In Debt/Have No Money

geofferino

sh1305 wrote: »

These are a luxury; not some sort of right.

What a vindictive reply. Are you implying that because somebody is hard up they shouldn't be entitled to leisure time?

geofferino

Hi Tom, sorry to hear about your situation. It's a shame some people on here are quick to be so negative about your financial struggles simply because you're a student. Ignore the negative comments, there are plenty of hard-working decent students who didn't go to get !!!!ed every night, but actually wanted to learn something.

I actually just wrote out a really long-winded set of points here but I accidentally lost it at all, so I'll try and keep it simple.

I've been where you are and it sucks but if you're really serious about your studies, you should stick it out. Contact your hardship fund but don't expect much, they are notoriously unhelpful. Try and get a job, it will interfere with your studies (if people tell you it doesn't, they either don't bother with Uni or their course is a lot easier than mine), but you will learn to cope with it. It's just how it is for us students who don't have a rich ma and papa to bail us out when times are tough. Apply literally everywhere, and expect no replies, and keep trying. It took me a year to find a job and I almost dropped out when it got really bad but then I landed a job for a temping agency. I went along and realised it was going to be awful but I had no option. Luckily, later that week a friend told me about a bar job in his place and that worked out a lot lot better for me, even if it does pay minimum wage and I work til stupid o'clock before getting up for Uni. I guess that's just how it is if you care about what you're doing enough.

It looks like you've got a bit of debt accrued there. I took a student credit card out which was a bad idea but it was only a small one and I now have a system in place to pay it off. I simply leave it at home, out of sight, and out of mind and then whenever I logon to online banking I round down whatever I have over a 0 or a 5 at the end of my balance, seeing as these are the only notes you can get out of a cash machine. That way I don't feel like I'm paying much, but it works out a few quid a week and my balance looks healthier every month. When you actually have a bit of money spare, on loan day, try and put a dent in the debts whilst you can. If the temptation to use the cards is too much, either give them to someone you trust or cut them up. Also, a change jar works wonders. I threw anything under 50p into a jar and when I opened it after a month or so I had about £25 to get some presents for a birthday I had coming up this month.

I still struggle, I probably could have levelled out a while ago, but I opted to do an exchange last year and ended up having to pay two sets of rents which kind of brought me back to square one. It might not be all rosy at first if you find work, but it should start levelling out in a couple of months. If you do get a job, as soon as you get your details sorted, ring up the tax office and tell them that you want to be put on cumulative tax and that you're a student. That way you should avoid all the crap with the first few months of being taxed too much and having to wait to get it all paid back to you in a rebate. Cumulative just means that you won't be taxed until you earn your yearly allowance, which, if you're like me, is not going to happen in the space of a year.

Once you have a bit of cash, there's always tonnes of tips on this forum of how to make more. You should look into the cashback sites. I've been able to save up a fair bit from purchases I would have otherwise made, and I also managed to make a few hundred over christmas by using the gambling sites cashback rewards and playing hedge bets. There's still risk involved and I wouldn't recommend it if you find gambling a temptation, but I certainly came out with a sizeable profit. Making money using Cashback could be a great way to help reduce your debt. As it is money that you make from spending money as you usually would, you can consider it as income you won't really miss.

A lot of this is long term talk, but there's probably not much you can do in the short term apart from lean on your parents. It's not fun, I know, and I've hated the occasions I've had to ask in the past but I'm sure they would hate to think you were at a stage where you were completely out of cash. When this happened to me and I told my Mum she was upset I hadn't let her know earlier, so bear that in mind.

Good luck with it all and stay optimistic

Person_one

Taken directly from Kingston University website, I'd give them a ring tomorrow morning if I were you.


What should I do if I have financial difficulties?
If you have any money problems while you're at Kingston University, we'll do everything we can to help and support you.

Face the situation: Owing money to anyone can be very stressful and affect on your studies so don't ignore it.

Seek advice: The first thing to do is to talk to a money adviser at the Student Funding Service about your problems. They'll be able to give you advice and help you write letters to anyone you owe money to. You might also like to visit the National Debtline website.

Let people know: If you have a problem re-paying money, let your lenders know as soon as possible. The earlier they know, the more sympathetic they're likely to be.

Reach a compromise: Offer your lenders a rate of payment that you can realistically afford. They'll often accept a reduced monthly repayment rather than take you to court, which would cost them money.

Remember that you can contact the Student Funding Service for help and advice at any time.

