How to Manage Finances in University

Hiii,

I’m a prospective uni student and I just wanted to ask how students who live in university accommodation actually manage their finances without being constantly broke 😭

How do you budget your maintenance loan so you can pay rent, afford food, transport, and still enjoy the uni experience like going out, socials, trips, etc? Any practical tips that actually work would be really helpful.

I’m also a bit confused about how student finance works in practice. When does the maintenance loan usually get paid, does it come before rent is due, and how do people usually pay for accommodation if rent is quite high?

Basically just looking for any advice, mistakes to avoid, or things you wish you knew before starting uni. Thank you!!

Reply 1

Kit - UOS

Official Rep

Original post

by Panda_55

Hiii,
I’m a prospective uni student and I just wanted to ask how students who live in university accommodation actually manage their finances without being constantly broke 😭
How do you budget your maintenance loan so you can pay rent, afford food, transport, and still enjoy the uni experience like going out, socials, trips, etc? Any practical tips that actually work would be really helpful.
I’m also a bit confused about how student finance works in practice. When does the maintenance loan usually get paid, does it come before rent is due, and how do people usually pay for accommodation if rent is quite high?
Basically just looking for any advice, mistakes to avoid, or things you wish you knew before starting uni. Thank you!!

hello!

I do not live in student accommodation, but I do rent an apartment from a private landlord with my partner and our flatmate. In total, for rent and bills, I pay £350-400 per month (which is roughly the cost of a middle-tier student accommodation in Sunderland). If you are able to find a situation like mine, which can often end up being cheaper than student accommodation with more benefits (although most people would not choose to do this until at least the second year).

From talking to friends about their finances, I believe that if you live in student accommodation, they calculate how much the accommodation will cost over the year, break it down into three payments that you will then pay when you receive your maintenance grant (typically September, January and April). Also, remember that some terms can be for different amounts of weeks, so make sure you check that for the specific accommodation you will be living in.

The way my partner and I break down our finances is that when we get our maintenance grant, we transfer 4 months of rent+utilities to a savings account, so we know that between our 3 maintenance payments, we end up covering a year's worth. We then allocate how much money from what we have left over to a food budget (we have it as £300 per month for both of us, but often end up spending less) and then allocate some fun money for like dates and impulse purchases.

Students can also get student bank accounts that have an interest-free overdraft if their maintenance grant just can't cover it (the amount you get depends on your parents' finances). Most students also have part-time jobs as a survival necessity. I myself am a student ambassador for my university.

Hope this helps ^-^,
Kit

Reply 2

MrMcDuckin

Hey! I graduated last year and lived in Uni accommodation, so I get the stress.

To answer your question on Student Finance:

•

Loan Amount: It depends heavily on your parents' income and if you are in London. If you get the minimum loan, it often barely covers rent (or doesn't cover it at all). If you fall into that bracket, you will likely need a part-time job or parental help.

•

Timing: You get paid in three chunks (usually End of Sept, Start of Jan, End of April).

•

Rent: Uni-owned accommodation usually times the rent payment dates to coincide with your loan dropping. However, private halls might be different, so check the contract.

Regarding Budgeting:
The biggest mistake people make is seeing the loan being paid into their account and feeling rich and wanting to spend it on expensive things, when in reality most of it goes away instantly for rent.

1) Calculate: (Total Loan- Annual Rent) / Weeks at Accom, this will give you the absolute maximum you can spend on average per week. Of course if you can help it, don't spend this much every week, best to save some for the next years/ in case of emergency.

2) Food: Cooking will save you the most money, there's plenty of people who show you how to cook on a budget on YouTube. Also, avoid local stores, and fancy supermarkets, Aldi/ Lidl are often the cheapest. But if there's many nearby, you could scout them all out to see who sells the stuff you buy for the lowest price.

3) Socials: Of course, make the most of you time at University, but be wary of spending money you might not have, especially if you plan on going out to pubs regularly.

3) Banks: A lot of banks offer good incentives to open a student account with them, Nationwide for example offered £100 and £3k 0% overdraft, this is especially useful if you have low maintenance loans, but you have to pay it back within a couple years of graduating to prevent fees.

