How much should parents contribute financially?

Narla

DD will be going to university in September 2011. She will not be entitled to any grant as my oh and I earn just over the suggested amount for any grant. If we earned less then she would be entitled to a grant in addition to the loans she will be entitled to - up to about £2,900. Are we expected to contribute this amount to her living costs?

How much money do students actually need to live off in self catered accomodation? Obviously if she gets a job she won't need as much from us. But until she gets a job I need to make sure she has enough to live off.

thanks for any advice, Narla x

Lokolo

Unfortunately - it's really a matter of opinion and really down to the individual.

What they need is food, clothing and heating. In halls heating etc. is paid for, so really it's only food, which is £100 a month for 1 person approximately.

Everything else is a luxury.

However, I get £225 a month from grandparents + £100 a month from my savings (I saved up as I did a placement in industry). This pays for food, bills (elec gas tv broadband), running a car, presents, and going out money (which is around £100 a month). This is ignoring the actual base rent cost. I could spend less (i.e. if I didn't go home to see friends at £70 a return trip etc.), food I could most probably cut £100->£80 or something if I worked out meal plans.

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Does her loan cover her accomondation?

Fang_3

It depends on what you an afford and where and what your daughter is studying. If she's at Oxbridge then she won't be able to get a job, and likewise if she's studying a heavier subject like Medicine then it would be unwise for her to get a job. If you can afford £500 a month then it's not unreasonable, but if you can't, then it is.

Oldernotwiser

Fang wrote: »

It depends on what you an afford and where and what your daughter is studying. If she's at Oxbridge then she won't be able to get a job, and likewise if she's studying a heavier subject like Medicine then it would be unwise for her to get a job. If you can afford £500 a month then it's not unreasonable, but if you can't, then it is.

I agree with your first point, but not the second.

£500 pm is a ridiculous amount to expect a parent to pay, giving a student double the amount they would have on JSA and, allowing for the accommodation being already covered, more than they might expect to have in a full time job.

For students in halls, even if it's not possible to get a job, I would say that about half that would be the right amount and, if they're not on the sort of course you mention, considerably less.

Surfbabe

My Daughter is in the same situation but we transfer £40 a week to her account to cover food, bills, and any other expenses she has - her loan just covers her rent . Anything else she has to take out of her savings or use her very small overdraft (£300). She doesn't have a credit card either!

She manages really well on this.

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

I agree with oldernotwiser that £500 is way too much! I am constantly surprised at the attitude to students, they go out all the time, eat out, run a car and run up debt yet constantly complain about having no money (well, the ones I know anyway).

Personally, I have told my kids they have to sort themselves out when it comes to uni, my eldest has decided to do an open uni degree and stay at home as she doesnt want to get into debt (she will try for a part time job too) I think this generation of students are going to sadly rue the day they got into debt as it will last a lifetime, it seems to me that everyone has a dgree in one thing or another but cant get a job, now it isnt as if I'm blaming anyone, no, I feel sorry for the majority of students, but giving kids money hand over fist with the open ticket of 'go off and have a good time' will be counter productive in the long run.

I left home and the day I left kept myself, (I left at 18), got £20 for my 18th birthday and mum and dad never gave me a bean as it was understood that hteir job was done and I had to stand on my own 2 feet.

So, in answer to your question, I would tread carefully regarding handing out huge amount of money, kids will think thei is a fairy godmother out there who will cross their palm with silver every time they hold out their hand, its not realistic and in the long run makes them dependant on their parents.

I laugh when people tell me that their kids are going to uni to be independant! Unless you are financially independant then you are not, simple as.

How about lending her the money? Draw up an agreement whihc means she has to pay you back, an interest free loan is a good offer, no time limit too so you are still helping her, keeping your retirement fund safe and encouraging independance of sorts.

May seem harsh but sometimes its cruel to be kind

Jennikay

£500/month is, as people have said, way over what's actually needed.

As it turns out that's approximately what my parents give me but we have a higher household income (and a fair bit of inheritance).

I could definitely manage on a lot less

devildog

Don't forget that re the grant the wording is 'up to' and that it is really only those that come from low income families that get the £2900, many will get far less than this (few hundred maybe) I would say that no you are not expected to contribute £2900 yourselves(it does make you wonder why students from poorer backgrounds need more to help them survive!)
Look at her weekly accom charges, add on approx £25/£30 for food and see if there is any 'change' from maintenance loan. Lots of Unis will supply a booklet with something along the lines of how much it will cost to live there and give a list of possible/probable outgoings, from tranport locally,books, phone,toiletries/entertainment etc. Look at the list and work out a budget based on whether you feel that it is justified for you to pay x amount to whatever. IMHO £500 is way over the top (less than quarter of this would suffice)
The balance is paying what you can afford(if you can afford it)to help your daughter without going over the top and her frittering it away. She needs to budget and make choices and you can help by not making things too easy.

charlie792

To be honest it IS do-able to live off just maintenance loan - heck Ive done it for the last 3 years - although is hard.

My parents earn above the threshold for any grants and Student Fianance calculated they should give me £79 a week (or £316 a month) in reality I get my £20 a month phone bill paid and thats that.....

minerva_windsong

I was very lucky - my parents viewed university as my job and gave me £75 a week to live off when I was in halls (so food, going out, travel to my internship, toiletries and the odd coffee or new item of clothing), which went up to £100 a week when I moved into my student houses as I had to cover bills as well. My maintenance loan paid for my accommodation plus a bit left over which went into savings. However this was all on the understanding that I would work during the holidays to pay for anything I wanted then or might need for the new uni term like textbooks.

Our terms were ten weeks so it worked out at roughly £3,000 a year during term time, broken down as follows per week:

Food - £25 (but normally spending more like £15-20 and the change went into savings)
Going out and travel - £30 (again, not always spent as I didn't go out every week and saved any spare money)
Bits and bobs/toiletries/treats/birthday presents etc - £15 (again, sometimes I'd save this if I didn't need anything)
Bills (when I was in rented housing as opposed to on campus) - £25 for gas, water, electricity, TV licence and internet, all split four ways

I personally think that parents should contribute as much as they want to and/or feel they can afford.

johnswife

Daughter no3 is starting Sept 2011 and no way can we support 3 at University.

They have to manage with their maint loans.

We do occassionally do treats but thats it.