Money Problems, worrying me

mrbez

Hi Guys,

I am wondering if any of you people can help me and offer some advice as to what I could do.

Basically I am just entering my second year of a Finance & Accounting degree, and I achieved a first class honours in my first year of study. My grades were amongst the top 3, out of over 100 students.

For the last 3 years I have worked as a doorman, something which I hate. Yes, the money may be £10 per hour, but I am always tired as my shifts on the weekend are generally 10pm - 7am. I lose my weekend days, and obviously my weekend evenings, and have done for the last 3 years. I struggled to study properly last year, and I would often pull "all nighters" to get work done.

I decided to look for another job, and I struggled, as most people I assume look at my CV and see that I have been a doorman, and probably stereotype.

However, I have just been offered a job in retail, which I have taken and I start this week.

The pay is £6 per hour, obviously less than what I was earning, and I am only on a 12 hour contract. Easy shifts. However, on the doors I was doing around 20 hours per week, taking home £200 a week.

I would then use my student loan and grant to pay for luxuries if you may.

However, now I am having to use this money for my rent (Lived alone since I was 16) and £50 a week for food. I know some people may think £50 a week for food is ridiculous, but I am very active in the gym and therefore eat a lot. Training is a big hobby of mine.

I am only going to be earning around £240 a month, as opposed to the £800 that I am used to, and to be honest, it is getting me down a little bit. I see things that I would like to purchase, for my hobbies, but all I think about is how can I get the money.

I am worrying about money, trying to think of ways that I can perhaps make some more, without contemplating on going back to be a doorman. I hate it and have had a lot of problems, something which I don't want to affect my clean record, especially if I reach my goal of a first class honours in my degree.

Before I came to University, I worked 2 jobs for 3 years, around 70 hours per week, and would earn around £600 per week. Obviously, from 18-21, I found this difficult, but I got used to the money I was earning. Then I started Uni and the money dropped dramatically, I had to sell my beloved car etc, and once again, income has dropped again.

I'm sorry for the long winded post, I would just appreciate it if people can offer me any advice on perhaps how to make some extra cash, and possibly how to stop thinking about money and worrying to much.

Thanks in advance,

Craig.

MrsManda

If you are getting full student loans and grants plus earning £72 a week then you are getting over £10,000 a year. This is quite a lot for an individual to live on.

Congratulations on doing so well in your first year, however as you've already realised you are likely to need more time to study during the rest of your degree if you want to continue to get high grades. Therefore taking on more non-uni work is likely to be deterimental to your studies and your health.

As you are studying finance and accounting it would seem that it'd be better for you to reassess your priorities and work out a budget which allows you to live within your current means and concentrate on your studies rather than trying to work out ways to earn more money.

Good luck with the rest of your degree

mrbez

Hi Manda,

Thank you for your response. I guess you are right, I should concentrate more on studying as opposed to focusing on making money, however, I find this difficult as I have become used to the amounts of money that I have earned in the past.

Does anybody else have any other advice?

olly300

Unfortunately for you OP, I agree with Manda.

You need to learn to purchase what you need rather than what you want. And unfortunately for the next 2 years your hobbies are going to have to be put on the back burner.

In addition this year you should try and get some work experience in finance and accounting plus get involved in union activities rather than just going to the gym. This is the point in your life that you can enhance your CV so that you are more likely to get the job you want at the end of your degree to enable you to afford to do your hobbies.

BTW if you do qualify and study to be an accountant you won't have a lot of free time.

partyprincess

Hi Craig,

I can completely sympathise with how you feel because I also worked full time for 3 years before I started uni and got used to living on that sort of money. In my first year I got pretty down about my financial situation and doubted whether I had even made the right decision in going to uni. I'm in my final year now and I have managed to secure a job to start next september. The money and prospects in that job are much better than the job I had before I started uni and it now all seems worthwhile doing the degree. The only advice I can give is that the degree is just a few years of your life, you may struggle financially and have to sacrifice certain luxuries but you are much likely to secure a well paid job by getting the degree. The way I look at is that I will be working for the next 40 odd years of my life and by having the degree i have increased my earning potential and therefore will be able to enjoy a better lifestyle in the future. Have something to focus on and a goal you want to achieve as I find having things to look forward to stops you getting down about the present situation. Sorry I don't have any useful advice but I totally understand how you feel.

Decluttering

I think if I was in that situation, I would make a list of all the things I'm spending on and try to find a way to cut down the cost. For example, I'm a big reader but I found that I was spending too much money on having new things to read. So I signed myself up to be a book reviewer and wrote my thoughts on what I thought of the book in exchange for a free copy of the book. I don't think this particular solution is right for you but I think the principal of it is how you should approach this situation. Being on a budget doesn't mean having to cut back, it just means being more creative!

tazzy2010_2

Hi there,

would it be an option to work as a doorman just on a Friday night for example? That way you would earn say 100/week and still have the sat night/sun to socialise/study. I worked during the first and second years of my degree and I understand how it can get very stressfull at times trying to juggle everything, but how nice it is to feel financially secure. I think the bottom line is (and people may shoot me for this), but when your a student it is 100 times more important to get a good grade than to stay out of debt. Your chances of good employment are increased significantly if you get a first, it puts you streets ahead of the 2.1 graduates (I should know, I got a 2.1) and it will be the most important grading you get in your life. Tazzy x

saver03

Decluttering wrote: »

I think if I was in that situation, I would make a list of all the things I'm spending on and try to find a way to cut down the cost. For example, I'm a big reader but I found that I was spending too much money on having new things to read. So I signed myself up to be a book reviewer and wrote my thoughts on what I thought of the book in exchange for a free copy of the book. I don't think this particular solution is right for you but I think the principal of it is how you should approach this situation. Being on a budget doesn't mean having to cut back, it just means being more creative!

Sorry to hijack your thread I was just wondering how you signed up to do this as I am a huge reader and would love to write reviews, especially in return for free books.

OP I would say that to gain your 1st you will need to make some sacrifices and unfortunately your spending and hobbies may have to be trimmed back. It will all be worth it in the end though when you graduate with a 1st Class Honours Degree.

openstudent

Sorry to hijack your thread I was just wondering how you signed up to do this as I am a huge reader and would love to write reviews, especially in return for free books.

You beat me to it! I would love to do this as well.

clairebrown7

Hi Craig,

Do you have an eBay account? If you are anything like me and have loads of DVDs etc lying around that you no longer watch it may be worth sticking them on there, maybe even CDs? Even old clothes sell. I found myself in a bit of a sticky patch a few months ago and luckily managed to get out of it by selling old bits and bobs on eBay.

C