How much monthly spending money do you give a student at university?

[rouk]

My YP is starting at Sheffield Uni next week.

They’re getting the minimum maintenance loan (£5,048), and we're covering the £1k gap for their shared-bathroom halls.

On top of that, we’ll pay for their phone, Spotify, Netflix, and train trips home. Their course is demanding, so term-time work isn’t realistic, though summer work is an option. Is £500/month in spending money reasonable while at uni, in their first year?

Yep, same as us. As I would have predicted, DC1 ran out of money half way through term 3, whereas DC2 came home with 2k spare which lasted all Summer.

I topped up the maintenance to the equivalent of the full loan then £150 a month on top for food. Dd1 saved money on that! Location, cost of housing and lifestyle choices mean it varies a lot. Dd2 got the full loan as I’d divorced by then and got a bursary on top of she stashed away the extra in help to buy isas and is buying a house now 4 years later.

where in the Uk your young person is going to live causes a huge variation in costs. a lot of parents overcome this by paying for rent and then the students use the maintenance loan for food and other expenses.

where my kids ended up the rent is eye watering - I thought halls were expensive but private is even more expensive.

I think it’s also nice to treat them to
one take away a week - we do that for ours away bc we are having a take away on a Friday and they can too