Daughter to Uni - living expenses, what's the going rate?

[Fab Foodie]

Daughter #1 is off to Uni soon.  Graphic Design.

She has the full Gov.t loan for Fees and a means tested grant which'll just cover accommodation.
So the question is, how much do people pay or expect their student offspring to be able to live on?
Food and Drink, Travel, Drugs, odds and sods, everyday Uni stuff really.  I have a figure in mind, but am interested if I'm in the right ball park.

So what do you do?
Any advice guidlines?

Cheers FF.

[Clare]

Can't answer this one as I've never funded a kid through uni but Graphic Design might have an expensive kit list unless it's all done on computers now.

Of course it all depends where she is going, things are grimmer cheaper up north.

[Notsototalnewbie]

My answer is from nine years ago so you'll have to factor in inflation.

I went to uni in SW London, did English so only costs were books and a basic PC to write essays on. I had the full loan available to me (around £4500 per year) and I also had a Saturday job that paid pretty well at £7.50 an hour; I didn't pay fees because it was means tested and it was decided my parents were too poor. I worked seven hours each Saturday and topped that up with extra shifts during the hols. My earnings weren't taxed because they were underneath the threshold so I took nearly all of that home bar NI. I never needed money off my parents and even managed to save some. At no point did I feel particularly hard done by. Halls needed to be paid upfront in a lump sum and my loan didn't come through in time so my mum did pay for me and I paid her back once the loan arrived. (The woman taking the cheque for halls said 'Haven't you got a nice mum!' thinking it wasn't just a loan and my mum said 'No she hasn't  )

NB: I've always been boringly sensible and good with finances. I'm not one for drugs and a fantastic lightweight when it comes to alcohol, so even going to the student bar every single evening some weeks didn't cost me all that much. I'm a veggie and knew how to survive on various things made of lentils. I used to get almost every book I needed from the library. I lived in halls the first year and a shared house the next two years. I did however learn to drive and buy and insure an old banger while I was at uni, and I needed a lot of lessons due to being a massive nervous Nelly so that was expensive.

[Exit Stage Left]

Can't answer this one as I've never funded a kid through uni but Graphic Design might have an expensive kit list unless it's all done on computers now.

Of course it all depends where she is going, things are grimmer cheaper up north.

The University of Central Lancashire has a good reputation for Graphic Design, stemming from the old Preston Poly days, it was the first sandwich course in the country.

[Pancho]

Here are some guesses:

Local bus pass: circa £50pm (if lots of local travel needed. Scale accordingly)
Longer trips : £15pm (one standard class rail ticket per term apx)
Food: £50pm (a bit frugal - but then, so am I)
Clothes: £10pm (for a bloke. Scale accordingly for a girl)
Personal stuff (hair, toothpaste etc): £10pm (again for a bloke - scale (upwards) for a girl. Scale dependent on vanity levels)
Scholastic stuff and books: £25pm (assuming all tech in place)
Ents: £20pm (£5 ticket to SU events per week)
Alcohol: £0

Total: £180pm

[Kim]

When I was at uni I spent most of my money on train fares^[1] and computer equipment^[2], with a little going on essentials like food and course materials.  I went to a few gigs, too, but I don't remember tickets being particularly expensive.

Everyone else seemed to spend a fortune on drinking and eating out, although booky subject people did also buy an awful lot of books.  A couple of people had cars, but only used them for going away at weekends - I can't imagine they cost more than my white (precursor to orange) cardboard habit.


_{[1] The perils of long-distance relationships.
[2] I discovered *nix in a big way and spent far too much time learning cool stuff that was extremely useful later in life, but wasn't actually on the course.  Eventually changed courses so it was.}

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Personal stuff (hair, toothpaste etc): £10pm (again for a bloke - scale (upwards) for a girl. Scale dependent on vanity levels)

If she doesn't use a mooncup and uses tampons and/or towels, you can add at least a fiver a month to that.

[hellymedic]

Personal stuff (hair, toothpaste etc): £10pm (again for a bloke - scale (upwards) for a girl. Scale dependent on vanity levels)

If she doesn't use a mooncup and uses tampons and/or towels, you can add at least a fiver a month to that.

I don't spend anything like that but YMMV...

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

It's the need for different absorbencies of tampons that makes it pricey - you might only use a few of each per month, but having to buy a box of each adds up. Tell her to get a mooncup. Or a mirena - mine seem to have vanished after two months of mirena! 

