Diary: Returning to university

MartinSpoon

Hi all,

Firstly - I know I'm coming at this from a relatively fortunate starting point, and I don't want to pretend otherwise!

This is a diary thread for me, input, ideas, and suggestions are always welcome!

After 5 years as a manager in a large company, I've decided to return to university to train as a teacher (and importantly, I've been offered the place!) That means I'll be quitting my job at some point in June or July, and I have 4 or 5 paydays left. I'll be a student for 1 year from August with a loan but no-other forms of income (no assets other than some savings, I live on my own, no partner or dependants). I've been on a good wage for a few years now and was aiming towards buying a house, but that all went on hold when the idea of teaching came up. Once the 1 year as a student is complete, I become a 'probationer' for 1 year, and then after that I look for my first real teaching job, and the salary starts going up.

I've known this has been coming for a while so I have been saving to get ready, my planned budget is £18,000 for my year as a student (loan + savings, no income tax to worry about), and £21,500 as a probationer (which is applicable for tax). I am debt free right now, but have no assets other than the savings. Neither sum is tiny, but having been used to living on more than twice that amount for a few years, this is mostly about me changing my mindset, and starting NOW so I'm ready. If I can top up either of those pots before I quit work, perfect!

I do have two 'backup pots' - some early inheritance that was intended to go towards a mortgage deposit, and another amount in a ISA for the same purpose, but I'm loathed to touch those.

So, my plan...

1) Create a detailed, realistic, budget for the next two years
2) Start living on a 'reduced' budget from 1st April to get ready (I'm going on holiday at Easter, I'm using that as a way as a starting point). This is where Old Style comes in!

Not much of a plan so far!

Some major decision to make also:

1) Can I afford to live on my own? I'm not against flat sharing (I share with a friend at the moment), but I'm not keen on living with people I don't know and trust, and I'll be moving to a new city where I won't know many people. Of everything I need to compromise on, this is the one I'm least keen to move on, I like having my own space, being able to cook, and have a clean and tidy home. I don't mind if it's tiny! I also have a girlfriend who lives over 100 miles away and having a small space of my own to make seeing her easier (not having to arrange in advance with a flatmate) would help. If I live on my own I'll be council tax free in my first year as I'll be a student, so that helps. I don't really want to look at student accommodation.

2) I need to buy a car. I have a company car at the moment (a bad decision on reflection), I don't care what it looks like or if it's small, I just need it to be relatively reliable. I need to figure out a reasonable budget, and do the maths on whether I'd be better dipping into one of my pots. I'm sure if I work out the interest, using savings will be better than taking a loan, but I'd want to make sure I was disciplined enough to repay that sum (e.g. I budget for £150 a month back into savings, the equivalent of repaying a car loan).


That's enough for now

jackyann

Well done!
I would say that on the whole, if you can possibly afford it, live alone (sounds like a studio flat would work). You have spent some time on your own, sorting out what suits you, and you may find living with others a complete pain. Not sure how well you know the area you are going to, but I would try to spend some time mooching around there and getting to know the area, so you choose somewhere reasonable to live.
Look at the ETA site for information about economical cars. I am presuming you have considered and rejected cycling or motorcycle.
Also take advantage of all student offers! I was a "mature" student for a year (I was only 23 but had been working since 18) and felt quite giddy with all the concessions I got!
Good luck.

FairyPrincessk

Not sure what sort of course you are doing, but if it is a PGCE, then you need to make a plan to be very busy. My OH is doing one now, and several of our friends say his experience is typical. He is working 16-18 hour days to manage planning, job apps and course work--which leaves very little time for OS ways! A few suggestions for your preparation:

-Find, try and master a selection of batch cooking recipes. You won't have time to come home and cook a proper OS meal at night and ready meals will be expensive and unhealthy.
-Make a plan for lunch. Will you make sandwiches or extra freezer meals? Will you have access to a microwave? What will you do on nights when you don't have time to make a lunch for the next day (i.e. parent's evening?) If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail--and likewise, if you don't plan to save money, then you plan to spend it!
-Make sure your new residence either has a freezer or buy one while you have the funds. You'll need a space to store your home made frozen meals:D
-Make sure all of your professional clothes are in good shape (i.e. shoes are comfortable for standing all day and won't need to be replaced, shirts etc. in good condition).
-If you currently send your shirts to a laundry to be ironed then learn how to do this yourself. If you have enough of them, I'd suggest trying to iron all of them before term, that way you can make it to half term before you have to do it again. (this will only apply during your placement).
-Definitely make use of student discounts. Do you need a car? Or could you use public transport? If you need a car and decide to invest in one, make sure you know how to do basic maintenance yourself (i.e. fluid top ups, oil changes, wiper blade changes etc.) Also stock up on things like winter windscreen fluid and whatever you use to de-ice. You're probably already used to this, but if you're not on a tight budget you may be used to just popping a tin of de-icer into your trolley and that stuff isn't always cheap!

I'm pretty sure you can afford to live on your own for £18,000 pounds. I lived on around £10,000/year on my own up until about two years ago.

MartinSpoon

jackyann wrote: »

Well done!

Thanks!

Not sure how well you know the area you are going to, but I would try to spend some time mooching around there and getting to know the area, so you choose somewhere reasonable to live.

Thankfully I know it reasonably well (Glasgow), and have a few friends there who can help me find somewhere. I've already got a potential offer on a small place that a friend wants to rent out (they're planning on moving in with their b/f). It's small and in a nice area, I need to do some research on whether I could get somewhere cheaper in a not-so-nice area and be just as happy.

