University Challenge x 2

beanielou · 4 September 2017 at 7:09PM

Sorry to be harsh but given your situation I am struggling to understand why your daughters are not taking ou,t student loans to cover their accomodation costs.
You cannot afford this.

glass_half_full · 4 September 2017 at 9:34PM

Hi there,
I do empathise with the Uni costs. My son goes in 2 weeks time. He has been able to get a maintenance loan of £3,900, but the costs of living in most University towns and cities is estimated at £9K, so there is a £5K shortfall. I understand posts by others saying that students should get jobs, but it is difficult to combine studying and work. One small thing I found out today which might be a saving. I called my House insurance provider and I was able to extend it to cover my son whilst at Uni for his belongings and phone and computer etc. This was because he was already on the home insurance policy as one of the 3 adults. This cost only £7.32 versus the cheapest stand alone policy for him which was £100. You may have already covered this but if not it might save you a bit. Ref the accommodation, can you approach the grandparents for help? I'm not ashamed to admit that we have had help from my in-laws. they were only too happy to help.

enthusiasticsaver · 4 September 2017 at 10:21PM

beanielou wrote: »

Sorry to be harsh but given your situation I am struggling to understand why your daughters are not taking ou,t student loans to cover their accomodation costs.
You cannot afford this.

The maintenance loans do not come through until the students have registered which will not be until end September/October but deposits on accommodation need to be paid upfront before freshers week which will be in three weeks time for most unis.

enthusiasticsaver · 4 September 2017 at 10:30PM

Plain_Jane wrote: »

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted.

We are in Devon sitting in front of a log fire. All is wonderful except for my worn out brain worrying about debt.

We did a big shop yesterday and so far haven't eaten out or had coffe out at all. Hubby is making lovely breakfasts and we are just having snacks until dinner time which tonight is spaghetti bolognese.

The dogs are enjoying their walks around here.

But ..... both DT's accommodations at Uni are expecting their first instalments on Wednesday. That's well over £4K :eek::eek:. I've had to money transfer the lot to cover until the first maintenance payment comes through in October. Scary stuff. And then the maintenance loan will be £2600ish so won't cover it. I'm YNABing like a mad person and moving stuff around and budgeting but this is all adding to our debt and, of course, our monthly outgoings.

I think that things are going to get more difficult before they get easier - DT1 goes a week on Saturday and the other the week after that. So I'm dealing with those emotions on top of it all and the smallest thing sets me off. They are both keeping an eye on the job situation and should be in a position to get one almost as soon as they move in. I'm even thinking of getting a second job myself to help ends meet - I'm already full time.

I've been on anti depressants for years no was getting to the stage where I felt strong enough to come off them but the money situation along with everything else is making me feel otherwise.

My emergency fund is dwindling as well :(

Sorry to ramble on!

If you suffer with anxiety or depression then getting a second job on top of full time sounds like this will be too much pressure for you.

It is tough having two at Uni at the same time, there was just one school year between my two daughters so we had two years of both of them being at Uni at the same time. We paid our mortgage off just before the second one went and I went to full time work from part time and we had no debt but still large chunks of disposable income went out over those two years. I can imagine it will be a struggle but hopefully they will get jobs when they are settled.

All you can do really for the next three years is live as frugally as possible and all four of you earn extra where you can. Have you asked if the accommodation can be paid in instalments? I assume that £2k each is for the first semester? We made an arrangement to pay monthly over September, October, November and December which made things a bit easier. I think we paid the first month and then the maintenance loan kicked in for the remaining three months with just our parental contributions.

enthusiasticsaver · 4 September 2017 at 10:45PM

Your mortgage payment looks high. What interest rate are you paying on this?

I agree pay minimums on everything else and put all towards Virgin.

Given the expected increase in overdraft charges transferring to a 0% card is a good move. Regardless of whether it was on the soa or not, an overdraft is borrowing so you are best off not having one.

You have good salaries but are obviously heavily overcommitted. £100 to an emergency fund monthly is the most you can get away with given the shortfall. As you have not put any cash on the soa I guess you have not been saving this anyway. The pocket money, expensive mobiles and all little extras will need to go if you want to avoid digging yourself into another debt nightmare.

