How much money for living costs at uni?

[QuirkInTheMatrix]

After rent and bills?

DS will get the minimum amount of maintenance loan so we will cover rent (bills included), we will do him a big food shop at the start and make sure he’s set up with pots/pans, etc. His accommodation is a bus ride from campus so we will buy him an annual bus pass.

So will (slightly under) 5k a year be enough for day to day living? Groceries, toiletries, laundry, socialising. He has coeliac disease so food is more expensive, loaf of bread is £4.20. He can’t just grab a sausage roll from Greg’s while out and about for lunch. However he doesn’t drink and his idea of a good evening is more likely to be studying or watching TV!

He’d be happy to get a part time job if he can find one but I’m just aware there’s probably more students than jobs so may not be possible.

Im happy to carry on paying his phone contract. He currently pays his Spotify and also his contact lenses each month. Not sure if he can carry on using our Netflix or whether he will need to pay for his own.

That sounds about right to me. Try that and see how he gets on.

We paid DS’s phone/accommodation/car insurance/tax/maintenance, then he lived off his loan. He also got a PT job for extra money. Plus he had worked and saved the summer before.

I think the difference between the minimum and the maximum loan amounts is a good idea of a starting point (as this is the unofficial parental contribution).

I've seen a lot of threads on here where accommodation takes up most of the student's money though, and so additional income from elsewhere really is needed.

We’ll be paying more than that in order to cover the rent. Which is fine. It’s more about knowing if what he has left will be enough.

We've always paid rent and bills and DC live off minimum loan.
Like you, they get a start of term big shop, and phone. They've managed to keep using family subscriptions for Spotify/Netflix etc.
We pay DDs contacts lenses - she has extremely poor sight.
We paid for a bus pass for one, the other didn't need one.

Both had p/t jobs at various points, but that was for luxuries/travel fund etc - I don't think either had to have one.

The GF stuff might be an issue - one of mine was GF for a while. The likes of Aldi/Lidl (normally student favourites) aren't reliable but they found Morrisons had a good range that was slightly cheaper so used to get an online delivery every now and again.

It sounds like we’re in a similar position to you. We also plan on paying for accommodation and then leaving DS to pay for every else out of the student loan. We’ll also upgrade his laptop before he starts uni and continue to pay phone contract & streaming subscriptions. Hopefully he can get a part time job over the summer months to build up a buffer to use if needed over the rest of the year.

DS’s accommodation includes all his bills and we give him £80 a week for food, other groceries, going out etc. we pay for his mobile phone. Like your DS he doesn’t drink. He’s found it more than enough - he’s been able to save quite a lot.

in the first term we gave it weekly so he could get used to budgeting but he now gets it monthly

DDs accommodation and fees are covered. We pay for her car, her phone and give her £500 a month to live on. She also has a job where she works one 12 hour shift a week. For this she gets between £150 and £200 (on a very good night it’s usually closer to £150).

Thanks everyone will see how it goes and bumps up if necessary. It's not his fault he needs gluten free stuff and I think it will add quite a bit on to a normal bill for him each week.

We did the pay the rent dc live on min loan which was £4700 this year. She’s been absolutely fine. We do pay phone, train tickets home, contact lenses too. I also fully kitted her out and did a few big bulk food shops - pasta, pesto, almond milk etc. uses our Netflix and Spotify.

If it’s circuit laundry it’s expensive. If they are allowed a drying rack it saves paying for dryers.

That's a good idea, will pack a clothes airer in the car when we go. Will work out how to get him on my spotify, happy to pay extra for the family account.

DC's rooms in halls didn't have enough space for an airer and some unis specifically forbid it due to the moisture from the clothes potentially making the room damp and mouldy. Ds2 is in his first year now. Ds1 has graduated.

Laundry is £3.60 for a wash (not circuit although Ds1 had that) and £1.90 to tumble dry. Ds1 in first year had free tumble drying. Ds2 does 2 loads of washing a week, one clothes, one bedding and towels but does manage to fit it all into one tumble dryer.

