Advice required re.student daughter's allowance

lazer

When I am employing people, I would rather someone with a 2:1 and that worked during uni than someone with a first that didn't.
No amount of qualifications and education can replace a work ethic.


Reaching 21 and never having worked a day in their life does not bode well for the future IMO.


AS for giving her pocket money - there is no need to, she has the trust fund, and its now up to her to choose how to use it.


Your financial situation has changed dramatically with your husband taking early retirement, so your probably have a lot less money to spare, and cannot afford to pay your daughters luxuries at Uni (as the student loan and the trust fund will pay for essentials.)
If you can afford it, continue to save for daughter a bit so you can help contribute to house deposit or wedding or whatever in later years. But do not save for this if it means you going without small luxuries which you deserve in your retirement

Mojisola

Dolce75 wrote: »

My husband has since been medically retired from work and is receiving only a pension, which currently stands at only half his previous earnings.

So even if her Mum and Dad were still living together, the family's finances would have changed and she couldn't have expected financial help to same level as when he was working.

onlyroz

Dolce75 wrote: »

Oh my! Under no circumstances could we or would we use this money for ourselves! How was that even implied? This policy is and always was in her name. I mention retirement because I am highlighting the fact that our situation has drastically changed in our ability to top up the thousands that are already hers. I also mention my husband's retirement in order to highlight what a good and positive thing it was to take these policies out in the first place, back at a time when it was affordable. Times have since changed.

The fact is that whatever your husband had in mind for the money, legally it is hers. It is not "reserved" for anything. You can hope that she spends it wisely but it is absolutely her right to fritter it away on rubbish if she so wishes. However, if she has done this then it's a valuable lesson.

Whether she should get an allowance is a separate issue really, and the question is does she actually need one? If she won't tell you about her expected outgoings then perhaps that should be taken as evidence that she doesn't need any extra financial help.

Mojisola

onlyroz wrote: »

The fact is that whatever your husband had in mind for the money, legally it is hers. It is not "reserved" for anything. You can hope that she spends it wisely but it is absolutely her right to fritter it away on rubbish if she so wishes. However, if she has done this then it's a valuable lesson.

She has the right to spend it and then has the right to struggle financially while at uni.

She doesn't have the right to expect Dad to pay her an allowance because she spent her lump sum!

Homeownertobe

But if you were paying into this fund up until last year then surely you know how much is in it?

Homeownertobe

Mojisola wrote: »

She has the right to spend it and then has the right to struggle financially while at uni.

She doesn't have the right to expect Dad to pay her an allowance because she spent her lump sum!

It's worth noting that 17 years ago top up fees didn't exist, nor did student loans so daddy wanted the money to be for a house deposit and not for university. But now it's convenient it seems it's for university. Funny that.

quidsy

Id tell her that until you had an idea of what money is held in trust that you can't make a judgment on any contributions you might want to make. You need all financials disclosed otherwise you will assume the trust is sufficient.

Mojisola

Homeownertobe wrote: »

It's worth noting that 17 years ago top up fees didn't exist, nor did student loans so daddy wanted the money to be for a house deposit and not for university. But now it's convenient it seems it's for university. Funny that.

It's not 'funny'.

Life changes and plans have to be adjusted accordingly.

If her Mum and Dad were still together and Dad's income had been reduced by half by ill-health, then she wouldn't have been getting the financial support that she might otherwise have received.

When my son went to uni, we went through the financial aspects with him - what he had in savings, what his grants and loans added up to, what his costs were going to be - and worked out what we could afford to give to support him. If he had refused to be open about what resources he had, we wouldn't have been willing to hand over money either.

whitewing

Her expenses won't be zero just because she lives at home. In fact, socialising may well require more expense (to get there), and she will also have to have a mobile phone and presumably a laptop and internet access.

Science degrees are full on, and students may be encouraged not to work in term time because of that (mind you I went years ago).

peachyprice

whitewing wrote: »

Her expenses won't be zero just because she lives at home. In fact, socialising may well require more expense (to get there), and she will also have to have a mobile phone and presumably a laptop and internet access.

Just as well she's got one lump sum and another one coming in 2.5 years time to pay for her socialising, mobile and laptop then.