Student living costs

bungalow_bill

Ok, so I know this is about as wide open a question as it gets, but how much should a student be able to live on. First year, in halls, so don't want to include rent...

Would love to hear the advice please?

Dunroamin

Catered or self catering halls?

bungalow_bill

Self catering

Lokolo

Food should be £30 a week max.
Entertainment unspecified. £10 a week is enough for some, £50 isn't enough for others.
Travel, no idea as we have no idea how far they are from uni, or home (assuming they are coming back for xmas and easter!)

GwylimT

After my son pays for his halls each term (pays a term each time he receives a loan installment) he has around £100 left, this varies as the terms are slightly different lengths and the loan amounts are slightly different.

I give him £150 a month to live on, so food, socialising, clothes anything for uni. Due to his course being heavily placement based he has to travel a lot so each month I buy him a travel card so he can use the local buses, this is £90.

As his course is placement based he is unable to work, he has lectures on a Monday 10-6 then Tuesday - Friday he is doing twelve hour shifts on his placement, Sats and Suns are then used for assignments and actually getting some kip. He doesn't get the usual university holidays either so he doesn't have a long summer to get some money in his pocket.

bungalow_bill

Thanks! Hugely helpful so far. Yes, placement based (teaching) so those travel costs are unclear at the moment. I'm trying to pin down an approximation for 'normal' student life so that its a baseline.

Already had to pay £50 for a health asessment, and large reading list has arrived for 'recommended books'. Are all assignments etc done online now or will there be copious printing costs too?

I know each student is totally different, but a guideline is useful

GwylimT

bungalow_bill wrote: »

Thanks! Hugely helpful so far. Yes, placement based (teaching) so those travel costs are unclear at the moment. I'm trying to pin down an approximation for 'normal' student life so that its a baseline.

Already had to pay £50 for a health asessment, and large reading list has arrived for 'recommended books'. Are all assignments etc done online now or will there be copious printing costs too?

I know each student is totally different, but a guideline is useful

Ah, at least its only a year then, surely he can stick to a similar budget to the one he used during his undergrad?

How assignments hand in would most likely depend on the individual uni or even the module leaders, I know my sons are a mix as he sometimes finishes them at home and hands them in online.

bungalow_bill

no....its first year of teaching degree, so thats why I don't really have an idea of costs.

AnnBar

When my son was going last year we sat down and worked out a budget including things such as transport, food, phone, haircuts, gym costs, books, laundry (this can be fairly expensive), toilettries, contact lens etc. You can only estimate the costs of some of these but it should give you a starting point. He included a separate amount for freshers - including joining clubs etc and purchasing things that he didn't buy until he got there.
Approx £25 a week on food is about right (although some people will tell you they manage on £10)!!

brendon

I actually kept track of all my finances throughout the year to see what I was spending (reconstructed from bank statements).

My breakdown for first year (from 1 October until 30 June) was as follows. I've put my second year (roughtly the same period) in brackets. I'll leave out my third year as I lived at home:

Phone: £125.18 (£250.30) Per week: £3.38 (£6.21)
Transport: £207.50 (£269.30) Per week: £5.60 (£5.15)
Online purchases: £109.58 (£588.77) Per week: £2.96 (£14.61)
General shopping (groceries): £963.08 (£989.61) Per week: £26.03 (£24.56)
Clothes: £426.55 (£118.00) Per week: £11.53 (£2.93)
Other (eating out, etc): £418.05 (£357.80) Per week: £11.30 (£8.88)
Cash: £1,425.40 (£1,536.87) Per week: £38.50 (£38.14)
Rent: £3,626.00 (£6,225.19) Per week: £98 (£154.53)

So, all in all, the cost was about £99 /wk for first year and £102 /wk for second year (before rent). Of course, how much you spend will depend on, well, what you spend your money on, but that's my experience above.

sdkitteh

I have just finished my first year at Leeds Met.

Food: £50 per week. £60/70 if I buy booze (keep in mind I don't shop like a student- it is still Heinz over smartprice and cooking fresh for me- most of my friends spend about £20/30 a week excl booze)
Nights out: £50 a week. It is veeery rare I spend this much- that includes entry, drinks, odd kebab. This is the most I spend and that will be between 2/3 nights out without pre drinking. Pre drinking/going out on student nights I will spend about £20 a week. I also keep a £10 hidden on me in case I need it in an emergency (phones nicked and I need to call someone for instance)
Laundry: About £6/7. It was £1 for a wash and £1.50 for 20 minutes drying time (bloody rip off- but necessary in the winter unfortunately as otherwise your clothes will never dry!) I do at least three washes- but if your brave and want to bung it all in with a colour catcher you will save yourself a few quid.
Transport: Shuttle to uni is free but otherwise will depend- sometimes i'll spend nothing and other weeks i'll spend £10/20 as I go into town a couple of times. Twice last year I had my car with me as my parents were away and it cost me about £50 each week to have it there- by gum was it useful!
Phone: My contract is £45 a month.
Other money: I set aside £20/30 a week for whatever I need to buy
Clothing: Lets not go there :P