Living Expenses

[KittyMcKitty]

I know this has been discussed in the past and people have vastly differing viewpoints but how much per week (term time) is a reasonable amount after hall fees?

Dc is going to Manchester and has their hall allocation as already has grades (Oak House - oh the glamour 😂) so we are figuring out living expenses and considering around £150pw for everything else?

Woukd really appreciate hearing what others have done.

Thank you

To be honest, I was quite surprised to find it so easily- some universities only include this info hidden away somewhere in their 'International Students' section.

I was really surprised by the different amounts at different institutions.

My son is going to Leeds Conservatoire which isn't on the save the student list. Not including rent etc which will differ according to average halls prices the amount that Leeds Uni students spend per month is way more that Leeds Arts students!

I was thinking an amount per day for living expenses, friends of ours give DC £10 a day (rent fully paid out of loan).

Also interested as DD also going to Manchester. As far as I can understand it, because she's from Wales, there's no specific parental contribution towards living costs, & she'll get a total of £10,710 which is split between grant and loan depending on household income.
Question being, will that realistically cover everything. No idea as to halls etc as yet - or whether she'll even get a place in halls as she made a late application (grades in hand) & only just received & accepted an offer.

Also looking at the (very useful, thank-you!) link above I guess halls only covers the first year so it's going to depend on what rent costs privately in subsequent years

@Guiri they have just started allocating accommodation to those with grades / confirmed places. Basically if she hasn’t done it yet you put 5 preferences and they allocate randomly- the price varies by £3k between the halls. What’s she going to study?

@Guiri I have friends with children in second / third years in Manchester and they all seem to be paying around £7k for shared houses.

That's really helpful, thanks :) She's planning on asking about the 'moderated/ reserved lifestyle' hall option though whether it'll be too late I don't know (she's also really wanting self-catered not catered so I guess it depends what the possibilities are).

She's going to study linguistics - what's your dc studying?

Oops - name change fail...

They won’t be allocating the main bulk of the accommodation until after results day so she should be fine (hopefully). My ds is doing Philosophy and Politics.

We're paying £400/month after hall fees.

@Guiri the application deadline for a guaranteed place in halls at Manchesyer would seem to be a few weeks away yet:
Secure our accommodation guaranteeApply asap, by 31 August at the latest – or by 31 July if you’re a visiting or exchange student – in order to get a guaranteed offer of a place in our halls of residence.

www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/applications/after-you-apply/guide-to-student-life/accommodation/#:~:text=Secure%20our%20accommodation%20guarantee,in%20our%20halls%20of%20residence.

@KittyMcKitty
dc lived in catered halls last year. They got min loan which we topped up to the maximum student loan amount. We gave our contribution termly so they had it at the same time that their student loan went into their account.
After termly accommodation costs were paid, they were left with approx £60 per week for the rest of the term . Dc says they usually spent about £30 a week on going out and sundries which meant that they could afford bigger things (ball tickets, travel to friends at other unis etc) every now and then. They came back from uni with money left in their account although this is dwindling fast and they are currently applying for summer jobs.

We used a different method to calculate how much we would contribute after min loan which covered catered accommodation back then. We actually worked out with DD what DD needed. Zero based budgeting! What were we paying for? So phone, clothes, fares, books, entertainment, meals out every so often, fares, printing, sport fees, subscriptions and general every day expenses and even things like toiletries. We decided what DDs would buy for themselves but if they needed a coat or to go on holiday, we paid. We reviewed it every year according to how it went and any earnings they achieved.

@KittyMcKitty You will find everyone is different. My DD1 never had en suite accommodation but liked having a social life. DD2 had an en suite room in London for 52 weeks. Manchester isn’t ridiculously expensive but some students will survive on very little, and buy next to nothing, whilst others want more from their student years and spend more. Only you know (and can work out) what your DC will need, what you can afford and what seems reasonable to you. What others do is a bit besides the point. If you pay monthly it can be adjusted! Start from £0 and work it up. Do the same when the coats are known for y2 rent.

About £25 a day (£165 a week) after rent paid.

Ds has just graduated from Manchester and his rent for the second and third years have both been under 5K pa plus bills.

As someone said above, we paid his rent, he lived on the minimum student loan. I don’t think there’s a huge variation in living costs outside London, supermarket prices are the same, student union bar prices are similar.

Partly depends on whether they are in catered or self catering halls but I would have thought that £125pw should be plenty - if they want more they can work tbh. DC1 in self catered halls in London has done well with £500pcm plus about £200-250 in earnings from babysitting and music teaching.

@atiaofthejulii
There is quite a big difference between St Andrew’s, Bristol and, say, Sunderland. Also you don’t just need to budget for food. What type of sport needs to be added in? What about clothes? Nights out. Even a quiet meal with a few friends adds up. Students also celebrate birthdays and like to go out. I know on MN, students are frugal, but the majority do socialise. DD1 visited friends at other unis. Not far away and also went to sports matches. If you don’t do much it’s cheap and not all students go to SU either. Mine never went at all.

There is a notable difference in costs between Leeds and Newcastle - my kids live it and compare.
After accommodation costs we pay £100/week. They had savings which they dip into but are fairly careful - first term is expensive with lots of socialising to build relationships. Mine feel £100/week is a decent amount to live on and unlike other students on MN - my two both like to party - a lot. They’d spend what ever you gave them. Lots of kids work and save over the summer. One kid they know gets £50/week and finds it hard. You can always review things and give them more if needed.(if you have it)

I guess it depends whether you want to fund everything your kids might want to do. I'm happy to know that the basics are well covered, and they can decide for themselves how to fund the rest.

Two of mine are definitely on the more party end of the spectrum, one in the middle, one as yet to be discovered!

I agree they suggest the full loan of £9000 a year - so if they don’t get the full loan parents make up the difference.

From that they pay accommodation and the rest is money to live off.

DD halls are £5000 we’ll give her £30 a week for food. She can get a job for spends.

There is a notable difference in costs between Leeds and Newcastle - my kids live it and compare.

Mine have so far lived in Oxford, Newcastle, Manchester and Liverpool, and apart from shots being extremely well-priced in Newcastle 😄 they haven't reported any major discrepancies. None that induced them to ask me for extra money anyway 😉

Rent, yes, hence we paid/pay it.

weekly
food @£45
eating out and coffee £20
nightlife £15
books etc £5
travel £10
clubs and societies £3
clothes haircuts £7
emergency fund £10
total £115 minimum

more if running a car of course

£15 a week for nightlife/socialising? That’s very low for a student life.

My dd lives central london and on top of rent I give her £65 per week for food/ travel. She has a job where she earns £100 per week so she has that too if she wants extra.