Is £7000 enough without a job?

So despite having a part-time job I am your typical teenager and have absolutely no idea about finance and the value of money. It looks like I'll be entitled to about £7100 loan and grant next year, and I was planning on working full-time at my current job when I'm at home.
I worked out how much accommodation would be a year (my choices range from £81.83 - £90.44 p/w) and looked at a few "how much do you spend a week at uni" type threads. After researching I figured that it would fine, however, when I told my mum how much it was she acted like it was absolutely nothing and said that I should really get a job in my uni city as well. And whilst I'm sure my parents would give me money if I needed it, they're really not in the position to do so.
I thought it would be enough but my mum seems of a different opinion :s-smilie:

. Is it?

Reply 1

ThatRandomGuy

Excluding rent, I would say you could quite comfortably live off £3000 a year. So even your rent is something like £5000 which it almost certainly won't be then I wouldn't worry.

Reply 2

Presenttime

Do some psychology experiments on campus or summat

Reply 3

skatealexia

Original post by Daniellejo.

. Is it?

I'd get a job anyway. May as well use the extra savings!

Reply 4

BANS2012

You'll be be fine with £7100, more than fine in fact. In my first year I got around £7000 too and I was paying £378 a month on rent. I found that it was easier to pay 3/4 months all in one go because then what I had left, I could
pretty much spend on whatever I liked. Food for me was a short expense, probably £10 a week on average. And my contract was something like £25

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(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 5

pizzle223

Original post by BANS2012

Can I ask what your shopping list was at £10 a week?

Reply 6

pizzle223

I get a bit less than you and my rent is a bit more. For me it's not a practicle amount of money, I couldn't live on that alone.

You can get help from you Uni's student retention fund which basically gives you as much as you need when you need it. NEED not want

Reply 7

tomtom415

This year I had £7600 to use for accommodation and living expenses. I used £4100 for accommodation, baring in mind I'm self catered, and I still have £700 left at the end of the year. You should be fine :smile:

Reply 8

Daniellejo.

This is reassuring. After my mum's reaction I was really worried that I'd forgotten to take something major into account lol.
Thanks for confirming what I thought, now I just need to convince my mum!

Reply 9

Nvmthename

Original post by Daniellejo.

This is reassuring. After my mum's reaction I was really worried that I'd forgotten to take something major into account lol.
Thanks for confirming what I thought, now I just need to convince my mum!

Mate forget what your mom thinks, your going to have a good time and thats that.
(She may be doing your washing from time to time so dont fully forget her yknow... Its just an expressipn, she may come of use one day.)

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Reply 10

BANS2012

Original post by pizzle223

Can I ask what your shopping list was at £10 a week?

Soup
Bread
Eggs
Chicken-frozen
Butter (last about two weeks)
Milk (a week and a half)
Mushrooms

Sometimes I would spend more if I wanted something like Gammon.

Reply 11

pizzle223

Original post by BANS2012

Soup
Bread
Eggs
Chicken-frozen
Butter (last about two weeks)
Milk (a week and a half)
Mushrooms

Sometimes I would spend more if I wanted something like Gammon.

I don't see how that is enough to live of for a week.

Reply 12

BANS2012

Original post by pizzle223

I don't see how that is enough to live of for a week.

If you look back at my original post, you will notice that I said on average £10.
I knew the rights places to go at the right time when I did a 'weekly shop'
And this does not include eating out and the fact that I was too busy that I often skipped lunch

And you will be fine, £7000 is a lot of money. More than what most people receive (that I knew anyway)

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 13

pizzle223

Original post by BANS2012

Yeah that still doesn't seem to add up. You're almost living in poverty pretty much.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 14

BANS2012

Original post by pizzle223

Yeah that still doesn't seem to add up. You're almost much living in poverty pretty much.

£10 on average, skipped lunch usually, ate out, I knew the right places to go at the right time..I didnt spend money on fresh meat, fish ect.

I wouldnt call it poverty, I didnt buy the items I did because I couldnt afford anything else, I had around £7,000 myself in my first year and spent it on nights out, eating it ect, I had a great year!

Lol, I hope your not implying I am lying about my shopping bill.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 15

Fward

Using your most expensive accommodation cost on a average 40 week contract (yours may be different to this), you would be left with about £87 per week - I would say that is enough.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 16

Gnome :)

Best thing to do would be to make a spreadsheet and estimate your income and outgoings month by month; it really helped me to see how much I'd need realistically. Rent is going to be your biggest cost, but after that you have phone bills, travel (including travel home for holidays) costs, food, healthcare + toiletries, laundry, study materials, society fees, social costs etc.

Remember costs in your uni city may be different to at home, so make sure you research! And it may be an idea to save a little as well, either as savings for after uni/securing a deposit for a flat for 2nd year, and for emergencies.

I'll get about £6500, but that'll leave me about £150 short per month. However, my course runs until August so that makes a difference.

Reply 17

Rakas21

Yes.

After rent i would say that £3k per year is sufficient for your general outgoings, perhaps some extra for initial things like books and Freshers.

With that being said, you should get a job anyway. It's good for your CV and you won't fail if you do one shift per week.