how much does going to university cost ??

crana999

Erm, isn't he taking out credit from the student loans company? Or is the idea that he uses the "gift" to pay off his loans?

lyndeelou

Yes, he's taking out credit from the student loan people.

I'm saving it and he'll get it all back later with interest as an unexpected bonus, which he can use to pay off his student loan or whatever he wishes when that time comes.

crana999

Also, what is the £500/month to cover? Just entertainment, travel, etc?

I spent less than half of that in the whole of last term.. it seems like a lot?

lyndeelou

£500 is to cover everything except tuition fees and accommodation fees (which includes 24/7 internet, heating and lighting but no meals)

So I guess he spends it on food, beer, mobile phone, books, train fares to see his girlfiend, stationary, photocopying, the odd CD, going out with friends, laundery, clothes and everything else.

crana999

Well, it's very generous! I hope he's grateful!

Bennifred

Wow! I would love to be able to support my son financially like that when he (hopefully!) goes off to uni next October but there is no way to find that eight thousand from our household income, so it will be a case of him having to work part-time as well as study, and full-time in the holidays. I'm not sure how we're going to find the fees, even! I guess we'll manage somehow - most people seem to, one way or another!

halcyon_drift

£500/month on luxuries is ALOT. have you ever thought of trying to reduce that so that your son has a better understanding of money. i dont know what your son spends his money on but everyone i know at uni lives on about £50 a week (max). dont take this wrong way, im not trying to tell you what to do with your money, i just dont think your son will understand the true value of a pound on such a high a living allowance for such a young age.

Halcyon

crana999

Yeah, not to seem harsh but I'd second that.

I think it might be a good idea to get him to pay his own rent etc as well, so he's used to having to budget for bills like that rather than having almost all the money he gets being "play money", if that makes sense.

jaimeo

Very nice of you to support your son like that...erm I would be tempted to ask him for a budget of what he spends it on.

There are a lot of costs involved in day to day life but with the watered down version of independence that is halls, + £125 a week to spend, how much is he really learning about any of it anyway. At least the overspenders have the lesson of worrying about the bills a tiny bit!
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"So far this seems to work well. Initially he wanted a weekly allowance like he had in the 6th form as he wasn't sure about his ability to make his money last out, but he's learning a lot about how to manage on a fixed income".

I dont want to criticise, its very nice of you, but IMHO it is difficult to applaud a student who has all his stuff paid for him, + a £500 allowance for "staying on target" budet-wise.

How about covering all his real costs, even photocopying etc but setting a limit for other less essential things?

student100

Okay, as an exercise I decided to figure out what I spend in the average term, although I expect it's an underestimate because I'm bound to have forgotten the odd few things. This also doesn't include: accommodation, insurance, most food (I'm in catered halls so that's included in accommodation), internet access (a flat annual fee as I'm in halls) tuition fees, transport to/from uni at start/end of terms (Dad drives me ), railcard which makes train journeys cheaper, gym membership (it was a flat fee of £280 when I started uni to cover all four years of my course), most clothes, shoes, items of furniture etc (I tend to shop in the holidays when I have a job to pay for stuff like that), and other miscellaneous things.

Food (lunches, the odd snack , meals at weekends etc): ~£15/week * 10 weeks = £150
Drinks, going out, other social activities etc. (I don't go out much! I know people that could easily spend £30+ a week going out. In fact I think £10 a week for me is an overestimate): £10/week * 10 weeks = £100
Transport (I generally walk everywhere but maybe get the bus once or twice a week): £20
Going home (say twice a term), about £70
Textbooks etc. £60
Stationery etc. £10
Telephone £25
Society activities etc. £30
Laundry £15
Other stuff £20

That works out at £500 a term, which considering I get £200 a month from my parents and the term is 2 and a half months long just about works out I reckon. I could probably cut back if I had to but not an awful lot without making sacrifices.

Next year I'll be living in a flat so I'll also have to pay for food, electricity and phone/internet bills etc. as well so things might work out a bit more expensive.

I'm also not saying that everyone is like me, in fact far from it, and a lot of it depends on circumstance as to how much you spend (e.g. if you have to get a bus instead of walking, buy lots of expensive textbooks, travel home/to see friends etc. more often, do expensive hobbies/societies or go out a lot etc...)


edit: other stuff I've forgotten: toiletries etc. probably £10 a term? I expect it fits in to something I've overestimated elsewhere. Buying birthday cards, presents etc. generally happens during holidays but doesn't amount to an awful lot! And there's bound to be the odd few other bits.


Also in the very first term of your first year you'll maybe spend twice as much, there's all those odd things you need to buy, lots of fun societies to join up to and then never attend, lots of pub crawls to go on... :rolleyes: