How and how much financial support to give our children through university and beyond

LL_USS

Spendless said:

Congratulation on your child getting into his 1st choice Uni. Some thoughts from your list, £70 per week on food assuming you mean cooking for himself and not ordering on ubereats etc (got the T shirt on that one!) is possibly a little high for 1 person. What can cost a lot is the first shop setting up the basics. Is bank of parents/family able to help here so that the salt, pepper, ketchup  etc is bought for him? Have you worked out where the nearest reasonably priced  supermarket is?. Mine last year went to Waitrose for one of her shops early into term  as she'd heard from another student she knew that it was reasonably priced (for context the other girl attended the same private school a very famous author's child did!). DD only ever went that once - lol 

Same with toiletries buy him his first set (if possible) and then make him a hamper  of replacement stuff as one of his Christmas gifts. 

Yes rent can be astronomical! Is this halls? Bear in mind for further years in private accommodation you pay for 50/52 weeks of the year so can potentially cost even more

Thank you so much @Spendless

I am a little panic planning with him already, for the costs and what to buy, so what you say helps actually. 

My son goes to Bristol and it's very far from our city - so he won't be able to get lots from home to bring with him. Nearest supermarket is Lidl, which is a relief. THe thing is at home we do the main shopping in Aldi and it still works out shy of £100/head/ week for grocery shopping. I suppose I split this as £70 for him to buy things to cook, and if he keeps within that budget then he has £30 leftover for going out a week.

He always buy his own toiletries - so I think he will keep doing it himself. But I can see your point about not having to buy toiletries in regular basis. I will adjust it with him.

Rent is for halls in the first year so he can get to know some people first before renting private. He will need to rent further out and cycle in/ taking the bus in to keep rent at the same level when, yes, the contracts later on will tend to be 50-52 weeks.

LL_USS

strawb_shortcake said:

Food and toiletries I think you can get much lower without resorting to going hungry or living off beige food. 
I gave my Son £30 a week towards food last year, I'll increase by £5 a week this coming year. Though some of your sons food budget may supplement his going out budget...

Thank you @strawb_shortcake. My son eats a lot and full pallet not just beige food, as he is growing and exercising a lot too. Where he goes, Bristol, is more expensive than our town. We don't eat extravagantly at home here and only shop mainly at Aldi but somehow we still spend more than that per each of us whilst home cooking rarely eating out (my son cooks a couple of times a week for the whole household here too). I don't know - I will see how it goes. As I don't just give him all the shortfall and he will need to work towards it, I guess he will try to cut where it's not necessary.

LL_USS

prowla said:

The loans system is ridiculous and it's not enough to cover accommodation and living costs. My youngest is at Uni and I give him £500/month.

Thanks @prowla. I imagine it can cost that in some places. We decided against London when we got to know that it would cost almost £1200/ month to SHARE a room with another student in the halls for a university he likes there. 

I don't mind topping up whatever my kids need for university as long as they don't take it for granted thinking mum pays it all. Plus it's good for them to try to have some suitable extra work to build their profiles and characters, yet only just enough and not impacting on their study. I work at a university myself and I see many of my students suffer from overwork to earn money - I suppose it's not easy to help the kids to keep a good balance.

strawb_shortcake

LL_USS said:

strawb_shortcake said:

Food and toiletries I think you can get much lower without resorting to going hungry or living off beige food. 
I gave my Son £30 a week towards food last year, I'll increase by £5 a week this coming year. Though some of your sons food budget may supplement his going out budget...

Thank you @strawb_shortcake. My son eats a lot and full pallet not just beige food, as he is growing and exercising a lot too. Where he goes, Bristol, is more expensive than our town. We don't eat extravagantly at home here and only shop mainly at Aldi but somehow we still spend more than that per each of us whilst home cooking rarely eating out (my son cooks a couple of times a week for the whole household here too). I don't know - I will see how it goes. As I don't just give him all the shortfall and he will need to work towards it, I guess he will try to cut where it's not necessary.

I know Bristol well and it is expensive. I guess if he's based in the centre then a proper supermarket is going to be a bus trip away. There is at least one Chinese supermarket that will be in walking distance, there is also a fruit and veg stall in Broadmead that may be cheaper than the supermarkets. 
Pub prices in Bristol can also be really expensive, easily on par with London. But it's a great city, and lots to see and do for free too.

My Son only works when he is home, but he's hoping to get senior resident this year which will halve his rent. I know Bristol University offer this opportunity for third year students too, so maybe something to consider in time 

ETA - there is an aldi or Lidl in Broadmead too, never been in there but imagine it's popular with students

LL_USS

@strawb_shortcake thank you soooooooooooo much. Your message has gone straight to my son, who's thankful too. I am a bit apprehensive about it all - but I am sure he will manage it.
PS: I hope he won't go to pubs :-). He just added a item of cost of going to a gym, that's cheaper I suppose

LL_USS

We plan but things don't turn out to be the same :-). I thought the kid would spend £70 a week for food alone, but he is managing fine with £75/ week for basic things (sometimes going over this amount because of going out with friends but £75/week does cover basic spendings: food to cook, a couple of take-aways, haircut every 4 weeks, bus fare). Gym and one-off expenditures (like railway card) paid separately.

