Topping up student finance

[MyWetFlannel]

Our son is going to university in September and will receive minimum maintenance loan. We've already paid for his first year self catering halls as he has an unconditional offer so he'll just be living off his loan. My question is, is it reasonable to top up his weekly budget so he'll have about 150 per week so he'll have enough for decent food, a good social life, not have to worry about any materials he'll need to buy etc?

He's had a job since he was 14, is very resourceful and fully intends to work during his studies as he has for the last four years. I just want to make sure he doesn't have to make too many difficult decisions. I was a very poor student and working too many hours resulted in me not doing as well in my degree as i could have so I just don't want that for my son.

I've no worries about his work ethic or motivation as he has buckets of this and suprises me constantly with his ideas on how to make money and how hard he works in his various jobs.

Wise mumsnetters please tell me what your child's weekly budget will be and what you'll be contributing. I'd like to see if what I'm thinking of contributing is reasonable or not.

Thank you ☺

You know that an unconditional offer doesn't affect students finance? In the sense that they still take a loan for the fees and then another part of the loan for maintenance (means tested).

OP doesn't say otherwise? She's just pre paid his rent and he's only entitled to minimum loan so knows she has to contribute the rest of his expenses.

Just realised that wasn't your question! Sorry.
You're asking about giving extra support of £150 per week. About £7000 per year. On top of the student maintenance. Your son would be amazingly lucky to get that, if you can afford it. It would supplement his lifestyle.

Thanks batshit, I understand this yes ☺ I only added it to say that the accommodation costs are paid and out of the way already so he knows at the moment it's just his savings and his maintenance loan he'll need to live off.

I guess I just want to know that, given his good work ethic and his excitement at getting a new job at uni, is it reasonable to still give him a bit more just to make life that bit easier? Or shall i just leave him to it? I guess I'm worried he'll actually work too much! I think he works too much now during A levels...I'd love to know what other parents are planning (if it's possible for them of course) my parents couldn't help me much at all

Sorry batshit, I probably didn't explain it very well. I'm planning to top up his maintenance loan by 50 per week to bring him up to 150 per week total to live on..

£150 per week is a huge amount! We pay dd's rent and then she gets the minimum maintenance loan. I think it works out at about £120 per week.

It's been absolutely plenty - she doesn't stint on nights out or buying clothes from Vinted.

Most of her friends seem to have about the same amount. They generally work in the holidays.

I think that’s really quite a lot of additional money. In part it probably depends on what city, and what he might need to buy specific to his course, but I would have thought £80-£100 would be pretty generous once halls are already paid for.

Thanks little fish that's good to know. I was wondering if i was being over indulgent. He says he'd like to work at least ten hours a week = £100! I just worry he'll end up saying yes to shifts because he'd like to buy more materials for his course.

Thanks for your responses, I'm probably over thinking but our children only get one shot at this time in their lives and I want him to have the best time. Not spend it all working long hours lol

We will pay rent too but planning to let DC live off their maintenance loans (£4500). Should be plenty and if not they can get a shift or two to supplement. I don’t want my DC to struggle but nor do I want them to be strikingly more cash liquid than their cohort

Thanks ziipidi. He's in a northern city so not expensive but on a materials heavy course which the uni does subsidise but I know my son and he'll want to go above and beyond and buy loads for his course lol.

Perhaps I should just leave him to it but say to him I'll buy his materials when he needs them?

How many hours do your children work? He never wants for anything but really enjoys earning his own money which is nice but I worry it's too much sometimes.

The absolute minimum you should give (including the rent you have already paid) would be to top up the minimum loan he is getting to match the maximum loan that the poorest students get. Any less than this would be unreasonable but in many university cities even that isn't enough to live on.

So, on top of that - look on the university web pages to see what additional scholarship grants the university makes to appropriate students. E.g. to pick a random university - Bath has a scholarship programme giving £5,000pa to students with a household income under £30,000 who qualify. If you have sufficient income I would aim for that sort of amount as the supplementary top up.

Thanks grayswood. Do you think it's important that they don't have too much money so they fit in with their peers?

