Student finance come in - how to deal with it

abby1234519

Sounds silly, OH just got his first installment of Student Finance £2606 in to my account.

This covers October - November - December. When filling out YNAB I had just been thinking of it in a salary sense, ie £868 monthly salary. Which in theory works fine

But now its in my account I am really flipping worried. Large amounts of money are a major trigger for me, whilst its probably small fry to some people its not to me so I need to get rid of it!

I'm trying to work out how to do this, do I pay off the Vanquis card but then have to use this card for petrol and food over the next 3 months. This would save me £150 in interest so obviously in that sense it seems sensible. I had thought I could build up a credit balance on all of my utilities but will the direct debits still come out. I think Virgin don't keep the direct debit so I could do that one.

I just need to put it where it needs to go so I can't lose control

Am I being silly?

lovehackney

Why don't you open another current account, then have one which you use for daily spending and another one to leave the bulk of the money in? You could set up a direct debit to pay a monthly 'salary' of £868 to your daily spending account, and for the other one don't carry the debit card so you won't be tempted to use it.

Sharon87

Don't forget it has to cover some of January too, as you won't get your new installment on the 1st January. When I was at uni it came about the 10th January.

Agree with the other poster, open another account or even a savings account and put the money for the other months in there.

[Deleted User]

Hey,


Another thing to remember is that if he is a continuing student returning in the next academic year then the 3rd payment he gets needs to last him all the way through to round about the same time next year.


Dxxx

abby1234519

Its all in my online saver, I set it to go in there rather than my main account.

I still don't trust myself even if it goes into a savers account. I am really worried! I don't need to worry about it covering the start of January really as I get paid at the end of December and can cover the bills and rent. I just thought maybe if I spent it but on the things I need to in advance then it might make things easier.

Mainly because I have a vanquis card with an extortionate interest rate

abby1234519

Deleted_User wrote: »

Hey,


Another thing to remember is that if he is a continuing student returning in the next academic year then the 3rd payment he gets needs to last him all the way through to round about the same time next year.


Dxxx

I forgot about that!

He was going to get a job in the holidays but he's going to stay home and look after our son. It ends up working out cheaper for him to stay at home and we should get a small amount of housing benefit in the weeks during the holidays

Sharon87

Biggest part about being a student is learning how to control finances. So you have to learn self control. When I was at uni in my first semester I maxed out my student overdraft! The next 2 semesters I budgeted more carefully, so went through what bills needed paying and how much I had to spend a week on food/booze.

In the end I got a part time job as I spent too much of one student loan payment and had to borrow money from my mum! Also I got a part time job in between uni year 1 and 2 as my student loan wasn't enough for me to see me through the summer.

Good luck!

ViolaLass

Using it to pay off the Vanquis card and save interest seems a very sensible option.

[Deleted User]

I have advised my DD who has returned to uni after a 7 year gap,to divide her total income from loan/grant/bursary to divide it by 52

nkkingston

Have you considered putting it in a savings account where it's difficult to access? One that requires a request in writing, for example. They usually have better interest rates, and having to take a few extra steps to get the money out outside of your planned budget might give you the extra time to reassert your self control.

abby1234519

Sharon87 wrote: »

Biggest part about being a student is learning how to control finances. So you have to learn self control. When I was at uni in my first semester I maxed out my student overdraft! The next 2 semesters I budgeted more carefully, so went through what bills needed paying and how much I had to spend a week on food/booze.

In the end I got a part time job as I spent too much of one student loan payment and had to borrow money from my mum! Also I got a part time job in between uni year 1 and 2 as my student loan wasn't enough for me to see me through the summer.

Good luck!

I'm not a student, I did all that many years ago. My husband has gone as a mature student to study Education - previously he worked at a supermarket so had a monthly salary.

My point is that I struggle with large amounts of money, I can't handle it and within a week it disappears.