Typical student outgoings

babiebeany

Hi - my son will probably go to uni this year and I am already wondering how much this will cost. So are there any students out there who are willing to post their outgoings/incomings to give me an idea of what to expect? TIA.

[Deleted User]

babie - is he going to live away from home in halls? The city they move to can change how much things cost, as well as if it's a campus uni Vs city uni.

Really the costs are whatever they make them - I use to spend 25 pounds a week on food, whilst my brother some how survived on 15 pounds.

Going out was my main expenditure - in the first year we typically went on a 'night out' 2 - 3 times a week and went to the halls bar 2-3 nights a week.

Does your son like his expensive clothes or toys?

Does he plan to use library books or by his own?

Lots of questions, its hard to work it out really, I think I ended up spending 6K a year

Idiophreak

as mentioned above, it depends greatly on what sort of place he stays in and where he stays.

I studied in swansea, I paid around 70/week for a room in the "student village" in the first year, then about 45-50/week once i moved into private.

My gf studied in Southampton, hers was around 120 then 90 iirc.
You're probably looking at much more than that again for london.

Also depends if you want catered or non-catered halls.

I spent around £20/week on food for the first 3 years then maybe £35/week in my final year - i decided to eat a little more healthily.

Bills in the private houses mainly worked out around £50/month I guess.

Spent around £300-500/year on books and computer bits.

It sounds stupid, but the main thing that determines how much it's going to cost is how much money he's going to have. Some of my friends had £150/week to live on, so they spend 25 on food then the other 125 on drink, toys etc. I had about £30/week most of the time, so only spend that much.

studentkathryn

Hi, if you go onto the website of the university he's applying to, there's usually a money section on the advice section of the student union pages. They should have a predicted cost for you to work out a budget from. Best of luck

apoorstudent

It depends on whether they'll be living at home, or in halls/private accomodation, and also the location - I'm up north, so it's substantially cheaper than most places. For me (English Literature student), it's the course materials that cost the a lot.

My outgoings are something like this:

• £900/term tuition fees until my loan comes through anyway. Then it'll be a lot easier.
• £500/year for books and other stuff I need for the course. Although perhaps more, as this term I've gone over the £200 mark and I borrowed a lot of the key texts!
• £30 'visits out' of uni, e.g. essential theatre trips
• £50/month for transport (1 bus, 1 train = 30miles/day!)
• £40/month for lunch
• £30/month for non essentials such as clothes, going out, etc)

I live at home though, so I have the advantage of not having to pay rent. And thankfully, I saved a few thousand since I was 16 to cover other stuff so I won't have to do too much work through uni - only in the summer.

Yorkielass

Presumably your son has applied to universities and is waiting for decisions and then needs to decide between them. There are so many considerations to make but I would recommend drawing up a list of all the things that are important to him/you (do this together if you can) and then research them all for each university - really easy to do on the web.

E.g. If he's going away from home find out how much an advance and a walk up train fare home is and how long it takes, wasnt a problem for me (luckily as I came 300 miles away) but some people don't realise how far away a place is/how expensive a train back is - conversly some might be cheaper than you think.

Whether all uni accommodation is self catered/catered/ whether he'd have a choice, self catering is usually cheaper but requires some cooking skills and trips to supermarkets etc.

a final tip is - regardless of where he goes - if he can get a job this summer (or carry on the one he has now if he has one) and put at least some of that money in a savings account to keep for emergencies etc that should make a big difference, it certainly did to people I knew when we were at uni.

Hope that helps a bit

Savvy_Sue

ringo_24601 wrote:

Really the costs are whatever they make them - I use to spend 25 pounds a week on food, whilst my brother some how survived on 15 pounds.

And DS1 reckons he can manage on £10 ...

Teaching your son to cook and shop sensibly will pay dividends.

meandu229

Savvy_Sue wrote:

And DS1 reckons he can manage on £10 ...

Teaching your son to cook and shop sensibly will pay dividends.

food shoppin £10 a week, big shops with house mates asda online with codes is a treat then little things like milk n stuff added, then it depends how much you "socialise" and drink, you can survive on £10 a week drinking but its much more fun £70ish everyone is different im on about 50ish i think going out n stuff i know people on down to 20 n up to 100

lolly-i-pop

This might give you a rough idea of how much uni costs me, but it does vary between people -
(this is all worked out per month)

rent = £262.50
bills(inc. internet, electric gas, phone, tv, split between 6 people) = £20
food = £100
other shopping (laundry stuff etc.) = £10 (-ish)
nights out = £160
clothes = £30
mobile = £20
gym = £28
travel = 0

total per month - £630.50 (omg didn't realise I spent that much!)
I earn between £100 and £150 a week, and my student loan gives me about £175 a month

soooo....
income = £575 - £775
outgoings = £630.50

Please bear in mind that I am not at all good with money! I also spend alot on certain things, such as the gym membership, which being a student i could get alot cheaper but the uni gym isnt very nice so I pay more and go to a nice one. I also made a mistake by liveing in a house which is far too expensive. next year my rent will be around £190 per month. Also, nights out can be made alot cheaper too, that was averaging out 2 per week, spending £20 each time, but i think normally i spend less than this / go out less.

I am lucky enough that i live close to uni, work, shops etc, so i can walk everywhere. Another way to save money is by not buying books. I definately wouldnt go mad and buy the entire reading list, but maybe buy a couple if you feel this would help. I spent £100 on books in my first year, all of which are available at the uni library, so i didnt really have too.

Hope that helps (and hasnt scared you too much!)

impy78

Hiya...My outgoings are like this (monthly)


Rent £350
transport £150 (tubes, buses, etc)
Food £70
Bills (Inc mobile) £60
Other shopping £10
Nights out £20
Materials for course £20

About £680

magyar

Most Universities quote an estimate of £8000 a year. Not including kebabs.