My son is not flash or anything but can be a bit too generous sometimes and has been taken advantage of in the past...

Opus that's really interesting thank you. I wonder with the extra grants done students get would that mean they have more than 150p/w to live off?

That's a huge amount.

I mean, if you have so much money to spare, and you are being fair to any other dc too, then it's up to you what you do with your money, but a lot of parents reason that part of being a student is learning to 'adult' - which, for the overwhelming majority of people, that means learning to budget.
I'd rather mine did that at a time when living the student life and mixing with plenty of others who were also learning to budget, and understand the value of working an extra shift vs spending on a treat etc.

But, at the end of the day, absolutely up to you what you do with your money. I suspect that, as you are asking strangers on the internet though, you are not convinced yourself.

Personally, I'd put that money away to help them out after they graduate.

Yes I do. Many, many parents can’t afford to top up so lots of students struggle. But I can (and seems like you can too) but I don’t want to top up excessively. We will be topping up to maximum loan for child in Swansea and to £11,500 as other child’s uni recommends that (more expensive city)

My son budgeted about £50 a week in his first year and ended up with money left. However he’s not really into clubbing or drinking. £150 a week sounds like a lot to me but if you can afford it then it’s your choice.

I give my dds living money to pretty much that amount also.
They are excellent at budgeting, and adulting, and v much appreciate how lucky they are. I have no intention of making their lives harder when it doesnt have to be.
They arent mega flush but they do not need to worry about eating thankfully.
Learning to budget doesnt always mean being broke.

Thanks so much new name for your response. I appreciate the idea that they have to learn to budget but I think my son may have learned that years ago. He set up his own gardening business from 15 and had insisted on paying for his own clothes etc since 16. He's really responsible and goes shopping to lidl each week, batch cooks his lunches to take into school everyday lol. I've no worries about his adulting skills ☺

We've got enough to help all three of our children out with house deposits etc when they are ready.

I guess I'm wanting to know whether I'm being too indulgent? My view is warped by my poor background and financial struggles when i went to uni.

We are in the same position mywetflannel.
And we also had naff all as kids and we were totally broke as a young married couple. Now we are not and my dds reap the benefit.
They know all about hard work, budgeting and paying your way.
We built a v successful business from nothing as they grew up and it has elevated them beyond what we grew up with.
Is that not what we want for our kids? That they do better than we did.

Thank you for your response. That's seems a very small amount to live off given the cost of laundry, food, buses and pub drinks and course materials etc

I think my son is quite adorable and he intend on signing up to at least five of the societies the uni offers in freshers week which would be 100 pound already without food and other expenses. Something i could never do when I was at uni

Thanks doteycat, yes we are in a similar situation. My husband didn't struggle but I really did, nearly dropped out I was so broke but struggled on and just about passed lol. Things are different now but we've never spoiled them and they all like to work for money and have true sympathy for those with less. They know they are very lucky (I remind them constantly lol)

But I'm interested in the point that others will have less so should I make sure they have less to 'fit in'? I could but my son will probably just work more (too much).

I guess I won't know any of this in reality until he's there

Sorry, i meant to say he's quite sociable!
He's pretty adorable too lol

I pay my DS's rent, and now he is in a house rather than halls I give him enough to cover his bills. Other than that he lives on the minimum maintenance loan. I did calculate how it compared to the maximum maintenance loan last time there was a thread of this nature and was surprised to find I was giving him considerably less. Feeling guilty, I offered him more but he declined saying he didn't need anything extra. He lives in a city where accomodation is fairly cheap, doesn't drink, run a car or have any expensive hobbies though.
DS2 is, assuming he gets the grades of course, going to a more expensive city next year and does a lot of sport so I expect him to cost a bit more. But there is no way he will be getting £150 per week on top of his hall fees being paid and the minimum maintenance loan, he can get a job if need be.

It's a different world! Money for house deposits, £150 a week as a student, rent paid for. My poor DS is in his second year and has managed everything on his full loan - rent/food the lot. If I ever have anything spare I give it to him!

OP £150 a week is a lot - would he rather you save it for him?