My student daughter cannot get a student account!

notafan

EdgEy wrote: »

Okay, sod it.
I give up.

http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Prepare/Cost.htm (bottom of page)
2008 Natwest Student Living Index
Average per week spent on the following things:

Alcohol £28/wk
Cigarettes £14/wk
Clothes £17/wk
Going out £16/wk
Eating out £15/wk

That's £90/week straight off the bat. 30 weeks of that is £2700.

"Average student" is a lost cause. I concede. All of these things are essential to live on.

Look, these expenses are not things you have to do. If you really think that it's worth getting into more debt over this and not using the loans for what they're meant - then you are going to run into trouble and need that part time job. I've never said otherwise.

Again a lovely choice of figures...

Regardless again and again and again - i've already shown you that the basic living costs vary greatly - which on the figures you list will easily push that 6k to the breaking point.

My issue isn't with what the money is spent on it might be from that list or it might be other stuff.

The fact is on top of those essentials there is other spending, and you are a fool to believe that ones those are paid students stop spending. Its a very unrealistic approach to assume.

You might buck a trend and pay for just those basics and then spend zero. The rest will, and to avoid debt may well get a job!

Derivative

notafan wrote: »

The fact is on top of those essentials there is other spending, and you are a fool to believe that ones those are paid students stop spending. Its a very unrealistic approach to assume.

You might buck a trend and pay for just those basics and then spend zero. The rest will, and to avoid debt may well get a job!

I don't believe that all people stop spending after essentials. In fact, I don't believe anyone stops spending after essentials unless they're trying to prove a point. You keep repeating a point that I have already conceded.

What I'm saying, and have repeated multiple times is that it is POSSIBLE and EASY to SURVIVE (defined as paying for essentials) on the £6400.

You have repeatedly failed to discredit this and continue to offer up discretionary spending. It just doesn't come into it.

The list above was posted as a reason why this discretionary income doesn't fit into a budget of £6400. I know this. I have stated this on multiple occasions. You cannot live it up, going out every weekend, go to restaurants, buy new clothes etcetera on £6400 a year. You do not need to do these things to function as a student,

dandelions

I'll throw the cat among the pigeons and say that, no, it isn't that hard to live on £6k a year as a student - because I've done £4.5k a year as a student. And that's difficult. I couldn't get a term-time job to supplement that as I've got a disability which prevents me working on top of uni, and my parents weren't willing to contribute beyond the £1k Student Finance told them they were obliged to give me (which had brought the total up to £4.5k). I haven't spent more than around two weeks at home per year since year one of uni, when I vowed never to do that again and was willing to take the financial hit. During years two and three of uni I had to pay twelve months' full rent (rent in y3 was £4000), though those years I had a job during the summer. I also made a point of never using my overdraft.

I'll admit I have three things which make life a bit easier on a budget:
some free rail travel (20x 2 days per year) as a railway employee's daughter
a disabled bus pass since y3 of uni (which is only valid after 9am, so means travel from lectures is free but to lectures is not; in y2 without it I was spending £180/year on bus travel, and for comparison £650/year on food)
my medication means I can't drink alcohol - though of course I do have to pay for my medication instead!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand:
- find out why her credit is so bad - one late phone bill shouldn't be nearly enough. Store cards?
- make her set a budget
- you're supposed to contribute (it is expected if your income is high enough, and you are penalising your daughter if you don't) but equally, she has to learn to budget anyway
- are you sure it's actually her credit score and not something else? I've had an account request rejected for strange reasons only to go back the next day and have it granted - "computer says no", it seemed.

notafan

EdgEy wrote: »

Both stop when your son enters a degree course.

References:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ChildBenefitandChildTrustFund/Childbenefits/KeepingyourChildBenefituptodate/ChildBenefitafter16/DG_173715

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/TaxCredits/Keepingyourtaxcreditsuptodate/Changesthataffectyourtaxcredits/Familychanges/DG_172979

This site has some good info on which halls have kitchens: http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/accommodation/

Funny that leedsmet website you mention...

