Reasonable monthly living and fun money for a London student?

[Carsexitthroughthecarpark]

Hi all,

I am trying to work out living costs for DD going to Uni in London. She is in catered halls in zone 1 and we have worked out travelcard cost to uni already.

I am currently at:
£25 a week for food (lunches and dinner on Sat/Sun). She doesn't really eat takeaways and is health conscious and good at cooking.
£10 a week for laundry
£10 a month for toiletries - we will start her off with massive multipacks, this will be makeup costs

Where I am getting stuck is fun money. She might be able to do a hospitality shift at the weekend and is looking at tutoring online too. But otherwise is in college for full days, plus practice at night, so won't be able to earn much.

She doesn't drink at all, but does go to concerts, shows, recitals and plays. She likes the odd fancy smoothie or coffee too.

Is £100 a month too much or too little?

Thanks in advance.

Dd has £130 a week but that includes food, she reckons her groceries are £50-60 a week. I also pay stuff like her Netflix, phone bill, Spotify.

It’s not high enough - apps like washnet are expensive (halls use them a lot)

London students don't buy lunch out every day. Most of them make brunch at home and that lasts them.

DD found that taking bedding and towels to a laundrette to do a double load with a mate worked out cheaper and they did white and dark loads in halls (again doubling up with a mate).

Buses are quite a bit cheaper than tubes. She should consider getting a bus to uni..it's a good time to switch off, catch up on phone based admin, scroll social media, etc.

Will check with son, but don't think it's all that expensive where he is. Gather OPs DD needs to do a lot of washing though, so that makes a difference.

If she likes theatre etc she should sign up to something like central tickets - you can get great deals. Also todaytix for rush tickets.

I gave my dd £150 pcm and she worked for fun money - being a music student she picked up a regular sunday church choir gig, funerals l, weddings and also a few orchestral gigs (plays 4 instruments so flexible

A lot of dancewear needs handwashing anyway so that should save some money.

@ElizaSchuyler does it? So far I've been throwing it in the wash on 40deg 😂😂
But she's new to dance, so I'll learn!

When dd was at vocational school they did just throw the leotards in the boarding house wash. But they never lasted very well. Dd hand washes whatever she can these days.

Take a sandwich and a flask? Madness

@thestraycathouse thanks, she generally books the shows she wants to see the day the tix are released which makes it so much cheaper.

@ElizaSchuyler thank you!! Noted! Possibly the best tip I've had so far!

have you accounted for clothes, gifts, toiletries, travel between home and uni, odd items that she might need to buy that we would mostly have a home, like a forgotten essential random item (eg scissors or medicine) hair and beauty?

8 meals a week - if she is catered does she need lunch? Could she have a brunch from the dining hall and a substantial dinner?

£5 per day for coffee, snacks, lunches and a laundry, miscellaneous items is 150.

The another £50- 100 for clothes make up and activities.

ikea do these cute little collapses tubs for hand washing. Get her a decent travel mug.

what I wish my parents had done was to teach me how to budget. So sit down together and list things she might want and need and then negotiate! I think £200-£250 is doable but she needs to have a plan eg no expensive coffee each day or big canteen breakfast and skip lunch and fruit and crackers etc. two events per months ks plenty?

be ready detailed eg. 3 coffees/juice per week, cinema trips 1 per month, 2 theatre trips. One meal eaten out, hairdresssr etc,

you need to break it down j to daily, weekly, monthly, teeny and annually

@redboxerclub thats very useful indeed thank you!

She was laughing yesterday as I said I was planning to send her with food bag clip from IKEA and some ziploc bags. And she is in agreement that she needs microwaveable tupperware. But I'll add scissors, I'd already put in some black and white thread and needles.

She has a reusable coffee mug.

Re travel home, she doesn't want to come back! But if she does we will pay it. We live an hour from London and so we already pay her fare in and out.

But I like your idea of breaking it down with her.

Thank you so much for so much info!

She really really needs a job. Graduate roles are so competitive, she will need work experience, as much as she can.

She may already know this but lots of theatres, concert halls and opera houses etc have student schemes with very cheap tickets- she should sign up to any she is interested in.

@onmylastnerveseriously she:s getting one. She works now locally already, but already has her eye on several types of jobs near her halls.

@BangBangBangBangBang thank you, yes already signed up to everything. Plus grandparents gave her theatre vouchers for Xmas, plus another grandparent takes her to the theatre a few times a year (cheap seats!)

My main concerns were the minutiae, like the scissors mentioned above.
I hadn't thought about gifts etc.

We pay haircuts twice a year though she might change that if she can find somewhere cheaper in London.

We also have private health cover through work, so if she needs physio that will be covered.

Find out what, if anything she might have to contribute to costumes for shows. Also shoes. Dd got through pointe shoes at voc school like no tomorrow but not nearly as many when she went to drama school. Tights however were constantly needed.

@ElizaSchuyler thank you, you are very helpful!

HRTFT but I laughed when you said £10 a week for laundry. It was £8 to wash one load of clothes (not including powder, conditioner, etc.) In DD's accommodation, that's just bedding and towels each week.

@NearlyNewNonny I think I'll call the halls and check the costs now 😂

Glad to be of service ! go through it together or she could spaff £60 a week in Starbucks and £100 on hair cut and colour!

It was only after uni I became good a budgeting.

So make the most of the meal allowance, go everyday and get something even if it is a non perishable ie fruit/ crisps/ cake.

other things she might need so give her enough to go and buy a few bits when she is there rather think you have to do it all for her.

helpful items are a door wedge, own pillow, blanket, shower caddy if not en-suite, surface wipes, bedside lamp, multi socket adapter first aid kit with plasters wipes paracetamol, ibuprofen ,allergy tablets cold and flu tablets strepsils. ziplock bags, laundry bag, washing detergent sheets from dr Beckmann, hand wash.
need to budget for hair , nails, holidays, birthdays, Xmas, Emergency fund of £100 give it to her once

i suggest a starling or monzo as they are bloody brilliant for budgeting into savings pots

A lot of uni laundry’s now have built in powder and fabric conditioner in the machines so check that before she takes those items unnecessarily.

Also how big is her room for all the multipacks you’re sending her off with ?