How much does maintenance cost each year (assuming your child is not living at home)?

[FrydayFish]

I'm trying to get a feel for how much it will cost when the first of our two kids goes to uni in a couple of years.
Obviously the fees will probably be 9k per year but how much per year does it cost for accommodation,food, travel, socializing etc.
I would like to think that my kids will get part time jobs while they are in uni so what is a ballpark figure for how much I will have to subsidise them per year?
6k, 8k, 10k, 12k?

I know loans for maintenance are also available but for now I'd just like to get a rough feel for the numbers.
Thanks

It completely depends on how many takeaways , expensive nights out they have , what they do in their spare time as to how much money they will need /want . My dd could quite easily spend £2k a week if that's what she had , but she hasn't so gets by on about £150 .

@titchy was right in the first reply.
Not sure why you are being so rude to people who are trying to help you by answering your question.

The maintenance loan is £9.5K because that is considered the amount needed to live on.. Not sure what you want people to say.

If money is really tight and the parents can't support their student, then many students can live on less.
If the student has been used to having lots of money to spend on luxuries, and the family will fund that lifestyle, I'm sure there are students that can happily spend more.
If the students choose to go to University in one of the notoriously expensive cities, then their costs will be higher.

If they want fancy accommodation and en-suites, then they will be paying out more for rent.
If they don't know how to shop frugally, then they will spend more.
If they have a good work ethic and can organise their time well, then they will be able to earn more.
If they have a particular skill set, they may well be able to earn more.

There are so many different things to factor into this equation.

I agree. Mine have a fair bit (£150 a week plus rent and fees) and others have less and some more. One of my sons made loans to a few people which built up to a few hundred pounds at times and it was a bit annoying for me if their mothers didn't work full time as I do that I was working so hard to pay my son and the children of those other mothers who didn't work at all had so little money my son was making the loans. I am laughing now as it was not a big deal and he has been paid back.

As for what they do need it just depends on lifestyle - will they be taking Ubers? How expensive will the night clubd where they go if they go to those at all? Will they be at balls? I bought each of my twins a dinner jacket for black tie things. Mine also have free use of our second car and took that to university in the last 2 years. They have had rent from a house each they own too in the last 2 years or so on top of all this.

I am only mentioning this to show there is a huge spectrum at university of who has what money.

The starting point is topping up the minimum maintenance loan to the full maintenance loan as that it what it is expected parents will do. If you cannot afford that then the student can get a job and also many have over drafts.

My 5 children also had their life savings from family birthday money given since they were born which they didn't use until university - some used it more than others but it was helpful to have it available at that stage.

My dd is hoping to go to uni next year. I had no idea that (as we earn over £60k) we would be expected to top up her loan. We don't have £5k to give her. What the fuck do we do?? To support her we will be doing without a lot, plus the cost of living crisis. She's an adult, this seems so unfair.

Just to be clear, the salaries we are on now is new. A few years ago it was half that so we have had no chance to "put money aside".

@crossstitchingnana

My dd is hoping to go to uni next year. I had no idea that (as we earn over £60k) we would be expected to top up her loan. We don't have £5k to give her. What the fuck do we do?? To support her we will be doing without a lot, plus the cost of living crisis. She's an adult, this seems so unfair.

Just to be clear, the salaries we are on now is new. A few years ago it was half that so we have had no chance to "put money aside".

If you can’t afford to top her up she needs to go to a local university or take a gap year and save her wages to subsidise herself. She can look into part time work but realistically it’s not likely to be enough to fully cover her. Bursaries or scholarships are also an option but again unlikely to cover everything.

@crossstitchingnana

My dd is hoping to go to uni next year. I had no idea that (as we earn over £60k) we would be expected to top up her loan. We don't have £5k to give her. What the fuck do we do?? To support her we will be doing without a lot, plus the cost of living crisis. She's an adult, this seems so unfair.

Just to be clear, the salaries we are on now is new. A few years ago it was half that so we have had no chance to "put money aside".

Well you've got a year to squirrel some money away. You don't have to have £5k immediately. Depending where she goes less might be ok (we give our ds £400 a month for 10 months, but he lives in a cheap city and could manage perfectly well on less. She could take a year out which would give you another year etc.

Parents have always been expected to pay by the way - it's nothing new.

@crossstitchingnana best thing she can do is look for a PT job tho at pays a decent wage once she turns 18, DSS got one at a supermarket and was on 10ph. He worked a lot over the summer and saved this. She will need to do the same

Hope the OP isn’t this snippy IRL.

@crossstitchingnana

My dd is hoping to go to uni next year. I had no idea that (as we earn over £60k) we would be expected to top up her loan. We don't have £5k to give her. What the fuck do we do?? To support her we will be doing without a lot, plus the cost of living crisis. She's an adult, this seems so unfair.

Just to be clear, the salaries we are on now is new. A few years ago it was half that so we have had no chance to "put money aside".

She could take a gap year, you could let her live at home rent free and she could get a job and save as much as possible for future years. Then you give her what you can, and she works in the holidays to fill any gap. Also don’t study in London or anywhere else where it’s expensive - apply to locations where it’s cheaper, aim for the rent to be covered by the minimum maintenance loan (which she will be entitled to). It’s not a new thing though, the parental contribution… student finance has always been parental means tested.

titchy parents didn't used to pay to the extent they do now. I went in the 80s and had my fees paid by my LEA and a full grant. She wants to do a very specialist course so there are few options. With energy bills and mortgage, loans etc it's going to be tough to "squirrel anything away."

