Planning for son going to uni

BAGGY

The bootsales will start up fairly soon. You should be able to pick bits and bobs up there.

silvercar

Before you start buying food, check that he won't be living in a catered hall!

Also check on one of the student sites whether parental income will mean that the student won't get the full entitlement to maintenance grants and loans.

no.1swimmum

our eldest started uni sept 2011 - he is living in halls and all that was provided in room was basic matress only for bed, and in the kitchen only toaster and kettle (obviously cooker and fridge/freezer - although this is small for 5 students in my honest opinion - freezer only has 3 drawers)
I bought lots of bits like plates, cutlery etc from the bargain bit at local ikea - dinner plates cost around 20/30p each, a full set of cutlery was £1.50 etc. ok not everything matched but I tried to stick to shades of blue for him. I also made him a mattress cover from 2 singles bought again in Ikea for £1 each sewn together to make one suitable for 4' bed ( which is the size in his halls), grandparents bought him a double duvet and bedding set for Christmas. A decent can opener is a must - he got through 2 in the first 2 terms so ended up getting him an electric one this time in the sales.
He also has a sainsburys student card - like a gift card, you keep one part and give the other to the student, then you can go in and load money onto it - I usually add £5 every couple of weeks - so if they can at least getting some shopping if they run out of student loan or like my son this year he only recieved his first lot of loan 3 weeks before christmas break - due an error by the student loans people not him!

claire16c

Don't buy anything until his accommodation is confirmed so you know what will be provided. It's a bit early now & then you'd have to store all that stuff in your house for months! I'd wait til the summer when sales will be on. Just save the money for now.

jumpedtheshark

Lunar_Eclipse wrote: »

Don't forget skills, these are far more important. He needs to know how to manage a budget, operate a washing machine, shop for meals and actually cook, if he doesn't already. Knowing how to clean a bathroom and how often would also be helpful.

Totally agree. Won't cost you anything, will help him a lot, and give you some quality time together over the summer. I'd buy some Lock-and-Lock containers for him in a few different sizes - good for storing all kinds of food, and they're the only containers I've found that really don't leak!

lika_86

- Packet of condoms
- Berocca
- Paracetemol

Person_one

Are you sure you can't help him out financially?

Are you not saving a bit of money by him not being in the house during term time? Reduced food bills? Do you still get child benefit for him? I believe it lasts longer if the 'child' stays in full time education.

Even a small amount of cash as an allowance every month would be a huge help to him, at least at first until he can find a part time job. Its much harder for students to find work these days as the jobs they used to have a monopoly on are now massively oversubscribed.

Apart from that, I agree with the posters who said don't start buying anything now, but start working on things that will improve his independence and domestic skills.

dogstarheaven

If money is that tight, then I second the poster who said about boot sales. They're great for 20p - £1 for most items for the kitchen, or bedding, etc.

Here's my original thread when my daughter went 3yrs ago

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1935025

Depending on your financial circumstances, you need to enquire whether your son is entitled to a Maintenance Grant or Bursary (also the latter is dependant on the course he would be doing) so you'll need to suss that out as if you were from a low income bracket, you'll be entitled to some help. My daughter did and had made it possible to live in London and save money from her grants. Although, she was (and is still) sensible with money (hardly going out and cooking from scratch, but still buying nice clothes etc., she took her bargain savvy ideas from me!). Once you've ensured the total income your son will receive from his loans and grants then work out how much he'd need to live on factoring in his transport, food, laundry, socialising and course costs.

I didn't help her out with anything that she couldn't pay herself and she never did make a single call to me complaining that she was broke, honest!!

Re. jobs, she took on a term's worth in private tutoring (£70 for two hours for two subjects pre-GCSE) and a Xmas temp job at M&S for one year, oh and in the summer hols, a stint at Madame Tussards (she found work in London v. readily) After that, she couldn't afford the time to continue as she had too much coursework to do and exams.

PM me if you want further details...

Owain_Moneysaver

You will probably find in May/June that your local charity shops are full of stuff from departing students.

Wyre

Person_one wrote: »

Are you not saving a bit of money by him not being in the house during term time? Reduced food bills? Do you still get child benefit for him? I believe it lasts longer if the 'child' stays in full time education.

My bolding. This is only full time non higher education, so all benefits for him are lost the moment he goes to uni. No cb, no tax credits and if applicable no more CSA money.