How much should I save for uni?

I know it’s probably a bit of a late question now but I’d rather ask now than never. I will be starting uni in September 2024. I get the lowest maintenance loan and my accommodation is about £8k a year. I am looking to get a second job but I’m wondering how much I should have saved by now. I work 2 jobs alongside college and earn about £100+ a week (every month is different but at the moment I’ve been seeing about £500+ in my account). I don’t spend so much. It’s only until recently I’ve spent a bit of money here and there. I do have expenses like petrol and car insurance I pay for. I’ve currently managed to save £2k from my jobs and I have an additional £1.5k and £2.5k in other savings that have. So in total I hope to have at least £6000 saved for university. I will also be looking at getting a job there too. My parents said they’re open to support me but I don’t like being reliant on them for money (ever since I started working I’ve been very independent with buying my own food and paying for my own things).

To those who are at university or have finished university, how much did you save beforehand and how did you manage to get by (especially if you received a lower maintenance loan) and when you finished uni how much money did you have left over prior to what you went on to do next?

Reply 1

normaw

Volunteer Section Leader, Clearing and Applications Advisor

I think you need to accept the help offered by your parents. You need to be able to focus on your studies rather than being under pressure to work to keep your head above water. With rent of £8k and a minimum loan of £4.7k (I'm assuming you are going to study outside of London), over half of your savings will go on your first year's rent. That will leave you with £2.7k to live off for the year (£900 per term). You might be able to manage but it's not a lot. What if you can't get a job or if you can't keep up with your coursework?

Reply 2

MindMax2000

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by izzyexistent

I know it’s probably a bit of a late question now but I’d rather ask now than never. I will be starting uni in September 2024. I get the lowest maintenance loan and my accommodation is about £8k a year. I am looking to get a second job but I’m wondering how much I should have saved by now. I work 2 jobs alongside college and earn about £100+ a week (every month is different but at the moment I’ve been seeing about £500+ in my account). I don’t spend so much. It’s only until recently I’ve spent a bit of money here and there. I do have expenses like petrol and car insurance I pay for. I’ve currently managed to save £2k from my jobs and I have an additional £1.5k and £2.5k in other savings that have. So in total I hope to have at least £6000 saved for university. I will also be looking at getting a job there too. My parents said they’re open to support me but I don’t like being reliant on them for money (ever since I started working I’ve been very independent with buying my own food and paying for my own things).
To those who are at university or have finished university, how much did you save beforehand and how did you manage to get by (especially if you received a lower maintenance loan) and when you finished uni how much money did you have left over prior to what you went on to do next?

There are like 101 different things that would affect your spending, and hence how much savings you need or you would be left over. You can save like £30000 for all 3 years, but if you're a heavy spender you can end up with a £50000 debt.

I think the more appropriate question is what costs would you be incurring throughout uni. The main expenses that I think are noteworthy are:

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Rent - varies from area to area e.g. £300 vs £1000 pcm. Ideally this would include your broadband, water bills, electricity, and gas, but they're not always included

•

Cost of books - if you don't intend to spend all of your time in the library

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Cost of computer and software - in most cases it's a laptop, earphone, wired mouse, flash drive, Microsoft Office (or similar), printer (all in one), ink cartridges, pointer

•

Netflix, Disney+, whatever

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Food (groceries, not takeaways)

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Bus passes/bike + accessories

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Clothes

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Train tickets

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Petrol cost, car insurance, MOT, road tax

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Nights outs/beer money and dates

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Travel abroad/trips

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Room décor

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Gym - unless you have basic home gym equipment

•

Mobile phone

If you are going by the absolute bare minimum (which I recommend if you want to do this for savings):

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Rent - say £300 pcm? (10 months of the year)

•

Mobile phone - say £40 pcm? (12 months of year)

•

Computer and software - this is fixed, but I would go for £500 budget

•

Food - say £30 pw? (say 28 weeks)

•

Netflix, Disney+, whatever - say £6 pcm? (10 months)

Total: £4380 per year + the £500 fixed i.e. under £5000 if you are really strict. (if the rent is £1000 pcm, you would need to add another £7000 on top i.e. £11380)
In practice, it would be somewhat higher than this due to the other costs and factors (and that the average person might splurge on certain things).

Your biggest expense would be and remains to be rent (unless you're a ridiculously heavy spender). Once you have rent out of the way, everything else is more or less about how the small things add up.

A recommended practice is to have a cash flow forecast and to record every one of your transactions at uni to keep track of things.