University Challenge x 2

enthusiasticsaver

Your daughters will probably share houses with friends in year 2 and yes many start looking quite early and you need to bear in mind that often rentals need to be paid from June/July time even though students often are not there in August/September as they are at home. Usually though it is cheaper than halls in year 1 depending on where they are studying. As Puzzcat says usually it is one months rent upfront and a letting fee but if they are sharing houses this can be divided amongst all of them. The only thing I would be wary of is that they need to be careful who they share with and if possible they each pay to the landlord separately as one of mine had problems with one of their housemates never stumping up for rent on time which meant the others had to cover it. Same goes for bills.

Plain_Jane

Thanks for the comments re Year 2 - Frightening news. Do they pay monthly in Year 2 then? That might be a help as it s easier to budget when you know what is coming out and in equal amounts. Or is it weekly or 4 weekly? DT1 has a viewing on Tuesday for one with 6 other people £135/week without bills :eek:

DT2 is home for reading week - it's lovely to have her home although the house isn't so tidy!

DT1 started her job at Nand0s last night and loves it - phew! DT2 starts at W8rose next Saturday so from 1st January when they have a buffer behind them they are going to buy their own food and hopefully pay their phone bill!!

Been really lazy today - catching up on all your diaries and getting some motivation. I did my housework last night so don't feel too guilty although I am sure DH will start getting huffy when he gets back from dog walking.;)

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend :j

I'm trying to think of ways to get my house looking smarter without it costing a fortune - the hall, stairs and landing are in a terrible state as are the doors that lead off them and the carpet.

Plain_Jane

Hi Enthusiastic

Just seen your reply - I never thought of others maybe not paying - I will make sure they pay landlords direct if at all possible. How could people do that?

Honeysucklelou2

Glad to be reading your diary to find out tips for Year 2 of student life.

enthusiasticsaver

You may find it easier to budget in year 2 as most rentals are paid monthly. One of my daughters lived with 7 other people in a 8 bed student house and they each paid separately so that worked fine. The other one lived in a 3 bed house and they opened up a joint account to pay the monthly rent which was split between them but on more than one occasion my daughter ended up subbing one of them who was late putting their rent in.

Kitten868

I lived with 3 girls 2nd year and the joint account didnt happen despite promises. One girl was from a rich family (high up doctor) and he never paid me on time and I got a default on my account. Why he couldn't do a standing order I will never know. Paying separate is definitely better. It was monthly rent and bills. We didn't get ours until May or June though. Started in August. I can't believe they plan it so early and it's so expensive!

PayItOff

You're wondermum I wish someone would have paid for as much as you are for your children! As someone who has been graduated a year and is still trying to pay off my university overdraft I can definitely agree that uni is an expensive venture! I too was in the boat where student loans didn't cover the rent let alone living costs. Parents are on a sizeabe DMP that sees them paying until 2080 so no funds came from them. In the total of 3 years I had 3x £25 worth of shopping at the start of term. I did bar work the summer before I started which thankfully paid for the deposit's and then had to very swiftly get a job! Even then it was but £12pw after rent. The best jobs are the campus based ones, so in uni bars, shops, tutoring etc. I was a Student Ambassador (that idiot that was made to give tours to guests!) If that's an option they are always more forgiving with last minute shift changes which is inevitable thanks to shoddy timetabling.

A word to the wise: BE VERY CAREFUL WHO YOU MOVE IN WITH IN 2ND YEAR!! Everyone is not as hunky dory as they seem when bills come in the door and that means sacrificing a night out.:cool: :cool: Also definitely get into a house where the bills are included and paid direct to agent or landlord. Often you need a guarantor too so decide if that's something you can or are willing to do. My agency allowed to pay either each semester, monthly or 1 lump at a discount.

I would say though that having seen and spoken to lots of students, the ones that learn the most are the ones that have to muddle through. Those who's parents took the loan and divided it up etc. We're without a doubt the ones who either crawled back for more or ate cold beans

Finally check that either uni doesn't have a hardship fund!! It is given to all unis depending o their intake and HAS to be used up or they get given less every year. They usually really want to give it away and is a tax relief they for them. I got a token amount in my 3rd year but could have accessed it all 3 if i'd have known!!

Mags35

Wow what lucky twins you have, I have a set of twins and an older daughter and I dread them going to uni due to the cost so I’m following you to try and nab some money saving and debt busting ideas!!

Plain_Jane

Well I can't believe it has been over a week since I last posted and what a week!

DD1 is happy as can be in Oxford, she's enjoying working at Nando's especially as she gets a free meal each shift which helps with the food budget. She's going to be taking on her phone contract and was looking at reducing the monthly payments which she can do - although it says on 3's website that it is a 24 month contract - does that mean 24 months from now so is she starting again or does it mean for the rest of her contract? Couldn't find anything in the small print so may have to ring them.

She has found a year two house with 6 friends and the deposit is being paid today - £350 - that had to go on my credit card though as I only had £200 in my emergency fund and don't what that to be gone just yet.

The bigger news is that DD2 is leaving her uni and coming home. She came home for reading week last week and was down the whole week. We took her back on Saturday and she couldn't stop crying. She loves Bath, she loves her course but can't cope with living in halls. So we wanted to be the tough parents and demand that she tough it out but you could tell she's on the verge of depression and not coping. So, it's all I her hands now - we have insisted that she organises everything I.e. Transfer to Uni close to home so she can drive, sort out her accommodation and speak to student finance and maybe UCAS if necessary. Bath uni have been really good to her and given her advice. It may be that she can't start again until September so we are just waiting to hear.

So ...... although this is the last thing we needed it could be positive in that she will not have any accommodation fees and we will only have to help out with DD1. Stressful times though, I'm dreading us having to go and move all of her stuff back home. Also she has just started at W8rose so she's asking about transfers to a local branch or finding somewhere else to work.

I had a flare up of my IBS at the weekend so have taken an annual leave day as I feel so washed out and have a lot on my mind.

Christmas is just around the corner and I've started to get a few presents together - any thoughts on DD1's boyfriend? Aged 19, thoughtful but not expensive??

Cheers everyone and have a good week xx

Mudbath

Difficult times for you but how brilliant that she has a good relationship with you and has been able to talk it all through. Hope you managed to chill a bit today on your day off (chill? what is that?!?). Hope your daughter gets sorted quickly.