Bath university weekly budget -first year

[BlueskyBluesea]

Hello all,
My DC is going to Bath University in a couple of weeks 🎉🎊. We are all trying to find tune finances so was after some advice, not including tuition fees or accomodation costs, how much do your Bath University first years live on?

DC will probably go to the Student union nights a couple of times a week max and was hoping to join a few clubs- absolutely no idea the price of these(mountaineering and sailing). Apart from this and groceries/toiletries I was thinking there might be costs for Netflix, local transport, launderette . I've probably not thought of several other things so would would be grateful if you'd let me know if I've missed anything and roughly what your child spends per week in first year.

☺️☺️Thank you

Great post ! I too would also be interested in knowing a weekly budget for Bath Uni . I've heard Bath can be a bit more expensive so would be fab to get some rough ideas on costings .

DD was a first year last year.
She said she spent about £45 every 10 days in Sainsbury's. Avoid the Coop Fresh on campus as obviously, though handy was expensive. Ordered things like pasta, rice, tomato passata, coffee pods and pods for the washer direct from Amazon.

She actually did really well with budgeting 😂 to say it was a pleasant surprise is an understatement!

DS is also going to Bath. I believe the laundrette is £3 80 per wash, possibly £2.80, and the dryer £1 less… I’ll check again now.

I’ve also got a cleaning box for him, he has an en-suite with kitchenette too, but has enough packed to clean until Christmas. That way he isn’t spending on cleaning (and toiletries) and it’s probably more expensive there anyway x

Dryer is £1.50

I think a bus ticket was £67 for the month, but DS has said he won’t need a monthly one

Thank you @SoIinvictus it's good to get an idea for food budget, it was a bit hard to guage because it's often so much cheaper to buy in bulk for the whole family ☺️

Hi@greenmountjo I'm keeping fingers xed that Bath isn't too pricey 🤞 and that DC learns to budget v early on😂

👋@ShesJustAShyGirl that's really useful, I hadn't seen the info on the washing machine costs, I've added it to my list. I said to my DC that we'll do a big shop before drop off and buy lots of the cleaning stuff too, definitely saves them lots☺️

@ShesJustAShyGirl I might encourage mine to get their steps up and walk into town... although I feel a bit cruel with that hill up to uni

We haven’t even been to the uni so we have no idea about this hill I keep reading about. 😂

What accommodation does your DC have? X

DD is at Exeter rather than Bath but I work at the Bath campus (not for the university), and so know that prices are very similar.
DD lives off her min loan of c.£4k split as £80 per week, with more in first couple of weeks to cover Freshers events, gym membership, social/sports club memberships, then some left in the pot to cover extras eg trips to London to visit friends, tickets for Christmas/summer balls etc.
DD is going into 3rd year and this has worked well.

Additionally she has worked on campus to earn some extra for nights out (she’s a gal who likes to party!) and to run her little car (2nd year).

That hill to Bath uni - it’s steep, very steep!!!!

Thank you all☺️ definitely helps with the planning

Thank you everyone that really helps. I've been getting the general vibe of about £75 a week from various friends / relatives but all at different unis . I'm thinking roughly £80 a week .
Mine has got Westwood for accommodation.

Thanks @Em2ds1dd so useful to know the budget that works for Bath . Has your DC enjoyed their time at Bath ? First time with child at Uni - can you tell lol !

Sorry just re read and realised yours is at Exeter !

@greenmountjo no problem 😊
we live near the campus and have a student interning for us, plus we work with a number of students. All seem to love Bath - there’s quite a buzz around at the moment as lots of the sporty students are already back for pre-season training.

One of my DC had Bath as his insurance, it was the proximity to home which prevented it being his firm!

Good to know - sounds like a great place . We are up North so a bit of a change for mine ! He is actually down to Bath next week for pre season training f

Mine can't wait to get back. Has loved every second.
She got a video through of their second year house today which looks so nice I'd like to move in 😂 Rent a bit spendy compared to campus though!

Thanks@SoIinvictus so good to here !
The house sounds great !

I can assure you mountaineering and sailing will be expensive.

No one mentions clothes, running a phone, going for nights out (student unions are not for everyone!) or coffees with friends. We gave DD £100 a week for Bristol 12 years ago and she was catered. £75 won’t go far if DC wants a fun life with the mountaineers and sailors (who won’t be penniless!) So start looking at your DD and actual Bath costs, not what friends pay elsewhere. Clubs are social. They often involve more than getting in a boat. Plus - what about transport for mountaineering and sailing? Are they on site?

£100pw for catered? 12yrs ago! Crikey.

It depends on what life they want, what they do with friends and what you expect them to pay for. Some of DDs friends paid £ hundreds for sports. These costs are not unusual and Bath won’t be much different. No car to run though. Bristol isn’t big on SU. Many students don’t use SUs these days either. Too political! Times have changed.

I think a lot depends on the friends you make - mainly your corridor mates or clubs you join. If your son has expensive hobbies, his friends will tend to have lots of money to spend going out.

A friend's DC had an expensive room with an en suite, and a lot of her friends were foreign students who had plenty of money for socialising. She obviously wanted to join in, so spent quite a lot. DS graduated from there last year, and was ridiculously careful with his money - he even walked up the hill rather than pay for the bus!

Bus fares. (It's a darned hilly city)
Transport costs if coming home for a weekend.

Hi OP like @SoIinvictus my DD has just finished her first year at Bath (loved it, can't wait to head back). My exh gives DD £300 a month to live on and she has a job at the Rugby club in the centre where she picks up shifts on an ad-hoc basis (she didn't want a contract). Seems to live perfectly well on this, has to budget obviously but I think that is good for her. My DD frequented the SU many times a week and tells me it is usually rammed - lots of party nights, cocktail hours etc. DD did buy a bus pass but only because she had a BF living in Oldfield Park and seemed to spend the majority of last term at his so it made sense. Going into second year will be more pricey due to private rent and bills so I will be helping her out a bit more too. Oh I also send her back with a cupboard full of food (pasta, jars, cereal, noodles etc) to help her out too.

Thanks for all the help and tips very useful .