Broke

[Deleted User]

Any advice?I'm a completely broke student,not just a little short of cash.My part time job has finished,my digs(if you can call them that)were broken into and despite the broken alarm being reported to the landlord loads of times,my belongings including my long saved up for laptop with vital coursework were stolen.The insurance won't pay up and I have absolutely no money.I walk 10 miles each way to lectures but I genuinely am starving since I last ate 5 days ago.I don't drink or club and my loan went on accommodation and books.My overdraft has gone,student hardship can't help and I've no immediate family.Any ideas?

lisa_75

Why can't student hardship help?
Why do you live so far from campus?
Why won't the insurance pay?

The obvious solution would be to get another job. Try temp agencies or your uni may have a student job finding service.

Have you any friends who could help in the meantime?

Have you NO family at all who could help out? No siblings, aunts, uncles?

Also make sure you do some forward planning for next semester to make sure you don't get into this situation again.

saver2006

surely the hardship fund would be able to help in a situation like this- i mean you're actually going hungry for gods sake

also- do u not have ANY friends that can lend you a bit of money whilst you try and sort ur situation out?

lisa_75

saver2006 wrote:

surely the hardship fund would be able to help in a situation like this-

I think it depends. The poster has spent all of their loan, all of their overdraft and all their wages from their part time job and it is less than 12 weeks since the start of term. They probably had more than enough to live on, but have just not budgeted wisely.

I am not sure if the hardship fund do help if you just don't know how to budget properly. If they assess you as having enough to live on and you spend it all, I am not sure if they can help.

saver2006

lisa_75 wrote:

I think it depends. The poster has spent all of their loan, all of their overdraft and all their wages from their part time job and it is less than 12 weeks since the start of term. They probably had more than enough to live on, but have just not budgeted wisely.

I am not sure if the hardship fund do help if you just don't know how to budget properly. If they assess you as having enough to live on and you spend it all, I am not sure if they can help.

yeah good point- didnt think of it like that

si1503

lisa_75 wrote:

I think it depends. The poster has spent all of their loan, all of their overdraft and all their wages from their part time job and it is less than 12 weeks since the start of term. They probably had more than enough to live on, but have just not budgeted wisely.

Haha you think that is enough to live on?

The max loan is £4,000 split over 3 terms. Thats around £1,333 per term. Considering my accom payments were about £1,400 this term, that dosen't stretch very far at all for students without help from Daddys wallet!

An overdraft is not guareteed to everyone. Although most should be able to obtain around £1,000 from most banks. However that over 4 months is £250 a month, when you consider that we have course books and stationary to pay for, along with food, general living items (pots, pans, plates, toilet roll, cleaners), toiletires/cosmetics, laundry costs and so on £250 is not a lot, I budget very tightly to £410 a month, and I have gone at least £100 over that every month so far, mostly due to course related costs, such as books, print cartridges etc.

My advice is to get copies of your bank statement, showing all of your expenses. Take it to your student financial services and see what they say, they should be able to offer you some help.

You should have been able to apply for student finance as an independant student if you have no support from family, and be entilted to a grant, perhaps 2. If you have not received any of this I'd certainly get in contact with your local (home) student finance support office and they should be able to help you obtain additional support.

cupid_s

Also (this was a few years ago) my housemate got the maximum loan. Our rent and bills together came to less than half her loan. So she spent all the rest on clothes and books. Towards the end of term she had no money obviously yet she got £1000 from the hardship fund.

Every else in our house had the same loan yet they managed. So I don't think the fact that you've wasted your money is generally reason for them turning you down.

For the very short term. Do you still have the receipts for books and are any unused as yet? If so you could get your money back and repurchase them at a later date. After all there no point in having £300 worth of books if you're starving.

lisa_75

si1503 wrote:

Haha you think that is enough to live on?

The max loan is £4,000 split over 3 terms. Thats around £1,333 per term. Considering my accom payments were about £1,400 this term, that dosen't stretch very far at all for students without help from Daddys wallet!

The student loan is not meant to cover ALL your living costs. If you don't have parents to help you need to get a job.

lisa_75

si1503 wrote:

However that over 4 months is £250 a month, when you consider that we have course books and stationary to pay for, along with food, general living items (pots, pans, plates, toilet roll, cleaners), toiletires/cosmetics, laundry costs and so on £250 is not a lot, I budget very tightly to £410 a month, and I have gone at least £100 over that every month so far, mostly due to course related costs, such as books, print cartridges etc.

I don't spend £410 a month on housekeeping for 2 adults and 2 kids combined! I also don't buy any books (can't afford to). I use the library (uni and my local one) and online resourses and get along just fine.

You need to have a look on the old style board and get some hints on how to cut down your living costs. £250 a month housekeeping for 1 person should be more than enough.

ftbworried

...wouldnt you be dead if you haven't eaten for 5 days?

dmg24

This has to be a troll. In a previous post the OP had cancer, a mortgage and teenage kids to bring up?!!! They also used to walk nineteen miles to hospital to have chemo?!?!?!