Uni budget - can students really live on £40 a week!

[scattysue]

My friend recommended I join a Facebook group called What I want to know about university. I have done and it has really made me think because so many posters on there say their kids live on £35-£50 a week at uni (excluding rent and utilities). This strikes me as VERY low - my eldest DS budgets £60 on a Sainsbury’s shop each week (including alcohol for pres and lots of meat protein) and then, as I want him to socialise and have fun too, I fund two nights out a week (£25 each time) plus gym (£8 a week), laundry (£9 a week - 2 loads of washing and drying as he does so much sport) and then £13 for miscellaneous . So I give him £140 a week. That struck me as fair but now I am wondering if I am too generous! What do u think? DS does work 20 hours a week in hols but he uses that money to fund his car/clothes/holidays - not uni. He gets minimum maintenance loan, pays it to us and we pay rent and, as I say, give him £140 a week during uni terms. Am I out of touch? Or is this uni Facebook group I joined overly frugal and unrealistic?

91/92
My friend at uni had £15 a week for food .
She shopped in Kwik save ,and even made me the odd dinner of oven chips and plum tomatoes.
Lime and water in the pub .
I didn't have much more than to be honest..I bought a a cheep sandwich toaster machine and basically lived of toasted beans and cheese sandwiches for 3 years .
It didn't do us any harm

I could stay alive on £40 a week but I don’t think I’d enjoy it very much and neither would the people near me as I’d be farting endlessly from all the lentil dal I’d have to consume.

I've got to say ...that's not living the student lifestyle
He's better funded than some families are ..

I'm quite baffled reading all this about students going out for meals and buying presents for each other.

I'm thinking back to my own and my brother's uni days, seeing how far we could stretch out a pack of value sausages and a tin of baked beans, draped in layers of dressing gowns in our freezing, filthy, damp flats, and doing calculations to work out the best price: ABV ratio on various terrible tasting supermarket spirits. 😂Voluntarily walking several miles to a party because no way were we paying £3 each to split a taxi.

Best time of my life, although going home to Tropicana in the fridge, clean sheets, heating and the laundry fairies was quite nice too.

You’re all right, she does need to adjust and yes she should have been wearing a black dress and buying a witches hat! She spent £50 on a costume 🙈

I’m 30 and DH and I spend like £25 each a week on food. It’s really not that expensive if you know how to cook and don’t eat shit tonnes of expensive meat and pre-made food. Of course a student can spend the same.

Nights out is more expensive yes but lots of people will just use a spirits bottle (£20) and split it over a few weeks and not drink much when out. Or don’t drink at all. Or don’t go out every week… you don’t have to go binge drinking twice a week every week when you’re meant to be studying.

OMG! Tell her to return it! I'm a 36 yo professional in a two income household and there's no way I'd even consider £50 on a costume. 😂

£94 a week is min loan and very common set up for students to live off. When you factor in parents paying accommodation it’s usually way above max loan.
It sounds like it’s just initial expenses and will calm down.
Did she not have a buffer from working in summer.
Has she got a student railcard and use Trainline or similar for cheapest price.
She won’t spend her £94 a week home for Christmas so will go back with a buffer, depending how long off she may be able to pick up some shifts too if had a job at sixth form that might need extra staff at busy time.
What are her contact hours? Even on pretty full on courses most students can manage a few hours work eg for uni or perhaps online tutoring.
I wouldn’t buy presents, her boyfriend’s parents won’t except anything I’m sure, a nice card possibly.

Then she needs to get a job… not out her parents into financial difficulty because she wants luxuries (meals out, parties, costumes, gifts are luxuries most working people are forgoing right now)

She’s not coming home for Xmas. She’s off to Canada for 6 weeks to stay with her bf (he’s bought the plane ticket). She’s doing architecture and it’s very full on, she’s working 10 hours a day and sounds burnt out already. It’s her part 2 (masters), she stayed at home for her undergraduate course so budgeting is new to her but I know how full on the course is. She got made redundant from her job last Jan so hasn’t any money saved.

There are no part time student jobs going, not that I think she’d have time for one. She’s going to try to get a bit of ad hoc student ambassador type stuff. In her last year of her undergraduate course she was paid by the university to teach sketching to first year students. She was hoping for something like this but the uni have knocked such roles on the head.

£50 is just ridiculous. My dc is yr2 and it was definitely a use what you have and a few accessories vibe, she’s saved her yr1 things for yr2. So eg ears off Amazon with a dress she had.

