Help from previous Students about finance...

Dantheman1212

Just wondering if any one can help me.
My son starts next week and has his accomodation paid and sorted and his tuition fees sorted. I need to know if anyone can give me advice on what to pay him on a weekly basis now for
Food-housekeeping / Socialising / Travel on buses locally / Books study materials etc. That is about it as he is in halls doing self catering and i really havent a clue what is the sensible amount to keep him on a weekly basis is for the above only , and will be paying it directly to his account on a Monday as someone suggested. Any ball park figure would be a help especially from students who did there first year last year and have a good idea about this budget figure.

Any help is greatfully appreciated.

Danny.

Surfbabe

We arranged for both our DS & DD to have £35-£40 a week to cover travel, food, books, socialising etc. Any extra they had to earn. DD is doing an expensive course that needs lots of materials and large (A2) sheets of photocopying (she is doing architecture) so she had £40. She has managed on a £200 OD and no credit card. Money was transferred on a Monday so at least they couldn't spend it all on socialising on a Weekend.!!!

pimento

Surfbabe wrote: »

Money was transferred on a Monday so at least they couldn't spend it all on socialising on a Weekend.!!!

This is a great idea. I might change my payment day from Friday to Monday. Thanks! :money:

dumpy

The only thing I'd say about this is that being a student is about managing your life as an adult and this includes working out a budget and sticking to it by yourself.

By handing out money weekly you aren't letting them do this, it sounds more like giving them pocket money.

Why not do it monthly? Then they can get used to having a "pay day"

They won't blow a whole term's worth at the start of the term if it's apid monthly but if they run out after two weeks it's a great learning experience to think baked beans till the next payday.

Mobility151990

pimento wrote: »

This is a great idea. I might change my payment day from Friday to Monday. Thanks! :money:

LMFAO. I'm a student and l'm saying nothing, but you're sorely mistaken regarding that little plan you 2 have made up. But l'm keeping quiet, not pointing out your glaring mistake any student will pickup on lol :beer:

And just to say, if you don't give your student enough, they'll either work for more or get into debt for it, either way it's all good. My parents gave me £35 a week, l spend more like £60 a week (on food/booze/books/clothes/trains) loans help

Sophie4120

Was his accommodation paid out of his maintanence loan?

If his accommodation was paid from a difference source then the minimum loan is ample to live on, no further contributions required!

If the loan has been used up to pay the rent, then i'd go for a ballpark figure of up to £200 per month. It's enough to get by, but also encourage him to budget/get a job... rather than just wasting it like many, many of my friends did when their parents simply dished out the dosh when asked!

Surfbabe

Mobility151990 wrote: »

LMFAO. I'm a student and l'm saying nothing, but you're sorely mistaken regarding that little plan you 2 have made up. But l'm keeping quiet, not pointing out your glaring mistake any student will pickup on lol :beer:

I know that lots of cheap nights for students are during the week but it works better that way for some reason!!! Also - if they spent more than we gave them they had to use their own savings to supplement themselves

re; paying it weekly - my two only got it for the weeks they were actually at Uni - so when they were home they didn;t get anything from me. By paying it weekly they got it for the weeks they were there IYSWIM and I wasn;t paying out more than we had agreed on! (which I would have been if it had been paid monthly as terms don;t run for whole calendar months)

Lokolo

I get £200 a month and this is more than enough, I also get a partime job

pimento

My son's loan just cover his fees and accommodation. He has nothing else to live on until he gets a job.

dumpy

Surfbabe wrote: »

re; paying it weekly - my two only got it for the weeks they were actually at Uni - so when they were home they didn;t get anything from me. By paying it weekly they got it for the weeks they were there IYSWIM and I wasn;t paying out more than we had agreed on! (which I would have been if it had been paid monthly as terms don;t run for whole calendar months)

I wasn't expecting you to pay for the holidays, but each term is normally 10 weeks so each term gets two full months and one half month.

When I went I had one lump sum per term. I had to pay all my Hall fees from there, and boy does that make you realise how much accommodation costs.

Then it was up to me to budget the rest of my money for 10 weeks. It was a fanatastic learning experience.

I just don't think you are helping your children become financially independant if the bank of mum and dad trickles money into the bank account weekly.