Cash is often tight for students – and with a pint of beer setting them back three or four quid, it’s important to have a handle on the bills that have to be paid. Rent is by far the greatest expense for students, whether they choose catered, self-catered or private accommodation. In Manchester, one of the cheaper student cities, accommodation will cost just under £4,300 for the 40-week year, but catered will cost an extra £1,257. The price of most university rooms includes gas and electricity. Private accommodation, which students usually take after the first year, may be cheaper up front, but the price of utility bills, the internet and so on needs to be factored in to give a real idea of the cost. Students may also have to rent for a calendar year, rather than just the academic term.
Figures from savethestudent.org put average expenditure at £735 a month, with £365 of that spent on rent – although plusher accommodation could cost nearly double that in some cities. Typically, students spend over £100 a month on food, £64 on social, £58 on bills and £44 on travel. On top of that, there’s more than £20 a month each on books and photocopying, clothes, mobile and other expenses – even £5 a month on illegal drugs, according to respondents. London living costs an extra £1,300 a year, the National Union of Students (NUS) estimates.
Be aware of one-off costs, such as housing deposits, which usually amount to a month’s rent up front. Then there’s also bedding, furniture, cooking equipment, insurance, a television licence, internet and phone installation to consider – adding up to a couple of hundred pounds.
But help is at hand: student railcards (£30 a year) and National Express coach cards (£25 for three years) give you a third off standard fares; and savethestudent.org offers discounts on a host of goods and services. An NUS card brings discounts for both online and high-street shoppers. For those who have never budgeted before – most haven’t – there are plenty of apps to help, and Ucas has a guide online.
Which? compares 14 undergraduate bank accounts, all offering free overdrafts of varying amounts. Prepaid cards, which can be topped up from an account, can help students stick to budget as there’s no overdraft available.
More than a quarter of students say their first loan instalment lasted less than a month and only 2% of students manage without an overdraft. So, try to be sensible about the prospect of your child getting into debt – and help them get back on track if they do, maybe by implementing a stricter budget.