On another thread a pp was talking about eating healthily on a budget of £20/week for one person . They didnt say whether it was due to neccessity or choice (or a combination)?it wasnt a student. But that seems v low especially if including toiletries, possibly cleaning stuff etc. 40 also seems low

DD budgets around 90/wk for living expenses, i think. Also depends where their accomodation is - cheaper supermarkets are often out of town so less accessible if you've got town centre accomodation.

Who is paying for her stay in Canada? It's not a cheap country!

Her boyfriend lives there so she’s his problem while she’s there 🤣

Hope they don't break up and land you with the flight costs half way through like when my friend went out to Mexico to see her boyfriend only for his other girlfriend from France to decide to surprise him (and her!)

She’ll presumably need to pay her way eating over there, sightseeing, transport etc, she can’t be mooching off him or his parents for everything.
It sounds like she’s choosing to pay for luxuries then guilting you with I can’t even afford a packet of biscuits. If she’s not worked since January what did she do all summer.
If you add up her loan, your accommodation payment and extras and gross up to a salary equivalent it will show her how decent her income is.
There’s apps like Stint for hospitality work. Again she’s choosing to go abroad for 6 weeks and not work at Christmas.
It’s her choices but please don’t feel guilty or leave yourself struggling.

£50 on a costume is ridiculous. I was thinking she'd spend £20-30 and even thst is extravagent.

Prior to her change of direction my daughter studied professional performing arts where you have a minimum of 30-35 hours per week contact hours so I understand about high intensity courses. She still did several shifts per week front of house at a theatre to pay her way. It sounds like your daughter is wanting to live the high life at your expense. Has she got in with a crowd of more affluent young people. When she was at drama school my daughter did find that most of her fellow students were from very well off families and she simply could not keep up with their lifestyle.

My son isn't coming home for Christmas either. But that is because he has got a full time job during that period, in another city.

@Comefromaway she probably has got in with a crowd of people with money. Architecture courses are known for attracting well off students as you have to be able to get through 5 years of university. She’s at one of the top unis and it’s nearly all overseas students who again will be well off. Because she’s postgraduate she couldn’t get a place in halls so her flatmates work.

It sounds like it. My daughter did struggle back then. She was in London and was the only one on her course that worked. A night out there, just a couple of drinks was £20. She had always considered herself to be well off (we live in a deprived city in the midlands) but compared to those on her course she was considered to be poor!

A steep learning curve I'm afraid.

Yes I nearly added to my post has she got in with well off crowd and thinks it’s norm.
It’s very odd to be thinking she can afford not to work at all (holidays or term time) and have a 6 week Canada holiday.
I’m actually up in my DD’s uni city and say lots of yp out dressed up for Halloween/a society was having a meeting at a pub I was eating in all dressed up - no one was in extravagant Halloween outfits eg girl in white summer dress with red paint on it, my favourite were a group from shrek - lad with a cushion up shirt and green face paint, girl in green dress and same green face paint etc.
I’m on the generous side (only one dc) but whilst I’ll pay accommodation and food shop and lunch if I visit - she’s done well out of me this week - I’m not funding her travel and frivolous purchases.

Going back to your what she’s spent she will be struggling if trying to keep up with a crowd with more money. Mine has eaten out 2 or 3 times all year with her friends. I went for lunch with her yesterday at a tiny popular place nr uni (my treat) and it was packed with international students. Our lunch was £38 no drinks for 2, that’s not a realistic spend just for a random Tuesday lunch on most home student budgets.

I agree Cake.

My son who is up in Leeds does eat out a lot but it is only ever in Spoons unless his dad visits and takes him out to Pizza Express or Zizzi. He has the combined meal/soft drink deal for just under £10. BUT he can only do this because he works alongside his course and is lucky enough to have a pretty high pay rate for work he does in the holidays.

It sounds like you're just going to have to have the conversation with her and tell her that if she chooses 6 weeks in Canada over a job, and Halloween costumes over biscuits, then that's up to her but she can't have the benefits of both at your expense.

If she's Post Grad then she must be in her mid 20s and should be able to understand the concept of budgeting.

Maybe you can visit her every so often and take her to Costco or somewhere for a big shop. I think you can get big bags of gluten free flour and she can make her own treats. They'll be much nicer than shop bought and much cheaper to make.

£94 a week just for food and social activities is plenty.
If she’s eating/drinking out regularly and buying coffees that’s why she’ll be feeling pinch.
Can you suggest you help her with shopping list and tips. If she’s lived at home until now she may be a bit behind curve.
Iceland is 10% off for students on a Weds, Lidl or Aldi, Tesco price match some Aldi, own brands, looking at price per kg on label, taking own lunch to uni, taking own coffee in a reusable mug etc.
I spent £10 on 2 coffees yesterday at a trendy place popular with students, my dc said she’s been once this semester it’s not a regular thing in her budget.