no light at the end of the tunnel...

so this all comes down to my money situation really... i cant stop crying i have never felt more stressed and trapped in all my life

i did have a job that brought in a nice bit of cash but that shop closed down, instead of getting a new job i decided to dedicate time to looking for a placement- in hindsight i can say i wish i never did this but its too late now. i had to move house which meant paying a £600 fee upfront which added to my problems as well as not getting an old deposit back

I keep talking to my tutor and he keeps giving me hope that there are new oppuruntities to apply to this week- so i am unsure wether to get a part time job.Today i went to the bank as i dont have enough money for rent and have been charged for it tipping my overdraft over its limit. i thought i could just get this increased, but they wont let me do that until the 05/09!! what i am meant to live off til then i dont know (i have no food or anything) and i have no idea about my rent!!!!

i dont get student loan for ages and have yet more rent to go out before then and then maxium overdraft i can recieve will not cover that much. I just dont know what to do. even with a part time job i will never get out of this debt, i tried telling mates but they just say "oh us students we are all in the same situation" i just feel so much worse off than everyone even though i have worked for years and barely go out drinking and such. i just dont know how i got to this stage and how i am going to cope the next 2/3 months?

Reply 1

KarlZ

Ok then, firstly you need to stop that panicky feeeling for a second and lets think about this rationally.
What university are you studying at? I ask this because normally universities have a fund for students who are facinf very hard financial hardships (Like yourself). I am starting at Cardiff in sept and they have a student contigency fund for students with financial problems such as yourself so get in touch with your university ASAP and ask or let us know the name and we can research it on the website for you.

What date are you starting university?
Start looking for a part time job immediately, at the moment any cash will be good as it will contribute to you at least getting a meal!
If you are not starting university for a while then perhaps you can get in touch with your council and enquire as to whether there is any financial assistance available to you. I would ask the Benefit section within the council and also I would contact your LEA.

Also do you have any family at all? Parents, siblings, grand parents etc?
I am asking because if you have then why havent you turned to them for some support? Emotional and financial support I mean. Even food parcels would be great as it would save you a few quid which could be sent elsewhere. Dont lose hope just yet, you've hit a bad patch but this is fixable.

As for going out and spending money I think you are smart enough to realise that you will be staying in or doing things that are extremely cheap for a good while until your head is above water.

If poss answer my questions and we can see where to go 4rm there

Chin Up :smile:

Reply 2

plainjayne

thanks for your post

I am at Chester uni, i am meant to be on a placement year this is why i never got a job as i thought i would only have to quit it to begin a placement asap. it hasnt turned out like that but there is a month left- so still time to get a placement (i hate my course this is the only reason i am doing it if i dont i will feel like the whole 2 years has been a waste) so is it worth me getting a job now or just waiting 2 weeks to see if the placements my uni is arranging work out??

i applied to the council for money a while back but this is before i got into all this debt so that could be an idea to talk to them again. I live a really long way from home and my parents already help me as much as they can- they have no idea how bad my sitaution has got and i dont want to tell them

Reply 3

plainjayne

with a placement i would be earning over £1000 punds a month so i could get out of my debts really easily.... its just proving hard to get one (although this week a am sending my cv to some newly advertised)

Reply 4

KarlZ

I've just logged onto the Chester Uni website and on the student support page they mention an 'Access to Learning Fund'. It says that this fund is availble to enrolled students facing extreme financial hardship (Basically what you are facing) - You need to contact Student welfare, try this number 01244 511550 and ask for more info. I am not exactly how it would work with you being on a placement year but at the end of the day dont quieten down, explain to them that you need funding as it could mean you may have to give up your course. Really play it up and let them know about it. You have too.

Get back in touch with your local LEA immediately, if there is any chance of some extra funding then find out about it and try and get it!

Get back in touch with your lecturer immediately and lay down the score, your facing some financial difficulty and you really need to know how long they will be in allocating you your placement. You havent got the time or money to mess about, I would start looking for a job as a precaution but approach your lecturer first.

I know you dont want to talk to your parents about this but I think that you have hit a really bad point if you cant even afford food and whilst i know they wont be impressed i am sure they can help you that little bit more, even an extra £1 wuold be better than what you have at the moment. Remeber that the rent is due before your loan, at the moment you have no means to pay for that. If you gave your parent prior notice then I am sure they would rally around to help even if they werent happy about it. You could approach your landlord and ask for an extension but then you will owe double and your landlord isnt going to be as lenient on your repayments as your parents would be.

Is any of this helping??