a pub now

Yes £50 left (after her Halls is paid for & Oyster card.) to get food, books, entertainment, etc That doesn't include trains home to
Yorkshire in the holidays.

Have you factored in any bursaries she may be eligible for? KCL pay these automatically based on the level of maintenance loan you receive.

My dd has been living on £70 per week after accommodation. She has to budget for food, clothes, equipment and travel out of that as well as socialising so I'd say it's do-able.

She's off to London in October for postgrad and will have to live on considerably less as the postgrad loan is lot less and we will be paying tuition on top.

Thanks for your messages it's putting my mind at ease! Sounds like it may be do able.

Your dd can apply for a student bank account which has 0% interest rates (eg, Santander). It might not be ideal, but it is something to fall back on and hopefully repaid if they get a job during the holidays.

I think £50 p/w is definitely do-able!

If she met the criteria for the affordable accommodation scheme, she should be eligible for a bursary. I thought the application deadline for guaranteed accommodation was the same as the affordable accommodation scheme though.

Do you mean a weekly/monthly/annual travelcard rather than an Oyster card? I wouldn't buy one until she has her timetable and knows how many days she is in college and at what time. Mine have never needed one, the daily cap on Oyster PAYG linked to a student railcard has always worked out cheaper.

www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/services/student-advice-support/ags/pdfs/moneyissues/travel-discounts.pdf

She should contact the disability support people asap and see if an exception can be made. People will drop out, and perhaps she can be added to a wait list.

Don't buy an oyster card until down here. The rules keep changing due to covid and when my son and I looked at them again last weekend (we live in London) it was not worth his getting a travel pass for example due to umber of journeys. If you study in London there is some kind of discount on the tubes but look at that once she starts and has a better idea if she needs to travel much, if she will walk or cycle or if every class is online.

There seems to be loads of work in London atm from what I can see, I don’t thinking finding a job waitressing or in a shop/ cafe/ theatre/ museum will be a problem. She could sign on with an agency that provides stewards for museums etc and then pick her shifts. Flair is one, artisan people another one. No doubt loads more.

It's more than she will need week, by week, for living.
Trains home could well be expensive, so this is where she needs to learn about how to get the best prices. Obviously the railcard is a good start, but look at booking early / traveling at less popular times / potentially taking a slower train or one with a change, etc.
Is mega bus a possibility ? Even if she then has to get a train on from the City she lands in.