Words Of Advice

Pattie1968

Hi folks,

What lessons, gems of wisdom & words of advice can i pass on to my son who is off to uni next year.

I would like for him to start his working life with as little debt as possible. He's gonna have to resort to getting a student loan to help with tuition fees etc, so I feel that debt is inevitable. He currently works part time & is trying to save at least £1,500 before he starts.

Many thanks
Pattie1968

climbgirl

Teach him how to budget and live within his means.

whatatwit

Teach him to cook Old Style, and how to be a savvy shopper.

jamesa007

I have just graduated and tips from me would be:

1.Get a student loan, its required and well worth it! Cheap pay back as well!!
2.Do not get sucked into the student offers on credit cards, the companies are everywhere offering free limo rides, free cameras, free money, free phones all to give them £1000 credit. Avoid it!!
3.Socialise, its required and a must do but you dont need to go out every night except freshers week.
4.Shop for the offers in supermarkets and dont buy too much frozxen food as sharing frezzer space is limited..
5.Dont buy toaster, kettle plates etc... as everyone else buys them in a flat first year and you dont need 6 or 7 of them!
6.dont buy all inclusive meals first year, cheap but not all students use them.

I'll think of some more but my boss is onto me on the internet!

Good luck!!

Pattie1968

He's already trying to come up with as many meal variations for rice, tinned tuna & mixed veg, or pasta, tinned tuna & mixed veg!! I think he's up to 5!!

Pattie1968

James007, those are real gems, thanks :A

KatrinaC_2

Pattie1968 wrote:

Hi folks,

What lessons, gems of wisdom & words of advice can i pass on to my son who is off to uni next year.

I would like for him to start his working life with as little debt as possible. He's gonna have to resort to getting a student loan to help with tuition fees etc, so I feel that debt is inevitable. He currently works part time & is trying to save at least £1,500 before he starts.

Many thanks
Pattie1968

I know that this is going to sound a bit obvious, but:

Budget
Learn to cook
Learn to "make do and mend"
Buy what you need, not what you want
Get a part time job during term time (preferably something related to his degree)
Make sure that if he does have to borrow it is for a specific reason and that it is at the best rate possible
Go for the student account which gives the best financial incentives, (rail cards, better graduate packages etc) rather than the one that gives the trendiest incentives (I-Pods, discount cards etc)
Never assume that three years (and hence repayment and the real world) is a long time away!

Kat

Emmzi

Learn to appreciate trendy 'vintage' i.e. charity shop clothes!

melaniec_2

if he got a job in a supermarket he would be able to pick up reduced food and possibly be able to transfer to the local branch when he came home in the holidays.

MadCowMan

Dont get suckered into to 'Takeaway' culture - eat before you go out, then you'll resist the temptation of a kebab on the way home !

Homebrew

As an alternative to a supermarket job , a bar job can kill 2 birds with 1 stone - you can see your friends , and earn money !

Don't buy every textbook on your list - you'll quicky find out which ones are essential and which ones you can borrow from the library.

forsya

My advice would be to show him this website and all the useful information on it and people who are in debt, so he will think I don't want to get into debt.