[hellymedic]

Given that tampons have a long shelf life, you can keep any unused indefinitely.
At 10p each and 15 tampons per cycle, that's a long way short of a fiver...

[lou boutin]

Given that tampons have a long shelf life, you can keep any unused indefinitely.
At 10p each and 15 tampons per cycle, that's a long way short of a fiver...

15 tampons per cycle? I use an amount thay is more like 15 a day.  This could get a bit eurrgh if we carry on, but let's just say everyone is diffent and I guess she will be able to guesstimate her personal and toilette needs. And be sure, she will be using the cheapest shampoo within a matter of weeks, anything expensive soon vanishes in Halls.

[jane]

This is a difficult one- I have never paid my daughter a set amount. I paid her fees the first year- nothing else.  She worked the summer before and saved lots (she is the most frugal person I know).  Then she has worked every holiday and always saved a large proportion of it, either because she lived at home at the time or in the last year, lived in a hotel where board and lodging were included and the hours so long she had no time to spend any of it.  She hasn't even spent the money I saved for her education. She now also has a term time job as a Glasgow tour guide.  I always give her whatever is in my purse when I see her, maybe three or four times a year.  On Saturday that was 50 quid.  I also send her parcels- the last one had cakes, chocolate, toiletries and a new toolkit in it (someone stole her saddlebag).  I'll probably send her a saddlebag and a bike repair manual in the next one. 
  That arrangement works for us.  But it won't work for everyone.  Why not sit down with your daughter and list what she thinks her needs/wants are/might be and how much that might cost monthly. then set that against your needs/wants and be honest with her about what is reasonable for both of you. 

[a lower gear]

Other things to allow for:

* Laundry - hopefully halls and/or union will have cheaper machines than 'town' ones; girls are cleaner than boys at this age so factor in appropriately. See http://xkcd.com/1066/

* Extra wear and tear on footwear - I remember completely wearing our a pair of shoes and a pair of trainers each year at uni but I went to a town where everyone walked and there were no useful busses between town and campus, taxis were laughably expensive, and virtually no students owned cars (which dates me tremendously!).

* any sport or similar activity she may wish to indulge in for fitness / enjoyment/ sociability. Uni clubs and societies are generally inexpensive and generlaly provide a good deal of equipment but there are subs and some clothing / equipment to buy personally for many activities.

Trying to be too frugal can really impact on social life to the extent that social isolation can become a real problem.   

[mrcharly-YHT]

I think Jane's system is best.

If you start out with a set amount, you can guarantee that your child will over spend and have to ask for more anyway.

[hellymedic]

I agree with mrcharly and jane. Set out a sensible budget and discuss expenditure openly and realistically.
You can both set up lists of likely expenses and make semi-realistic estimates.

[Kim]

If you start out with a set amount, you can guarantee that your child will over spend and have to ask for more anyway.

Don't be silly.

[L CC]

Hold on, No1son is off soon. After I've got him there, I have to give him money, as well?


Serious answer: maximum grant, £2000 bursary, maximum loan, part time job at MacD, I haven't given him any money, or even bought him clothes etc the last 2 years. I don't even pay his phone, unlike his siblings, he prefers to do his own. I doubt that's going to change. Maths only needs pencil & paper, and the golden arches feeds him every shift....

I'll send him treats, and not much else. I hope he knows he can ask if there's anything he needs, but really, I don't expect to hear from him. He's got a railcard and a bike...

[Jacomus]

I am somewhat Bad With Money, my little sister is Very Good With Money and we had two different uni experiences.

Both of us:

Full loan. No other state assistance. Parents paid tuition.

Me:

Paid rent with the loan and got a job, working 2-4 nights a week. Until I got a better job in a department store and did every Sat and Sun.

Very occasional £100 was lovely.

I went broke a few times throughout my time at uni, but not dangerously so, and it gave me a good appreciation of how easy it can be to waste something that you worked hard for if you get careless.

Sister:

Parents paid rent. She saved loan. Lived very frugally, no job.


My favoured approach would be to take care of her housing and tuition and leave the rest up to her. I think though it depends on the relationship. I've always been very independent and wouldn't think of asking my parents to take care of my phone, clothes or food bills, I'd rather earn my own money and struggle through. My sister prefers to take assistance, knowing that she is easily organised and conscientious enough not to screw it up.