Tahat's my girl !

yotmon

Hi everybody in these extraordinary times of austerity, it was good to here from my daughter who is in her 3rd year as a student. She is in rented accomodation with 2 other students. All I assume get the same grant/loans etc. The girl she lives with has now 'o' in her bank account. The boy member of the household has just been to the uni for an emegency loan, as he too is destitute after maxing up his overdraft etc. Yet my daughter (bless her) has £2,000 left over from last year and hasn't touched this years grant. She says that the more money you give students, the more they will go into debt. It would be better to pay for accomodation and food directly rather than give them the burden of having to make financial desicions. One example she gave me was that the boy and his friend enjoyed a £14.00 domino's pizza, whilst she thought she was pushing the boat out by having a £1.50 Iceland pizza instead of her 'normal' £1 pizza from Asda. Oh, and she has got herelf a part time job as well.

Oldernotwiser

You actually can't assume that they all get the same money in grants and loans or that they can all get part time jobs. As for removing "the burden of financial decisions" - well, we could keep them in nappies as well but I wouldn't call that growing up!

TheEffect

I'm a second year student and it's great that your daughter is saving money by not eating take-away meals, however I disagree with removing the burden of financial decisions.

University is about growing up, becoming an adult and becoming independent. How are we meant to do that if we are mummy-cuddled throughout? People make mistakes and that's how we learn.

Also, I have a part-time job and am in my overdraft. I don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying the odd take-away or spending money on a few nights out. After all, all work and no play makes life dull!

proactive

is tahat the name of your daughter? or is that a spelling mistake? hard to tell these days

The_One_Who

Not everyone gets the same amount of loans, and it might be dependent on the courses taken if a part-time job is viable. Some people also like to spend a bit more on food every once in a while and treat themselves, people have different priorities.

How are people going to learn to handle their money if they aren't given the opportunity to learn/make mistakes?

kiss_me_now9

I'd rather spend £15 on a Dominos for a night in with my OH than £25 on a night out getting trashed. Different strokes for different folks, even at uni...

Cherry_Bomb

What's your point?

Everynamestaken

I can't really see there is a point to the thread, apart from the OP stating how proud she is of her daughter. Do you know how much she's spending on nights out, and how much she's wasting on those shots (just to get more drunk)? I presume you're not checking through her bank statements. I know some people at Uni who had their parents checking their statements for them all the time. I used to ask my Dad to check mine, but he refused as it was my irresponsibility to look after my own money etc.

There is no right or wrong way to deal with this, but University is all nurturing the transformation from teenage years to adulthood. I highly doubt alot of people reach the end phase after 3 years though. I would rather spend my money on a takeaway, rather than 5 lottery tickets every saturday. It's all about personal preference. As for the maxing of the overdraft, I would deem that irresponsible.

shegirl

yotmon wrote: »

Hi everybody in these extraordinary times of austerity, it was good to here from my daughter who is in her 3rd year as a student. She is in rented accomodation with 2 other students. All I assume get the same grant/loans etc. The girl she lives with has now 'o' in her bank account. The boy member of the household has just been to the uni for an emegency loan, as he too is destitute after maxing up his overdraft etc. Yet my daughter (bless her) has £2,000 left over from last year and hasn't touched this years grant. She says that the more money you give students, the more they will go into debt. It would be better to pay for accomodation and food directly rather than give them the burden of having to make financial desicions. One example she gave me was that the boy and his friend enjoyed a £14.00 domino's pizza, whilst she thought she was pushing the boat out by having a £1.50 Iceland pizza instead of her 'normal' £1 pizza from Asda. Oh, and she has got herelf a part time job as well.

Yes,lets remove part of growing up and responsibility...that's a great help for future life isn't it...

I'm not sure on the point of this.Ok,so you're proud of your daughter but fgs it's an experience that teaches people things. Anyone who thinks they are pushing the boat out by spending an extra 50p on a pizza isn't having much of an experience if you ask me!

southoftheriver

Congrats to your daughter. I made it until the 4th year of my 7th year of uni without touching my overdraft. I got into trouble once I started clinical work and couldn't work as much. I also did an additional degree which took an extra year. Balancing finances whilst a student is a delicate art that is necessary to learn, but takes time for different people. Removing the first chance that most young adults get to learn financial responsibility would be a massive backwards step IMO. In my final year I really struggled. Not because I had been extravagant, but because I knew my money had to last until my first paycheck. I lived hand to mouth in the cheapest accommodation I could find, no car and no luxuries because I had to. Luckily i'm on the other side now and no longer have to struggle.

January20

shegirl wrote: »

Yes,lets remove part of growing up and responsibility...that's a great help for future life isn't it...

I'm not sure on the point of this.Ok,so you're proud of your daughter but fgs it's an experience that teaches people things. Anyone who thinks they are pushing the boat out by spending an extra 50p on a pizza isn't having much of an experience if you ask me!

You don't have enough info in the OP to make a judgement on whether the girl is having much of an experience or not! For a lot of these students it's the first time they have any kind of independence away from mum and dad and they go completely mad. (Also putting their health and sometimes their life at risk). Their experience will cost them dearly financially and they may spend many, many years trying to pay off overdrafts, loans etc. It's not easy to get a job straight after graduating either.

I think this girl is very sensible and is possibly making the most of her experience by studying (university is not just for partying and getting drunk - as some people seem to forget) and not getting herself into huge amounts of debts! Good for her!