How much money to give son to live on at uni?

robnye

TDQO wrote: »

To be honest you'd be better off giving him 50 quid a week:

25 for food, 25 for entertainment

and then if he has other, larger expenses he can come to you and ask for the money. If you give him 200 or 10,000 a month, every penny will get spent! It's better to teach him to be frugal at first rather than giving him loads to blow if it's going to mean that you struggle.

QUOTE]

this is very true, whilst not all students are the same with money.....
at least in this way you have some control over how much money they end up [STRIKE]wasting[/STRIKE]... sorry spending

Rikki

£350 a month is more than I have to pay bills and run a house with after the mortgage and council tax has been paid.

I agree with robnye. Just give him £50 a week and any larger expenses encourage him to save towards and come to you. This will teach him to budget and hopefully not was too much money.

Minxz

Your son is a lucky lad!
I have 2 at uni's.. and i can't afford to give them even £100 each per month, let alone more, and sometimes it really bugs me, but it also means they learn to budget, and spend wisely, and show their determination to study by living on the loans and both have part time jobs.

I send them each food vouchers for their nearest supermarket once a month, and send down the odd essential, and kitted them out with laptops and food, pc stuff etc before they went, and thats about it.
Yes, many get parental help.. but ultimately they decide to attend uni, so i wouldn't feel obligated, I'd give enough to cover the food... and let him pay for his own socialising!

Fire_Fox

I don't think you will do your son any favours by handing him large amounts of cash. Working through university is an important part of the experience you need to do well in life and your future career. Learning to live on a tight budget - with the help of MSE! - is a lesson that will stand him in equally good stead.

Your son should be encouraged to look for a job in advance of actually starting his course - posting out CVs and covering letters or hand delivering on a visit got me two job offers before I relocated to college. Many kids get into debt in Fresher's week, and spend the rest of the semester looking for work and trying to catch up financially. If necessary top up his wages, bearing in mind the government says a youngster can live on £48 a week (Jobseeker's Allowance) which includes utility bills, food, travel etc.

Surfbabe

My two get £35 a week (or will do when the second one starts in the Autumn) and we top up if asolutley necessary.

johnswife

Minxz wrote: »

Your son is a lucky lad!
I have 2 at uni's.. and i can't afford to give them even £100 each per month, let alone more, and sometimes it really bugs me, but it also means they learn to budget, and spend wisely, and show their determination to study by living on the loans and both have part time jobs.

I send them each food vouchers for their nearest supermarket once a month, and send down the odd essential, and kitted them out with laptops and food, pc stuff etc before they went, and thats about it.
Yes, many get parental help.. but ultimately they decide to attend uni, so i wouldn't feel obligated, I'd give enough to cover the food... and let him pay for his own socialising!

I will have 2 at different uni's this September and was planning a weekly s/o of £25 each, any socialising and they will have to find a job.
The understanding is if they find a part time job and can manage on that money my s/o will stop.
If they ask for help with money then I will help where I can.
One of my daughters has a part time job and is working as many extra shifts that she can. she also has been buying everything she needs herself as she she is quite independant.

Altair09

Sir

I live in London (Int.Student) and I'm doing a part time job which gets me like £600 a month. (20PW) I'm paying £300 a month rent (without food) £100 travel, £50 bills and £150 for my food and other expenses..

I'm surviving :beer: (Movies every weekend with Unlimited card £13.99, O2 sim only contract £20 month, Pint of beer for £2.50 )

£300 is a lot of money.. I wish my dad gives me £300 ! hehe

Tell him to find a part time job and give him like £150.. should be enough.. or you can support him until he gets a job.. then open a account and deposit the £300 into a savings account. might help him in future

amanda19

well not everyones so lucky! my parents dont support me,and i manage to live on £30p/w (excluding rent) i saved a bit of money by paying upfront forallmy accommidation fees to recieve a discount and the comfort of not having to worry if i can afford this months rent or not.

simpsonsfan

Gosh, thanks for all your replies. And hats off to all you students who manage to live so frugally. My son has got a part time job at the moment, whilst he has been at college, so he does work. I hope he will get a part time job once he starts uni. I must admit I know he will spend as much as I give him but I just wanted to check with you guys if you thought £300 quid was stingy! Apparently not.

atypical

minerva_windsong wrote: »

If he has a student bank account in the UK most banks automatically give students an interest free overdraft, but I wouldn't recommend using that unless he really has to - contrary to what some people I knew at university thought it is not free money and will need to be paid back, so I really wouldn't advise using it unless absolutely necessary.

Unless he's disciplined enough to put the money in a savings account to earn a little from it.