Average student spending - can you beat it?

Basil_Fawlty

Being a student isn't just about the nightlife! :mad:

May I ask what subject you're studying? I'm doing Medical Biochemistry

newsmonkey

This whole thing begs the question: if student spending averages £8k a year, why is the average student loan around a third/a half of that?

student100

Because, a student can generally manage to live on less than the average spending if necessary (I suppose the nature of averages means half of all students do... )

Also, average spending will probably be higher than necessary spending - since students who have generous parents will probably spend money they have but don't strictly need, the average spending will be increased.

"Statistics are like a lamppost to a drunken man; more for leaning on than for illumination".

sleepy

Spaceage - I'm doing Zoology. I started off doing Biochemistry but I hated it (they made chemistry boring!) so they let me swap.

I don't know why the student loan is so low. My friend has to pay for everything herself, her parents can't afford to contribute. She gets the full loan and doesn't have to pay fees. However the full loan is around £4,000 and her rent is around £3,000. Leaving her with just £1,000 to pay for all bills (which is around £600, leaving only £400), living costs, travel, leisure, food, clothes, everything.
I've no idea how she does it. She works through the holidays allowing her to save some more money for during the term.
When we lived in the university accomadation charge was so high, it was the whole of her loan, leaving only her savings to pay for everything else!

sleepy

Spaceage - I know what you mean, it drives me up the wall when people think all students do is go out and get drunk. I'm happy going out about 4 times a term, my friends and I don't need to get drunk to have fun. My workload wouldn't allow me to go out as often as people seem to expect students to. I simply have too much studying to do. (must be all the media studies and art students giving us a bad name!)

student100

sleepy wrote:

Spaceage - I know what you mean, it drives me up the wall when people think all students do is go out and get drunk. I'm happy going out about 4 times a term, my friends and I don't need to get drunk to have fun. My workload wouldn't allow me to go out as often as people seem to expect students to. I simply have too much studying to do. (must be all the media studies and art students giving us a bad name!)

I know what you mean. I seem to spend an awful lot of time doing coursework, I don't know how people manage to drink away every evening and spend the minimum amount of time working and in lectures.

In fact I do quite often attend student balls and other such drink-fuelled events...but usually I'm there completely sober to clear up after drunken people injure themselves (I'm a St. John Ambulance volunteer).
I never really worked out why I decided to do that

iwod

Sorry to be rude..... but find me place in London ( Central / Zone 2 or i give it to you! zone 3 ) That is as cheap as that!

I mean even people in here mention they spend well over 3000 for Acommdation in manchester and Oxford.

Am i am in London!. My rent is like 97.86 pounds per week.!!!
And i live in hall and is already by far the cheapest option!.

lellie

sleepy wrote:

Spaceage - I'm doing Zoology. I started off doing Biochemistry but I hated it (they made chemistry boring!) so they let me swap.

I don't know why the student loan is so low. My friend has to pay for everything herself, her parents can't afford to contribute. She gets the full loan and doesn't have to pay fees. However the full loan is around £4,000 and her rent is around £3,000. Leaving her with just £1,000 to pay for all bills (which is around £600, leaving only £400), living costs, travel, leisure, food, clothes, everything.
I've no idea how she does it. She works through the holidays allowing her to save some more money for during the term.
When we lived in the university accomadation charge was so high, it was the whole of her loan, leaving only her savings to pay for everything else!

I know that only too well.. my parents can't contribute much.. I get full loan but have to pay fees.. I am left with very little from my student loan and have to rely on part time job and full time in summer!

Phonix

The biggest problem imo is landlords raising rents and the level of rents being in their control. IN some areas they through their agreements they almost have a cartel on housing! lol

Basic living expences

imo average student rent is £220pcm (it used to be about £190)

so £220 x 12 = £2660
food is about £20 a week, so 52x£20 = £1040 (go get those vouchers! :-P)

bills, hmm probably about £1k split between four so, £250 for the year.

£3950 in total (excluding pleasures, although some would consider these essentials :-P)

As you can see the student loan barely covers basic living costs, and students are of course forced to live in digs rather than single flats which some students actually prefer.

If you factor in going out etc the bill for the year gets quite high and the credit card and overdraft comes out.

Of course the situation is much worse for those living in halls, where the rents are actually higher! and can sometimes gobble up almost the whole student loan :-E

crana999

Why can't we live in single flats? I don't get it...?

(The only thing I can think you mean is that since we can't generally have council/HA accommodation, single flats are out of our price range...?)