Mega-stressed - any advice.

m.smith14

Hi Javabeans, I went to Keele 2004-2007 and would suggest visiting:

- KUSU Jobshop website: http://www.kusu.net/DisplayPage.aspx?GroupId=128&id=5853 - You can usually find some work on campus or customer service work locally. Try getting in touch with Student Services in the first semester, mention that you are really keen to work, and they'll usually try and find you a few things every few months to assist with the promotion of the uni (e.g. modelling for prospectus, clearing assistants, etc).

- Ask in the bars in Newcastle or on campus the first week of term.

- Trentham lakes (http://www.trenthamleisure.co.uk/shopvillage.html) - if you can drive to here (approx 3 miles from Keele) there are a number of shops which may require staff.

- Alton towers - I worked here for a weekend a hated it but some people enjoy it, they usually have jobs available with loads of hours but be prepared for long hours and just above min. wage, not forgetting it takes about 30 mins to get there.

- There is an Npower customer service centre in Fenton which pays reasonably good and is pretty cushty. I haven't got the details to hand but you must be able to find information somewhere. When I was up there they used to do recruitment runs every so often.

Most of the recruitment agencies will say that you'll be looking at minimum wage if you can find a job so its best to avoid them.

All the best.

tootiefrooties

Hi there

First of all, don't lose sleep over this! Being a 'grown up' student is not easy and you'll be in the minority (getting annoyed hearing about how your mates p*** away their loans each night) but you get something they don't - an actual home rather than to-ing and fro-ing all year and not seeing enough of your loved one.

I'm about to go into my 3rd year and have been renting with my OH since the very start and it has been tight but we're getting there. My first piece of advice is to rethink the 2 bed flat. For our first year together we were in a one bedroom flat with no garden and an open plan kitchen. This will do, trust me! Sure, you'll outgrow it after a year or two but that price difference is crucial to get you on your feet.

Also, are you being sensible with your budgeting? You may be way over or underestimating costs so make a list of everything just to be sure. We used to spend £15 a week at Tesco for the 2 of us, although that would be more like £20 now with food costs rising. Dry pasta (in bulk!), tinned toms, beans, minced beef, yoghurts, biscuits, noodles (8p!) and cereal will be total necessities! But that is a hell of a lot less money to spend on food than many people expect, so you might be able to trim your budget down.

Also check out uni policy on scholarships and bursaries - sometimes, if you don't apply, you don't get (although some are automatic and income based).

A couple more money saving tips: have people over and drink at home, not in bars - or at least go to cheap £1 drink nights if you have to now and then. But there's no way you'll be out on the razz as much as everyone else - which DOES mean your grades will be higher, haha. Shop around for utilities on uswitch (British Gas were a total no-no after our first bill from them) and have showers instead of baths if you're on a water meter.

Regarding a job - agencies can get you working 2 days after applying. Have a look online because they are easy, quick to get and usually pay well. At least do this until you find something preferable.

Good luck with it, just remember it's all for a good cause and you'll have a fab time living together :T

TigerAngel11

Voyager2002 wrote: »

I must say, when a couple are living together for the first time they need some privacy. So I think that sharing their private living space is something that should only be considered if the situation becomes utterly desperate.

It would be nice to have the financial freedom to do that! The only way my cousin and her fiance (a nurse and a supervisor at a factory respectively) could afford their own home was to have another couple lodge with them. You'd have to be pretty well off to afford this without two full time wages.

mancmum

This is a step you should take carefully but....marriage severs the link between parent and child for SLC purposes. If you don't get a full grant because your parents are too well off you may be able to get your finance reviewed as married couple and access grants as well as loans as you will both have pretty low incomes.

Esqulax

To be honest, you are in a better situ than most.

A) You can much more easily split the cost of everything
as you dont go home for the full holidays (i guess maybe a week at xmas et.) your much more employable
C) As your a bit more older (mature perhaps?) you wont spend the typical £500 a term on booze and nights out

all in all, nothing to worry about. get a job in dominos pizza, free/cheap food aswell!

tootiefrooties

mancmum wrote: »

This is a step you should take carefully but....marriage severs the link between parent and child for SLC purposes. If you don't get a full grant because your parents are too well off you may be able to get your finance reviewed as married couple and access grants as well as loans as you will both have pretty low incomes.

Yeah but divorce is a pretty expensive process... They've never even lived together before, I don't think marriage is the right way to go to get a few more quid!

It is ridiculous though about the student finance assessment. I got married last year and they began assessing me as an "independent student" - hello-oo-oo I'd been living with my fiance all that time, paying all our own bills, studying and working part-time: I would say that's independent already. My assessment didn't really change as I was on one of the lowest thresholds anyway, but if you think it would make a big difference to your situation, there is a way for student finance to assess you as an indepent student, which doesn't involve getting married for the wrong reasons... but you have to pretend that you're estranged from yor parents! I think this involves like a letter from your guardian explaining that you no longer have contact etc etc., otherwise they assume that you will be sponging off your parents and having them supplement your income all the time (as most students sadly do).

But, er, this may well be fraud as it involves credit.

I would say stick to sensible savings and get a part time job, and definitely investigate if you are eligible for any scholarships or bursaries from your uni. (e.g. my uni offers a scholarship of £1000 a year to students who have a household income of £24k or less, but they only have 200 places so you need to apply and give reasons why you need it).

Oldernotwiser

mancmum wrote: »

This is a step you should take carefully but....marriage severs the link between parent and child for SLC purposes. If you don't get a full grant because your parents are too well off you may be able to get your finance reviewed as married couple and access grants as well as loans as you will both have pretty low incomes.

A. Marriage has never been mentioned.
B. You can't achieve independent status during your course, it's set at the start.

Esqulax

£150 a month = £37.50 Per week...
One 8 hr shift in data entry (or similar)