How much per month to help daughter?

Minxz

Jaz, if it's likely you'll be driving her back to uni after her visits, you could fill a coolbox with meals cooked from home for her freezer, spag bol, curries etc, in tubs, like a ready meal. I also went through some cheap but healthy recipes with my son before he left 3 years ago, and he cooks casseroles etc and freezes them. i got them both a v good student cookbook, one used it, the other one gathered dust somewhere!
He even bought himself a slow cooker, and eats a lot of value baked beans!
This may be useful
http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/university-tuition-fees-2012/managing-your-money/budgeting/

And try this for cheap recipies
http://www.studentrecipes.com/

plus, don't forget places like Freecycle etc if she finds she needs furniture or extra pans etc when she gets there

Oldernotwiser

I think that £200 pm is about right - it's about the same amount that a young person on JSA would have to live on and she can get a part time job to top it up.

Person_one

Remember that she'll only have at the most one kitchen cupboard and one shelf in the fridge and freezer if she's sharing with others. Don't install her with enough food to fill the kitchen and leave no storage space for anyone else, that's not the best way to hit it off with your new flatmates!

minerva_windsong

I was very lucky in that my parents were incredibly generous when I was at uni - they gave me £75 a week when I lived in halls which covered food (£25 budget but I usually spent about £15-20), going out and transport to my internship (£30 - probably two nights out a week or three if I only went to the student bars), and bits and bobs (£15 - so things like contact lenses, toiletries, textbooks, buying birthday/Christmas presents etc). Anything that was left over went into next week's budget, and any left over at the end of term went into savings. I know a lot of people here will think that's a ridiculous amount of money, but my parents' view was that when I was at university that was my job and therefore they would pay my way. The flip side of this was that they wouldn't subsidise me in the holidays so if I wanted anything then I had to get a job to earn the money to pay for it.

I think you should give her what you can and want to give her. Maybe start at £200pm/£50pw for a term and see how she goes.

melancholly

Person_one wrote: »

Remember that she'll only have at the most one kitchen cupboard and one shelf in the fridge and freezer if she's sharing with others. Don't install her with enough food to fill the kitchen and leave no storage space for anyone else, that's not the best way to hit it off with your new flatmates!

i'd say it's usually best to keep at least some food that doesn't need to go in the fridge in your room! food seems to be one of the biggest causes of rows in shared living!

OP - don't forget to throw in some cleaning stuff when you send her off with a care package. i think £200 is very generous and that there is no point putting yourself in financial difficulties to increase her beer budget! the first year is probably the best year to get a part time job as the workload will be the lowest as will the consequences of any low marks. other things to talk to her about are to avoid spending lots of unnecessary money on expensive books. wait a few weeks and see which is really good and whether or not the library copies are sufficient.

if you can give her an extra little bit for freshers' week, then i'm sure that will be appreciated. but i think you're adopting a really sensible approach - whatever budget she has, she'll learn to manage on it. get her to research student accounts and get her cooking for the family so she's used to batch cooking for herself.

and make the most of the summer with her before she goes away to uni!

Ms_Dalton_2

I'd say that £30 a week for food is all that's needed.
But don't forget all the other expenses - not just alcohol, but things like books that can be very expensive depending on the course.
It also depends a lot on where she's going - she will want to spend some money on going out, pubs etc. and that'll vary depending on where in the country she is!
I'd advise starting off with £200 a month for the first term and ask her to keep track of her spending - then you can discuss it with her in the holidays and decide how well it's working.

pelirocco

Minxz wrote: »

Fees and accommodation?!
Wow, that's one lucky child you have, who will love being able to spend all his cash on booze!!

Yes, they work hard to get there, but they will reap the benefits when they leave, and they choose to go. They are maturing into adults, so need to learn independence- I believe independence also includes taking responsibility for your own finances.

I think this is a bit harsh , and you are assuming he/ she will have additional cash ?

The sad thing these days , the finances students have to juggle tend to come from a student loan and or overdraft , not the best start in life .

bevanuk

£50 a week is a nice amount - I think its a good thing of you to do!

Surfbabe

Both my DS and DD had an allowance of £40 a week which was more than enough - we stocked them up on food at the beginning of each term and they managed well enough. Their student loan just covered rent - DS had about £10 pw left from that and DD had nothing! having said that they also only had very small overdrafts -so if they can manage without an overdraft all the better.

bouncydog1

It's not just food though is it? What about books, stationery, phone cards, any membership fees for clubs they might want to join, travel with Uni Groups, laundry, the odd clothes etc. etc. A good place to start (I think) is to work out what you will save per week whilst your child is away - less water, electric, phone bills, food, etc. etc. and then decide what you can reasonably afford to give them on top of this.

Every family is different - we don't want our DD to be in a position where she has to find a job to survive - we want these to be the years when she learns all different life skills, makes lots of friends and really enjoys herself - not all students will drink themselves to the extent of their budget. Give your child what is right for you. I would have thought between £50/£80 is about right, but this will depend where - London will be more expensive than the North of England.