how much is reasonable for entertainment?

Sigur_2

I used to spend over a £100 a week on entertainment. Now I've cut down to about £50, a few mishaps mean money is tight.

Savvy_Sue

si1503 wrote:

She is 16. I'd question if at that age she should be going out drinking at all?

I agree with you there, although it must be hard when older friends want to go down the pub ...

si1503 wrote:

£30 per month is an average of about £7.50 per week, plenty enough for that cinema ticket or a couple of "soft" drinks.

Where are you going to the cinema then? Yes, you can get a ticket for that, but what they charge for soft drinks - well ANYTHING really! - soon sends it over the £7.50 limit round here! :rotfl:

jennifernil

Our daughter is at Uni in Glasgow (4th year). She shares a flat with one other student so shares bills, she pays no rent as we own the flat. We give her an allowance of £2000 per year and pay for her books. She has a part time job that pays about £55 per week. In Summer she works full time. She has no student loan or overdraft and has saved about £5000 over the last 3 years.
I am thinking she is pretty well off!!!

executiverocker

spending £250 on going out in 3 months is very good! I spent £80 just this weekend...haha

melancholly

if it's the first term of the first year it's healthy that she's going out - especially if she's younger than lots of others. there are clearly no issues about fitting in! i blew a lot of money at the start of my first term and it was worth it - the important thing was that i then ate economy pasta for months to make sure i made up for it!!

it doesn't sound like she's recklessly spending - it's hard to balance the learning aspect of uni with the lifestyle experience (which is a really important part of 'growing up' when people are at uni), but it sounds like she's doing better than most students on the spending front. if she gets a part time job you could cut some of your subsidising and when she realises how many hours of work it takes to get that £250, that should help keep the budget in check!

merlinormartin

£250 in 3 months is rather reasonable for most students, "entertainment" is one of the main aspects of going to uni and the first few months of student life is always the most expensive, you try to fit in and make as many friends as possible by saying "yes" to every invite you recieve. Believe me by the time it comes to the 2nd and 3rd year of uni she will realise what a "budget" is.... i can now make a 3 course meal from a tin of beans :rotfl:

She has no student loan or overdraft and has saved about £5000 over the last 3 years

she should have got the loan and invested the money, the interest only rises with inflation.

£7.50 per week, plenty enough for that cinema ticket or a couple of "soft" drinks.

geeze, where the heck do you live? .. i wana live there .. my cinema is £6.50 per ticket .. then if u buy sweets and a drink a further £5.. not to mention .. taxi or bus fair

cupid_s

I think the money she is spending on entertainment seems fine. It's the £25/week for food at school/uni I don't understand.

Horatio_3

£7.50 per week is really a bare-minimum for entertainment. Places are so expensive nowadays, that she's gonna get a couple of drinks or a single cinema ticket out of that. Uni is about socialising as well as study.

netally

£250 isn't so bad! Seeing bands is pretty expensive. You have to buy the ticket, then i'd probably spend another £20 for transport, drinks (soft or not!) and chips on the way home. A night at the cinema is usually £10, depending on whether it's an orange weds or student night. I also tend to waste a LOT of money in coffee shops.

Oh dear, I should really draw up a budget!

jennifernil

Hi merlinormartin, she did consider investing a loan, but as she would only have got the bare minimum she decided it was not worth the hassle for an extra £25 per year in interest after tax (as she works in holidays and is well paid)