Look at the ETA site for information about economical cars. I am presuming you have considered and rejected cycling or motorcycle.

I used to have a motorcycle, it's not a bad idea, but the problem is the reliability of it during the winter months. I'm happy to cycle, but that has similar weather limitations. My course involves 3 school placements, sometimes you don't know where they are until a few days before, and it could be anywhere within an hour or two of the city centre. Or it could be on my doorstep, which would be a pain if I bought a car, but I just won't know until it's too late! Maybe I could gamble on not having a car to start with and see what happens... this, however, ignores the point that the car also makes it easier to see my g/f (but, if I had to rely on me taking the train and her driving, I could make that work).

Honeythief

Well done! I can't advise on specifics as I'm not in the UK so don't know how far your money might go there, but I admire anybody who makes a plan to change their life, works towards it, and puts it into action. Good luck, and I hope things go your way

Dunroamin

Can't you cut your budget down for the year you're a student? Very few people would have £18,000 to live on for a year.

Can you get a place in Halls of Residence?

MartinSpoon

FairyPrincessk wrote: »

...

Thanks. It's a PGDE, the Scottish equivalent of a PGCE. I know a few people doing the course and appreciate the business factor - hence why I'm not even thinking about a part time job, it'll be hard enough to see my girlfriend as it is. It's another reason to get a car - every minute saved travelling will help me get through the year.

I'm quite comfortable with batch cooking - I've done that before, will need to start doing it again. My alternative is stir-fry type dishes, I like asian cooking and you can whip up something good in 15mins if you're prepared.

Lunch - yup, need to go with the packed lunch approach, need to plan!

Clothes - good call, most of what I wear to work now will cross-over. I might try and avoid wearing the double cuffed shirts with cufflinks(!), but I'm not going to need them for anything else once I quit my job! I only buy M&S's non-iron shirts at the moment, so no problem there :-)

MartinSpoon

Dunroamin wrote: »

Can't you cut your budget down for the year you're a student? Very few people would have £18,000 to live on for a year.

Can you get a place in Halls of Residence?

You're right, of course. I was an undergrad for 5 years, I remember it well. However, when I was an undergrad I could afford to work part time, I had some support from my parents for when I hit emergencies, I didn't need a car (which is still up for debate), and I was less fussy about living in accommodation with other students. I know I could cut back on the living costs, but there's a balance to be met - I've been used to living on my own (or sharing with trusted friends) for many years, PGDEs are very intensive and need a lot of head down quiet working time to get through, and I need to make this work with seeing my girlfriend, so there are concessions to make. I'm all for cutting down as much as possible, this is the one area (admittedly, an expensive area) I want to avoid cutting back on too much.

lucylollipop

I'm now in my second year of teaching (post qualifying). Firstly... Definitely try to live on your own. It's a hectic year, and housemate issues are one thing that most of us could do without.

Transport - talk to your uni. They'll have concessions in place for those that don't have transport/licenses, allowing for those people to either go on placement with others, sharing travel costs, or to take placements within the city, that can be accessed via public transport. However, the drawback of this is that you limit the hours you can work, the items you can take with you (I travelled with 4 or 5 folders most days, to move my planning and resources around), and your own patience may fail with this, especially if you are used to driving. Weigh it up, but you need to choose the one you're most comfortable with

Food - batch cook and plan ahead!

Other than that, make the most of the year - it's exhausting, but the experiences were fantastic, and shape a lot of what you do as an NQT the following year

Enjoy!

lovelife79

First, congrats on getting place at uni!!

I also would recommend talking to your uni, ask how they place students for their placements. Although a car would be great, you will need to take into consideration parking. Im from glasgow and depending on where you will live, you may need to pay for on-street parking, plus some of the schools parking places are limited. And ill be honest some of the roads could do with a lot of tlc. (Pot holes galore!)

I understand the driving to see your girlfriend aspect but think about how long it takes to go by car, look up trains/bus journeys. I used to do my reading on buses when traveling to uni and back.

You'll know best how to use your time efficiently but do explore all avenues. Its the hidden expenses of a car that might eat into your budget. In saying that my very 1st car was only £600 n was a great wee runner! Hardly any work needed. So u miggt be lucky nfind a sound car!

Good luck with your new adventure :-)

jkelly90

You can definitely live off of £18,000 for a year, especially if you don't pay tax; I manage on £16,500 and pay tax on that.

The only difference is that I don't have a car because I definitely couldn't afford it, but I live off of £1,150 per month and at £18k without tax you should have £1,500 per month, that extra £350 per month should cover the cost of a car.

Also I can't afford to live by myself, I have a flatmate who luckily, despite being a stranger when we first started living together, is now a very close friend, so we don't really have any problems. But I live in Bristol. I don't know what Glasgow rents are like but I'm lead to believe that rents up north are a lot cheaper than down south. I pay £410 per month (without bills) in a flatshare, which I'm told can get a lot more than a room up north.

Anyway, my point is, you will undoubtedly be absolutely fine.

I think that food shops are one of the most shocking outgoings people have if they have never stuck to a budget, so I would recommend reading through the Grocery Challenge and various meal planning threads around here. I work full time and study full time and my life is made a million times easier with batch cooking, not to mention that it's helped me really cut back on unneccesary spending.

Good luck!