Ds2 gets the full maintenance loan which pays his rent which is currently £600 per mth, not inc bills.

We give him £350 per mth, he works 2 nights week in a restaurant and he had savings from relatives and working in 6th form. He has enough to manage, but not do anything extravagant. Although he has so much coursework, going the gym, works and looking after himself he doesnt really have the spare time or cash to go more than once a week. Which dwindles to not going out at all in the mth before exams.

So depending on which Uni it is, accommodation will be at least £600 per mth

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/4502306-Paying-for-university-living-expenses
Here’s a recent thread on this very same question. Loads of examples

Our children are currently both at uni. We saved approx £20k per child that is spread across the 3 years to cover rent/food and other outgoings. This equates to around £6.5k per annum.

We are fortunate that the grandparents also chip in to the tune of £2.5k per annum. So that totals £9k

So far that has worked out ok. They do not have jobs (actively discouraged by OB). They do not come crying to us for extra ££ as the grandparents are generous at Xmas and birthdays also.

I realise that we are extremely fortunate to be in this position.

So I reckon £9k-10k should be enough if you are looking for a figure to budget for.
Happy saving!

I went in the 80s and had my fees paid by my LEA and a full grant

I did too, but I still worked alongside my course, and yes, it was a course with some placements and long working weeks, and, at that time, I was in all day every day, unlike most courses at the moment.

parents didn't used to pay to the extent they do now

No, but students in the 80s didn't expect heating, let alone en-suites. They certainly didn't spend on take away coffees, Netflix, huge mobile phone contracts, and all the other things our dc take for granted. I don't recall any of the many, many student houses I visited not having condensation, a bit of mould, and usually in poor repair generally. I couldn't believe the 'poshness' of university accommodation when we first started looking round for my dc.

Some of the amounts you read about parents giving their dc on MN, and on WIWIKAU are vast, often 2 - 3 times what my dc have from us.
Don't forget once they leave home, you do find your own grocery bills come down considerably, as well as less washing, fewer showers etc etc, which will impact on your utility bills (and water if on a meter), and your petrol if you give them lifts at the moment.

I got the maximum maintainence loan when I was at uni, along with a few small bursaries here and there, and it was more than enough. Covered everything and for the first time since I was 12 I had no need to work, I could focus on learning instead.

@crossstitchingnana

titchy parents didn't used to pay to the extent they do now. I went in the 80s and had my fees paid by my LEA and a full grant. She wants to do a very specialist course so there are few options. With energy bills and mortgage, loans etc it's going to be tough to "squirrel anything away."

@crossstitchingnana I went in the early 1990s and my parents, both teachers, paid all of my living costs as I was not eligible for any grant, this system is not new.

@crossstitchingnana, your full grant was based on the level of your parents' income. If they had earned above the threshold for a contribution being assumed, you would have got less - you didn't get a full grant because everyone got a full grant, regardless of circumstances (not in England, anyway)- it was essentially the same system, apart from the fact that our grants didn't have to be repaid as loans have to be now.

Ime the maximum maintenance loan of around 9.5k is what they need to live on, so if they are entitled to less than this because of parental earnings then it needs topping up to that level either by you helping out, savings, earnings or a combination of all 3.
Research the unis accommodation as these will vary so its worth considering accommodation costs at the outset.

Hi, my Ds is first year uni. He takes the minimum loan, £4500 ish. We then pay his accommodation top up of about £2k per year and give him £200 pm plus pay his phone, Spotify etc. We have also paid for his driving lessons and he has just passed his test this week. So in total he gets around £9k between our contribution and the loan plus we pick up a few small bills. He is in halls in a city in the North and this is a fairly expensive way to live, £135 PW for an en suite room. The £200 covers books, study supplies, groceries and the odd takeaway. He doesn't go out drinking but does have a (fairly low cost) hobby

My daughter manages fine on the 9.5k a year (loan plus my top up). She works part time in the holidays but not in term time. She is at Oxford so her accommodation is term time only (and terms are short) so her annual accommodation costs are probably lower than average. But she spends more on food as she does not have a kitchen. As other people have said, accommodation costs vary a lot (you can look them up on university websites) and the amount they spend on top of that is very much a choice. As is how much they earn for themselves.

Yes it's true
Our shopping bill has halved

Apologies @titchy, I didn't mean to be rude.
It does seem like 9-10k is a good ballpark figure.
I guess it means that I will be encouraging my kids to go to university in London if possible.

£700/ month which includes rent, food, going out.
We pay for his phone and the train fare home when he wants to come back. We also pay for utility bills which probably average £50/60 a month

Sorry, should say that £400 roughly a month is from his loan

cross, parents did have to make it up from minimum to full in the old days - it was just that yours must have had very low incomes. I got a very very tiny minimum grant and my parents had to (or rather chose to) top it up - see this image - I went in 1979. In those days and now parents in England are not obliged to top it is up it remains a very unfair system with some parents cash in hand vast amounts of money officially very little money with children getting huge maximum loans and other parents not paying the child a penny of top up.