[mr_maniac]

It's a simple question... (mainly to current or recently-graduated students who have been, or are currently, living in halls! But fellow freshers can also answer with their intended budgets (just make it clear in a post whether your budget is hypothetical or actual!!))


Ignoring the overheads (tuition fees, hall fees, necessary book purchases etc), how much money do you, on average, spend (or budget to spend) each week? I'm talking about the money that goes on all your typical living expenses (that is to say, snacks, nights out, alcohol, taxi fares, public transport etc etc).

I only ask because I'm starting at the Uni in October (yay!!), and the whole subject of how I'm going to finance my existence has been the subject of many a furrowed brow in the family recently Yes, I intend to get some sort of paid work once I'm there (not til 2010 though I should think!), but some realistic figures on how much people get through would be of great help!!

I know everyone's budgets are different, and some people might not even bother with budgeting - but if that's the case, say so!! You must still get through a fairly consistent amount of money from week to week, though?

Thank you for your time - it's much appreciated!!

Cheers

mr_m

[MyNameIsDave]

I'm not there yet, but assuming you're in Durham City, you'll spend nothing on taxi fares unless you're very lazy.

Your budget will depend on how many nights out you want a week, a lot of people on here don't seem to big on drinking and so on, so their budget would be lower than someone who wants to go out 2-3 times.

[likeaboss]

you will spend money on taxis if you're at a hill college

depends entirely on how much boozing you do.

[generic hybrid]

Not much though. If you split the trip between four people it rarely works out to more than £2.

And there's always the Night Bus, which only costs 75p and is mostly awesome.

[Plute]

Well I live local anyway and I'm planning to keep on my restaurant job which is about 5/10 minutes outside of the city when I move into Collingwood. At the minute I do around 4 or 5 shifts a week which gets me about £140 a week but I'll probably cut this down to about 3 for as long as I can manage. So i'll probably work on budgetting for around £70/£80 a week and then any extra money I get from tips which is around £70 a month.

I made that sound very efficient ha.

[Geisskane]

I budgeted £50 per week. £25 on food, £25 on going out. Unfortunately I often went over this...... part of that was a £40 a week salmon addiction developed during the exams.

[mr_maniac]

Thanks to all who've replied/voted so far - of those who've voted for £10-25 a week - did you actually manage to get by on that, without compromising your social life too much??

What are fellow freshers budgeting for, and do those who've actually spent time there have any sort of advice on a good amount to budget for??

(I'm well aware that budgeting is hardly the most entertaining aspect of being a fresher (fresher's BOP anyone?! ), but the more helpful answers to questions like this I can get, the better it'll be for me and my plans! (and for the plans of others, maybe?))

mr_m

[Stacy_T]

If you are in catered accommodation then the only thing you'll really need money for is a social fund.

Start drinking strong spirits, make sure you take library books back in time and don't get into the habit of ordering pizzas.


Edit: Of course, you;ll need money for toiletries, stationary, and juice/soft drinks for your room....budget shops are your friend.
£40 max will be my weekly budget for the first term.

[Stacy_T]

This might sound really stupid but before you come up, raid your family and friends for anything that looks like it could form part of a fancy dress costume. If there is one thing you'll be spending money on in Durham it's fancy dress - whether you drink or not.

[Stacy_T]

(Original post by likeaboss)
you will spend money on taxis if you're at a hill college

depends entirely on how much boozing you do.

The hill is a much easier cross to bare when drunk.
Especially in heels!

[jobo3]

20 quid max really, obviously if you go out drinking a lot / go home on the train then that bumps it up quite a bit.

[CSmiley91]

I'm planning to budget for about £50 per week, and definitely not trying to spend more than that!

[Keith Lemon]

Varies really, some weeks I get away with spending £30/40, whereas other weeks I'm going over £100.