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Student MoneySaving Checklist discussion

Former_MSE_Rose
Former_MSE_Rose Posts: 128 Forumite
edited 13 September 2024 pm30 2:35PM in Student MoneySaving
This thread is specifically to discuss the

Student MoneySaving Checklist

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  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 48,658 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    Only live with students? If you're a full-time student living alone or with other students you don't need to pay council tax, whether there's two, three or even 10 of you living together.
    Live with a non-student? If a student lives with a non-student, the student is disregarded, so council tax is reduced as if only a single person lives there. So the non-student can get the 25% single person's discount. But this poses a moral dilemma.

    Is it fair for the non-student to pay the entire 75% points due, or should the student contribute?

    From the student's perspective, they wouldn't pay anything if their housemate was also a student. From the non-student perspective they’d only pay 50% of the bill if their housemate was also a non-student.

    Therefore our suggestion is to split the 25% difference between the two, so the non-student pays 62.5% and the student 12.5%.
    Live with more than one non-student? Here, while the student again is exempt, because there are two non-students the house has to pay the full 100% charge. So again it gets complex - the student hasn’t added to the council tax bill, but nor has their presence resulted in a discount.

    So again you'll need to decide if and how you want to split it, though the legal stance is that full-time students aren't liable for the bill if non-students can't or don't pay. See Council Tax Discounts.

    I'm disagreeing with this. Students are exempt so should not be coerced into paying any council tax.

    In particular the bit I've bolded. Two non-students could pay 50% each, which is a saving on the 75% they would face if they were the only non-student.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages, student & coronavirus Boards, money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • Watching TV without a licence is against the law.
    Fee dodgers face prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.
    See the TV Licences guide.
    So don't watch TV and save yourself £145. You can watch BBC iplayer on your computer for free. And take a couple of box sets of DVDs to uni - which you can also watch on your computer.
    A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

    Savings For Kids 1st Jan 2019 £16,112
  • Ensure parents pay their share

    Your parents may decide to give you money to help while you're at uni, if they can afford it. But for most, the amount of maintenance loan you get depends on their parents' income; those who come from wealthier homes get a smaller loan.dogbowl.jpg?purge
    This is because your parents are expected to contribute. If you don't get the full loan, while there's no way to force them to pay, and they're not legally required to give you money. It's well worth having the conversation with them in advance about whether they'll contribute.
    nerdtip2.jpgShow this to your parents: This can be a thorny area, yet their contribution can make a big difference while you're studying. Broach the subject sooner rather than later, and feel free to show them this tip if it helps.

    Top Tip Here!
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