Food is around £39 a week for the supermarket. He eats steak as well as salmon. His bargain breakfast is toasted crumpets with butter. Other costs to consider, things like Amazon, Netflix, phone, phone insurance, gym membership.

Ds gets minimum loan and uses all of it to pay his accommodation and we pay the rest. He gets £100 per week from us term time only. This is absolutely plenty for him. He does not drink, his socialising includes is e-sports, he plays for the university. Ds1 also used to have kitchen meet ups and play guitar and other people would also play and sing. No drinking out as just too expensive, cheaper to buy in alcohol from the supermarket. Both of mine also have take aways, Ds2 has 1 pizza a month and a curry every couple of weeks. The curry is £18 with delivery but includes a chicken starter.

We always provide what we call basics so that is toilet roll (we shop at Costco) tissues, kitchen roll, shampoo, conditioner and soap. We start them off with cleaning supplies, staple food items, pasta, microwave rice (Ds says awful but you can make it into fried rice) soups, tinned toms, herbs and spices, pesto, some pasta sauces and things like packets of taco and fajita seasoning.

Some students will go out to chi-chi cafes and have brunch every weekend and some will live more simply and still feel incredibly happy.

DS1 will be off to Uni in September. We are lucky that we live in Wales so everyone gets £12k - (the proportion of grant/loan varies according to income). The uni he wants to go to has catering mon-fri (breakfast and dinner) and with accommodation will be about £9k which will leave him £75 a week for the 40 weeks.
The plan is to continue paying his phone contract, pay a TV licence, insurance etc and then top him up a little each week.
We will equip him with everything he needs and also do a big stock up shop at the start.
He does not drink - doesnt even like fizzy drinks and isnt really very social although does like a quiz! Also not into clothes brands etc. will wear something until it falls apart. Doesn't have any expensive sports hobbies so I think he will actually not need a lot of money - he gets £25 a month pocket money now and doesnt really spend it.
His sister will be off to Uni the following year and that will be a different story....! Although she has has had a job since she was 14 so she will likely get a job to support her music concert/vinted habit and we will provide the money she needs to live.

All in all with the 3 kids we will have someone in uni for 8 years with 2 of those years having 2 kids!!

@BrieAndChilli no need for tv licence if you have one and he doesn’t watch plugged in.

My dd has £200 per month to live on and is fine but doesn’t go out much. Also not into clothes makeup

I remember reading about how much parents give on mumsnet and being really worried but my child is fine and has actually saved money on that. She only spends £30 on food. Also don’t drink

Living off the minimum loan is normal. It’s what most kids do if they only get minimum loan. Then parents pay the rent.

My DC and most of their friends have this set up

Mine did, too. It’s enough, with a good shop once a term and train paid.

This isn't kids living off the minimum loan though; this is parents paying the kids rent.

I’m budgeted about £5k a year for my daughter That will cover the extra rent that minimum loan doesn’t. £150ish a month for food (estimate - may need more but plan to send her back with a big shop anyway) and £50 ish for ad hoc bits. Socialising will be paid for out of work / savings from this years work.

Martin Lewis has campaigned for the minimum parental contribution to be stated clearly, but you can work it out by subtracting the minimum loan value from the maximum one:

I think the screenshot from gov.uk might appear 😄

My DS gets the minimum loan. We pay his accomodation costs and he lives off his student loan. It’s worked really well for us as it’s a set amount we have to pay rather than constantly topping it up and he obviously just budgets his own money. He spends about £50 a week on food (he is doing a sports degree so eats well) and then saves the rest for train fares home, books, clothes etc that he needs.
He is at Loughborough and his accommodation is about £8500 so we definitely pay more than the gap between minimum and maximum loan but we literally haven’t had to give him any extra money all year and he’s paid the deposit and first rent instalment for Y2 house out of it as well.

Thanks @mrsconradfisher thats reassuring that I’m not a million miles off. Just finalised the accommodation yesterday and laundry facilities are included for free, and a gym so that will help.