Honeysucklelou2 · 4 September 2017 at 11:42PM

Wow, I'm amazed that first instalments of rent have to be paid so soon. My DD's rent is to be paid by the second week of October, which I'm guessing is when the student maintenance loan comes through.
So sorry about the worry...I can sympathise as I'm having to pare back drastically and consider a 2nd job. Hope you are able to enjoy the remainder of your holiday and your time as a family.

cybertortoise · 5 September 2017 at 1:16AM

Hi Jane.

I've read through your diary with interest. I'm at uni myself so know how expensive the halls are. Private rented houses are generally much cheaper so second and third year should be easier.

I don't want to sound mean in any way but it seems you spend a lot of money on your children. I hope they realise that by you helping them out so much, it's actually causing a lot of stress and hardship. Many parents don't like to share this info with their kids. If they know this, hopefully they'll be more careful when it comes to their time at uni and aim to spend wisely! Peer pressure and nights out are a deadly combination for student finances. There may come a time when they have to make sacrifices (such as a car) instead of just you making them.

One girl on my course spent her entire first payment of finance, then had to ask for an extension on her accommodation payment. The university gave her until the next finance payment which of course meant she had twice as much to pay out.

I'd say you can definitely claw back a couple of hundred pounds from your grocery bill. I feed 6 people, sometimes 7 on less than £350 a month. Just reducing it over a few months should help. Definitely get rid of the vet plan thing if not done. That seems like a rip off. You're paying for something you may never need and you already have insurance.

You're doing very well so far, and keeping on top of things will help it feel more manageable. I'm a YNAB convert too by the way!

glass_half_full · 5 September 2017 at 7:17AM

enthusiasticsaver wrote: »

Your mortgage payment looks high. What interest rate are you paying on this?

One other thought on the mortgage. Have you thought about extending the term? This could reduce the payment. You could do this just for a few years to create some headroom in your budget. Ok, you end up paying more interest but you can reduce the term again later after the Uni costs are passed. Just a thought as there seems to be very little room for manoeuvre in your SOA.

Plain_Jane · 5 September 2017 at 12:44PM

Hi all of you and thanks so much for all of the advice.

Yes the accommodation company want the first of 3 instalments tomorrow or we run the risk of losing the rooms. People are telling me this won't happen but I don't want to take that risk. Once that is paid we will be saving £500 a month towards the next instalment in January. The third instalment is in May and is about half the amount of the other two so saving £500 will hopefully mean we catch up somewhere along the line.

The girls are getting £3928 maintenance loan each also in 3 parts. This is the lowest possible due to our earnings.

Yes my girls know how lucky they are but also know this has to stop. As soon as those mobile phone contracts are up they are going but that isn't until December 2018. I am trying to budget for the worst case scenario if they can't get jobs so any extra will be a bonus and can go to paying off debt.

Thanks for your advice Cybertortoise (fab name!). They aren't even going to see their maintenance loan as it's going straight on accommodation. I have heard year two is easier money wise.

Hi Honeysuckle and thanks for your wishes. We are spending some well earned time together.

Hi Glasshalffull - I hope all goes well with your son - strange times and life changing but exciting.

I will look at the insurance.

We only have one grandparent and she has given us £1k for emergencies for Uni so that is in our EF.

She's also going to give the DT's £100 a month to help with food for which we are extremely grateful as she is 78 and on her own.

I do feel as though we are at the top of our debt situation now and the only way is down. When I get back from holiday I will post a new soa.

I also hope we can bring back £100 from our holiday spends to use on stuff whilst moving the girls into uni in the next few weeks.

Does anyone know anything about SORN Ing a car? Was thinking about it on DTs car as she won't be home until Xmas.

lizzie_dripping · 5 September 2017 at 1:13PM

Jane - I wish you luck on this journey. My eldest is in his final year and we have been paying his rent from the outset. His maintenance loan doesn't nearly cover it.

One thing that I wanted to point out, and I hope it doesn't panic you, is that students usually start looking for their 2nd year accommodation at around Christmas time so there will probably be another rental deposit to pay around then. Few universities offer halls after 1st year, so this will be a private rental, and your daughters will need to decide who they want to share with next year quite soon!

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