Carnegie Village Townhouse £6525 or £5625.50 or £5287.50 or £5992.50

Village Cluster Flats £5330

Carlton Hill £3870 or £3913

Kirkstall Brewery £3895 or £4510

Liberty Park £4826

1 Mill Street £4386 or £4020.50

Opal 1 & 2 £4837.50 or £5590 or £6235

Royal Park £3526

Sugarwell Court £3485 or £4510

Woodhouse Flats £3895


All but one hall on there is more then the £3600 you pay (1200 per term x 3) which you believe is above average.

You've just supplied a list Leeds Met's halls and some are greatly over the amount you believe to be average.

You take your 6k and the demands on the average student, with typical figures like those and its not going far at all

As you can see from that either - The uni expects you'll be in residence for more then 6months/26weeks which your figures are based upon.

Derivative

Leeds Met have a bursary scheme as do most with expensive accom.

I am assuming that those on a budget would go for the lower end housing.

Also, looking at one University (as you've said with my 'low' figures) is silly.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/aug/08/student-accommodation-rents-increase

Guardian average is £65/week. That's about £2600/year plus bills.

notafan

EdgEy wrote: »

I don't believe that all people stop spending after essentials. In fact, I don't believe anyone stops spending after essentials unless they're trying to prove a point. You keep repeating a point that I have already conceded.

What I'm saying, and have repeated multiple times is that it is POSSIBLE and EASY to SURVIVE (defined as paying for essentials) on the £6400.

You have repeatedly failed to discredit this and continue to offer up discretionary spending. It just doesn't come into it.

The list above was posted as a reason why this discretionary income doesn't fit into a budget of £6400. I know this. I have stated this on multiple occasions. You cannot live it up, going out every weekend, go to restaurants, buy new clothes etcetera on £6400 a year. You do not need to do these things to function as a student,

You've just discredited it yourself - that list shows that some students who are assigned certain accommodation will pay more then they receive. It also shows that your figure is extremely low in comparison to the vast majority on there - further making your figures you listed - which cut things like all travel except getting to and from your home town a couple of times a year - totally unrealistic.

Derivative

Use a bike. Travel sorted.
Choose low accommodation. High bands are for silver spoons. I sleep in my room and go to the library to study. Cheaper and the library is nicer to look at than any room.
Fed up of writing long answers and having you miss the point.

notafan

EdgEy wrote: »

Leeds Met have a bursary scheme as do most with expensive accom.

I am assuming that those on a budget would go for the lower end housing.

Also, looking at one University (as you've said with my 'low' figures) is silly.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/aug/08/student-accommodation-rents-increase

Guardian average is £65/week. That's about £2600/year plus bills.

The bursary is not an endless point of money, and wont apply to every student that goes in them it'll be a handful at most.

Every student is on a budget. They'll maybe get a preference but ultimately a hall vacancy will be assigned to them.

Yes and private accommodation will come with bonds/deposit and as you say other bills.

notafan

EdgEy wrote: »

Use a bike. Travel sorted.
Choose low accommodation. High bands are for silver spoons. I sleep in my room and go to the library to study. Cheaper and the library is nicer to look at than any room.
Fed up of writing long answers and having you miss the point.

And are bikes magically free when you become a student?

If there are 1000 students going to a uni which has 100 cheap rooms 600 mid ranged rooms and 300 expensive rooms they wont all be living on the figures they choose.

You don't even get the point. Good luck living on your unrealistic budget with your poorly accounted figures and with limited knowledge on what you'll actually spend and what it actually costs.

Derivative

Bursary at Leeds Met goes to all with full SF maintenance grant.
Not all students pick cheapest as some people don't actually understand the amount of debt they're getting into and the rest can afford it.
Deposit and bills aren't enough to knock £2600 up to some of the lofty figures you seem to like.