LightFlare

These are the issues that need to be considered when deciding to go to Uni or not - it should be looked upon as a serious financial investment/outlay and NOT a lifestyle choice

Does the cost outweigh that potential doors that may be opened accordingly

Most Uni cities will have a huge demand for part time/seasonal work - not unreasonable to expect them to go and work for a few hours a week to offset their expenditure (granted not possible with all degrees)

There are many options open that dont involve Uni or alternative pathways that dont involve massive costs

LL_USS

LightFlare said:

These are the issues that need to be considered when deciding to go to Uni or not - it should be looked upon as a serious financial investment/outlay and NOT a lifestyle choice

Does the cost outweigh that potential doors that may be opened accordingly

Most Uni cities will have a huge demand for part time/seasonal work - not unreasonable to expect them to go and work for a few hours a week to offset their expenditure (granted not possible with all degrees)

There are many options open that dont involve Uni or alternative pathways that dont involve massive costs

@LightFlare you are right that people should not just go to university for the sake of it. It is difficult to measure the financial gains from a university degree to see if they are worth the costs though, as they are for a very long-run and many in non-money term.

I've heard people complaining even on TV that they have a huge student loan and no job - the thing is if they have no job or low-paid job, the sum on the student loan means nothing anyway, as they don't or virtually do not have to pay it.

For some certain types of job, it is almost a safer bet to have education beyond high-school and A levels.

At the end of the day, however, our economy does seem to need more people who can work and not just a degree.

My kid works alongside his study, tutoring, working labour jobs from time to time (for allotments, warehousing for a foodbank, gardening), and worked as a receptionist in a shop during the summer. My worry is for him not to work too much, not the other way round. I am happy about his choice at the moment. I do not have to contribute much, thanks to the student loan he takes out and for his part-time work.

Let's see how things turn out :-)

LL_USS

amanda1024,
Flugelhorn,
strawb_shortcake,
Spendless,
annabanana82,
@400ixl , @jforrest , @prowla, @LightFlare

I am looking again at this thread now from last year, and can see how much things are different in reality compared when I tried to make plan for my kid's first year at university.

He did take out student loan for tuition, and ask for as much maintenance as they can give based on our household incomes. 

He has ended up spending almost £7500 in rent (university hall, all bills included).

He earns quite decent money from tutoring - the normal rate in Bristol is a lot better than where we are from. He's putting what he earns aside to build his own saving.

I still give and will continue giving him £330/month to cover normal spendings (gym, food, bus tickets....)

His current uni accommodation ends by end of June and he has signed a contract to rent in the private market from 1 July (a couple of summer months he doesn't really stay in Bristol but they only have 12months contracts to choose from).

Maintenance loan can arrive after the rent's date so I have set up a 0% interest purchase card and I paid his last rent intallment for the current year on, and he will keep the loan in highest saving account he can find, and use that to pay the card balance when it's due ;-). I hope the kid picks up a couple of finance planning tips on the way. He's also applied for the same loan this year.

How has your kid managed this year if they are still at university?

How have you taught your kid(s) about managing their loans vs. spending etc.?

strawb_shortcake

LL_USS said:

amanda1024,
Flugelhorn,
strawb_shortcake,
Spendless,
annabanana82,
@400ixl , @jforrest , @prowla, @LightFlare

I am looking again at this thread now from last year, and can see how much things are different in reality compared when I tried to make plan for my kid's first year at university.

He did take out student loan for tuition, and ask for as much maintenance as they can give based on our household incomes. 

He has ended up spending almost £7500 in rent (university hall, all bills included).

He earns quite decent money from tutoring - the normal rate in Bristol is a lot better than where we are from. He's putting what he earns aside to build his own saving.

I still give and will continue giving him £330/month to cover normal spendings (gym, food, bus tickets....)

His current uni accommodation ends by end of June and he has signed a contract to rent in the private market from 1 July (a couple of summer months he doesn't really stay in Bristol but they only have 12months contracts to choose from).

Maintenance loan can arrive after the rent's date so I have set up a 0% interest purchase card and I paid his last rent intallment for the current year on, and he will keep the loan in highest saving account he can find, and use that to pay the card balance when it's due ;-). I hope the kid picks up a couple of finance planning tips on the way. He's also applied for the same loan this year.

How has your kid managed this year if they are still at university?

How have you taught your kid(s) about managing their loans vs. spending etc.?

My eldest us due to finish their final year in a few weeks time. I have paid for food and more recently the gym too, this averages around £170 a month. I think they have asked for money 4 times in the last 3 years and that's probably amounted to £60 total.
They have not gone overdrawn, and base their spending on if they haven't got the money they go without. 
Whilst I'm happy they've learnt to budget and gained some valuable life skills, the real test will be when they are earning and have far more disposable income.

We are taking them and their partner on holiday this year, so will be curious as to how well they budget for their spending money...