Student With A Plan

CloudRuler

neas wrote: »

allowance of £110 per month lol :P.. Thats good for a student... but really money is money... although you are trumpeting how good you are at saving... the £1320 a year will help dint your income.

However... you are a lucky one, and i will praise you (this time :P) for saving because most people with 'allowances'... expect daddy to pay for everything, you are doing the sensible thing... getting an education for cheap.

Just remember although money is important it is important while young to enjoy yourself a bit, let your hair down so to speak... at 25 i'm starting to settle down.. and I was careful with money too (didnt get any sponsorhips/allowances but came out of uni with 7k in an isa and 12k student loans... so -5k for 4 years MEng.. not too bad) but i ensured I socialised in my accomodation and dorms....

Uni... ahhh the best years of my life.. period ... so much freedom, drinking and just enjoyng life, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Most of the time I keep it to around £50, depends if I go shopping or not. Petrol costs me about £35 every 4-5 weeks, I don't have to pay for food and toiletries. Clothes...it depends, I generally always pay for course necessities, my laptop is the exception. My parents are quite generous. I presume it's mainly because what I have planned for after my degree will get me into a lot of debt so they're trying to soften the blow.

As for the social side of things, I'm one for my own company. I joined a few things in the first year but this year I just stick to the law society. I stretch to a pub lunch with friends every now and then and obviously the cinema seeing as there's a thread for free tickets on this site but I'm not a drinker so unlike most I don't have to concern myself with spending a substantial amount on alcohol. Very cheap with the mobile too, using free sim cards from Virgin at the moment, £35 worth and most of the time when I text I'm online. Having just discovered I can do so for free online that cuts that right down.

Looking for a summer job at the moment, almost managed to get a part-time job at Comet a while back but they wanted me to take either 1 or 2 weeks off uni (can't remember which) to do the induction.

MrSafeGaz

Chollita wrote: »

Good to see someone with the savings ethic, but this is NOT the purpose for which the loan system was intended.

Yeah good one because nowhere on this website are there any tips/methods/loopholes around systems to gain yourself a bit of profit. Come off it.

To the OP, well done on taking advantage of your situation to sort yourself out for the future! I wish I had saved all my student loans! Ignore the morons that have nothing better to do than try and put you down in some way for no reason whatsoever.

Lavendyr

In fact, to anyone who criticises the OP for taking the loan and putting in a savings account, I would suggest they read Martin's article on student loans where he specifically advises students do just what the OP has done:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/health/student-loans#maximum

"...you should always borrow the maximum student loan every year, even if you don't need it. There are two reasons for this. · You may need to borrow more later. While you mightn't need all the loan this year, you may need it in a later year. Don't take it while it's available and you lose your chance, meaning you'll need a worse type of borrowing later.


· You can make money from it. This is very cheap debt; in fact it's so cheap, if you were to borrow it and save it in a Top Rate Savings Account, as these pay more interest than the loan costs, you'd make a profit.

Yet the profit isn't huge, but more importantly it means that as the loan is making you money, there's no problem holding on to it, so you're effectively keeping the facility open for cheap borrowing after graduation if you need it (for more see ‘Should I Pay Off My Student Loan?' article).

This doesn't mean spend it

Let me clear up any confusion here. What I'm not saying is – always take out the entire loan and spend it. Never spend more than you need. What I am saying is take out the loan and then put the money you haven't planned to spend aside (in a Savings Account) and that way you won't spend it, but will have a cheap borrowing facility on tap if needed."

Again, well done to the OP.

BobProperty

jordan_2k1 wrote: »

.....he recommended Rich Dad Poor Dad- probably the best book ive ever read....

I understand many people dont agree with the book, but for a 17 year old with no financial experience or knowledge.. that was the best start i could have had.....

:wall:
Please do tell me what you are studying at university, because I'm guessing it isn't literature, journalism or similar.
Ah yes, Bob Kiyosucky. A man so successful from what he was taught as a 9 year old, he didn't make it big until his late 50s was it? Please answer the usual question, "What is the point of 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad'?"
http://johntreed.com/Kiyosaki.html

jordan_2k1

haha loved the last post.. i realise the book is very dumbed-down!:D

The best book ive ever read would be quite an insult to literature - sorry guys! haha much appologies.

let me rephrase...
Rich Dad Poor Dad has been the most life changing and inspiring book ive read. There are surely more inspiring sources out there... but as a naive 17year old with no real life experience or money problems, it was a great eye opener to what the future could hold.

Im studying computer networks. Like most jobs, its a source of income, not a reflection of who I am .

Also, thank you for all the posts, even the negative ones, since they probably drove the positive readers to step up and speak

I'll keep you all posted on my progress if thats cool =D

again.. thanks guys.
Jordan (Male! haha)

Chollita

MrSafeGaz wrote: »

Yeah good one because nowhere on this website are there any tips/methods/loopholes around systems to gain yourself a bit of profit. Come off it.

To the OP, well done on taking advantage of your situation to sort yourself out for the future! I wish I had saved all my student loans! Ignore the morons that have nothing better to do than try and put you down in some way for no reason whatsoever.

Moron? Charming. The student loan is intended to go towards living costs. I do commend OP for thinking about saving,instead of pi$$ing money away at the student bar, I just think this isn't what the loan should be used for. If you don't need it, don't use it. Then maybe there would be more available for those who really need it.

Can't say I agree with Martin on this one.

melancholly

Chollita wrote: »

If you don't need it, don't use it. Then maybe there would be more available for those who really need it.

well there is money there for all students at university now so i don't think that's entirely accurate or fair. the loans should allow most students to survive with part time work/full time in holidays - admittedly without saving.

unless somehow people propose enforcing a strict budget for all students so they all spend identical amounts of money whilst at uni, i can't understand why it's fair to attack someone for taking a loan out and saving money (and some of the attacks on this thread are quite harsh!). some people will spend loan money on beer and clothes, others on mortgages, childcare and other unavoidable costs. policing a system and investigating all students so that only those suitably 'deserving' get the money would cost a huge amount of money in itself, quite apart from the practical issues.

picking up the extra costs should be access to learning funds which give one off payments to students who cannot cover their living costs. sadly these are often not claimed as students don't know about them - if that money was going in a savings account that really would be taking money away from those in need, stoozing off the basic student loan is just smart (and it will be paid back with interest so it's hardly free money!).

Riq

You miss out on so much of being a student by living at home.
Can't beat living in halls or living with your mates in a house. Great times.
Was disappointed when I graduated!!!

MrSafeGaz

Chollita wrote: »

Moron? Charming. The student loan is intended to go towards living costs. I do commend OP for thinking about saving,instead of pi$$ing money away at the student bar, I just think this isn't what the loan should be used for. If you don't need it, don't use it. Then maybe there would be more available for those who really need it.

Can't say I agree with Martin on this one.

Apologies, that comment wasen't directed at you.

I feel it is a tad hypocritical for you to be posting on a website which centres itself around taking advantage of situations just like this one.

neas

Riq wrote: »

You miss out on so much of being a student by living at home.
Can't beat living in halls or living with your mates in a house. Great times.
Was disappointed when I graduated!!!

Is one of the only really disadvantages of living at home.. that and a bit more independance i guess.

It costs more money but most people had a real good time at uni, always fond to look back on it 4 years of fun (and the usual exams and deadline stress too lol)