Boyfriend who I live with becoming a student again

Jim_Jupiter

citymodel wrote: »

He can't get a student loan

Why can't he get a student loan? Does he already have a degree?

geerex

Buzzybee90 wrote: »

Of course you won't get benefits on near 30k, that's a very good salary. I know it's obviously not comparable with outside London, I expect it would be much lower outside. How much is your rent?

30k is NOT a "very good salary", are you serious?!

Buzzybee90

geerex wrote: »

30k is NOT a "very good salary", are you serious?!

Of course it is, she only left uni last year!

tomtontom

citymodel wrote: »

There is in Northern Ireland and Scotland where I have lived until now and the water is cold and crystal clear and much nicer

You pay for your water via your rates in NI and Scotland.

If you find that your water is not cold perhaps you could try using the other tap?

penguingirl

Has your boyfriend seriously thought about whether he can afford to go back to university?

I'm a student and we only get council tax discount. If you shop at co-op it's worth him getting a NUS extra card for £12 a year as it gives 10% off (so it's worth it if you spend more than £10 a month in co-op). Also he can get a 16-25 railcard.

Is he going to get a job? That seems your best bet, as even if he only earnt £500 a month I guess that would make a big difference. Will he get holidays to work in? Also he might be eligible for a career development loan (dependent on the course and eligibility). What kind of course is he doing? If it's a postgrad such as a PhD he could probably pick up work doing some teaching or marking for the university. Or odd bits of research assistant work.

Unfortunately London is a hard place to have 2 adults on 30k. Up north it wouldn't be so hard (in fact in would be pretty managable). Is moving somewhere more affordable an option? Even a smaller flat etc.

citymodel

Thank you for being understanding penguin girl! It's actually a good bit less than 30k and I am paying off my own debts (£200pcm in student loan and overdraft repayments) plus I give my mum a little as she is really stuggling. All that with bills and London rent so it doesn't go far. I would love to live back in Glasgow but unfortunately the work we both do requires us to be in London. We both cycle already and I am paying off the bike I just got on the cycle to work scheme which is £60 PCM so like half the price of an oyster so I don't think we can make more savings there.

I will look into the career development loan. Thank you for being understanding. I know we seem privliidged but we both have worked very hard to be here including

His course won't allow him to have a part time job. Neither did my post grad ( neither are PhDs) but are professional vocational courses. I did have one and I was told if I didn't quit I was going to fail. I did cut back my hours for the last few months but living was tough and that was in Glasgow with a student loan. I passed though!

Unfortunately it's just a necessary career progression for him and I want to support him if there are any ways to make that easier.

Thanks for your input !!

cliffsgirl

geerex wrote: »

30k is NOT a "very good salary", are you serious?!

Plenty of people would love to be earning only 30k a year!

Brighton_belle

cliffsgirl wrote: »

Plenty of people would love to be earning only 30k a year!

But your location is N Ireland, not London. The rents are astronomical.

Buzzybee90

citymodel wrote: »

Thank you for being understanding penguin girl! It's actually a good bit less than 30k and I am paying off my own debts (£200pcm in student loan and overdraft repayments) plus I give my mum a little as she is really stuggling. All that with bills and London rent so it doesn't go far. I would love to live back in Glasgow but unfortunately the work we both do requires us to be in London. We both cycle already and I am paying off the bike I just got on the cycle to work scheme which is £60 PCM so like half the price of an oyster so I don't think we can make more savings there.

I will look into the career development loan. Thank you for being understanding. I know we seem privliidged but we both have worked very hard to be here including

His course won't allow him to have a part time job. Neither did my post grad ( neither are PhDs) but are professional vocational courses. I did have one and I was told if I didn't quit I was going to fail. I did cut back my hours for the last few months but living was tough and that was in Glasgow with a student loan. I passed though!

Unfortunately it's just a necessary career progression for him and I want to support him if there are any ways to make that easier.

Thanks for your input !!

If you tell us your take home pay and your rent, and set monthly payments, we will be able to see how much you've got to play with

BigAunty

Download the MSE budget planner, populate it with your current expenses and then work through the site to identify where to slash your outgoings - cheapest tariffs for everything, cheapest groceries, recipes and so forth.

There is a website where a family of 4 can feed themselves for £100 in total each month and there are numerous frugal recipe sites, including those published by some supermarkets.

You say that your partner is too proud to claim benefits (but what is council tax discount!), well virtually all full time HE students, unless they are have dependents or disabilities, are not to entitled to benefits (except council tax).

However, housing benefit is based on joint income (regardless of source) so you could identify the Local Housing Allowance rate for your area/type of property and then check if you have any housing benefit entitlement. The Turn2us online benefit checker is a good calculator but doesn't work with student income (if he is receiving any).