Contact us
Student Funding Service
Cooper House
40–46 Surbiton Road
Kingston upon Thames KT1 2HX
Tel: +44 (0)20 8417 3553
Email: studentfunding@kingston.ac.uk

Oldernotwiser

geofferino wrote: »

What a vindictive reply. Are you implying that because somebody is hard up they shouldn't be entitled to leisure time?

Leisure time and leisure activities are different things. If you're short of money, leisure activities will have to wait.

Hardly vindictive - simply common sense.

setmefree2

geofferino wrote: »

Hi Tom, sorry to hear about your situation. It's a shame some people on here are quick to be so negative about your financial struggles simply because you're a student. Ignore the negative comments

Amen to that :T:T:T Well said Geoff.

tbs624

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Leisure time and leisure activities are different things. If you're short of money, leisure activities will have to wait..

Depends on the leisure activities. If the OP wants to get involved with Scouting s/he could volunteer as an Adult Leader/Helper. If s/he wants to sign up to Network check with the appropriate local Scout District - some may have specific funds to help with subscriptions for those who are struggling financially. Can add to your transferable skills which in turn helps with getting a job.

OP -as others have said, get some financial guidance, because if your parents are on a low income then you *should* have been able to qualify for the maximum loan/grant plus a Uni bursary.

Try the Uni for one-off help from their Hardship Fund.

There are also lots of charities which make grants available to people who fit with specific criteria. Ask your Uni or a local CAB to point you in the direction of the Directory of Grant Making Trusts.

With our young folk being landed with phenomenal debts to pay for their Uni education, it's long overdue for there to be allocated 6th Form lesson time spent on how to manage your finances.

Use other Boards on this site for guidance on how to eat cheaply, keep bills down etc.

Have you any stuff that you could ebay/sell on Amazon?

EDit - see also http://images2.moneysavingexpert.com/attachment/teen_cash_guide.pdf

melancholly

time to work out how much you owe to who... get it all worked out with what the interest rates are and who is chasing you. you may get some good advice from the DFW board on how to deal with the immediate issues.

have you applied to the access to learning fund or contacted student services yet?

try the old-style board for cheap meals you can make yourself.

other options for the short term:
anything you can ebay/car boot?
sign up for psychology experiments - often they work out at £5 an hour and usually don't require drugs
do you a student account with an interest free overdraft?
http://www.kingstonlocaljobs.co.uk/
http://www.student-jobs.co.uk/job_directory.aspx?scat=-1&pro=-1&loc=-1&type=2&live=1

try and get on top of everything - it's scary working it all out. right now, it's probably not the time to think about activities that will cost more money. that's not the most urgent thing - having no money is indeed rubbish, but if you get help from uni and find other ways to get some cash in the short term, you can get on top of it and then plan out how things will work in the future.

Tombo

Person_one wrote: »

Taken directly from Kingston University website, I'd give them a ring tomorrow morning if I were you.


What should I do if I have financial difficulties?
If you have any money problems while you're at Kingston University, we'll do everything we can to help and support you.

Face the situation: Owing money to anyone can be very stressful and affect on your studies so don't ignore it.

Seek advice: The first thing to do is to talk to a money adviser at the Student Funding Service about your problems. They'll be able to give you advice and help you write letters to anyone you owe money to. You might also like to visit the National Debtline website.

Let people know: If you have a problem re-paying money, let your lenders know as soon as possible. The earlier they know, the more sympathetic they're likely to be.

Reach a compromise: Offer your lenders a rate of payment that you can realistically afford. They'll often accept a reduced monthly repayment rather than take you to court, which would cost them money.

Remember that you can contact the Student Funding Service for help and advice at any time.

Contact us
Student Funding Service
Cooper House
40–46 Surbiton Road
Kingston upon Thames KT1 2HX
Tel: +44 (0)20 8417 3553
Email: [EMAIL="studentfunding@kingston.ac.uk"]studentfunding@kingston.ac.uk[/EMAIL]

Thanks, I went to Cooper House today and I have got some forms to fill in and I need to bring in my previous bank statements but I use paperless statements with Natwest and I have none for Santander so I'm not sure what to do. Maybe I could ask in branch.

Indie_Kid

geofferino wrote: »

What a vindictive reply. Are you implying that because somebody is hard up they shouldn't be entitled to leisure time?

The point I was trying to make is that, leisure time isn't and shouldn't be a priority - especially if you're struggling for money.

Familyguyfan

At my Uni you can go to the finance section and they can give u an emergency loan which you don't have to pay back

However, I'm in scotland, i don't know where you are, I don't know if it's available in other parts of the UK.