General Tips in no particular order:

•

Have a separate spending bank account like Monzo/ Revolut, which are more friendly to help you budget. When opening these accounts you can usually be referred by someone, and earn some spare money.

•

I would also recommend keeping most of your money, including the overdraft, in a savings account such as an ISA (Trading 212/ any high interest savings account). But be careful to make sure you can withdraw the money when needed (Easy access ISA?). This way you can also earn some interest instead of your money just sitting there.

•

Use websites like UniDays, Student Beans and Save the Student. These are unbelievably beneficial, especially save the student if you need help with meal prep, banking, budgeting etc.

•

You will likely move to private accommodation (Regular home which you share with people) in the years after first, so PLEASE make sure you have good friends as housemates, trust me, you do NOT want to have to deal with people not cleaning up after themselves in common areas (Bathrooms, kitchen). Trust me this comes from trauma. Likewise, please for the sake of others, keep common areas clean.

•

If you plan to visit home even semi regularly, make sure to grab yourself a Coach card of Rail Card (Can get for free if you open some student bank accounts). These might be expensive to begin with, but they pay themselves off in as little as two journeys.

•

Regarding public transport, it really depends on how often you will use it and how much it costs. It might be worth investing in a weekly/ monthly/ yearly bus pass, but that's only if you know you will definitely make your moneys worth.

That's most of what I can remember for now, will update if anything else comes to mind.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

PS: apologies for the poor formatting 😅

Reply 3

Panda_55

Original post

by MrMcDuckin

Hey! I graduated last year and lived in Uni accommodation, so I get the stress.
To answer your question on Student Finance:

•

Timing: You get paid in three chunks (usually End of Sept, Start of Jan, End of April).

•

Rent: Uni-owned accommodation usually times the rent payment dates to coincide with your loan dropping. However, private halls might be different, so check the contract.

Regarding Budgeting:
The biggest mistake people make is seeing the loan being paid into their account and feeling rich and wanting to spend it on expensive things, when in reality most of it goes away instantly for rent.
1) Calculate: (Total Loan- Annual Rent) / Weeks at Accom, this will give you the absolute maximum you can spend on average per week. Of course if you can help it, don't spend this much every week, best to save some for the next years/ in case of emergency.
2) Food: Cooking will save you the most money, there's plenty of people who show you how to cook on a budget on YouTube. Also, avoid local stores, and fancy supermarkets, Aldi/ Lidl are often the cheapest. But if there's many nearby, you could scout them all out to see who sells the stuff you buy for the lowest price.
3) Socials: Of course, make the most of you time at University, but be wary of spending money you might not have, especially if you plan on going out to pubs regularly.
3) Banks: A lot of banks offer good incentives to open a student account with them, Nationwide for example offered £100 and £3k 0% overdraft, this is especially useful if you have low maintenance loans, but you have to pay it back within a couple years of graduating to prevent fees.
General Tips in no particular order:

•

Have a separate spending bank account like Monzo/ Revolut, which are more friendly to help you budget. When opening these accounts you can usually be referred by someone, and earn some spare money.

•

Use websites like UniDays, Student Beans and Save the Student. These are unbelievably beneficial, especially save the student if you need help with meal prep, banking, budgeting etc.

•

That's most of what I can remember for now, will update if anything else comes to mind.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
PS: apologies for the poor formatting 😅

Thank you so much, this is genuinely so so helpful. I really appreciate it. Also I do come from a low income family and moving outside of London for Uni.

Reply 4

Panda_55

Original post

by Kit - UOS

hello!
I do not live in student accommodation, but I do rent an apartment from a private landlord with my partner and our flatmate. In total, for rent and bills, I pay £350-400 per month (which is roughly the cost of a middle-tier student accommodation in Sunderland). If you are able to find a situation like mine, which can often end up being cheaper than student accommodation with more benefits (although most people would not choose to do this until at least the second year).
From talking to friends about their finances, I believe that if you live in student accommodation, they calculate how much the accommodation will cost over the year, break it down into three payments that you will then pay when you receive your maintenance grant (typically September, January and April). Also, remember that some terms can be for different amounts of weeks, so make sure you check that for the specific accommodation you will be living in.
The way my partner and I break down our finances is that when we get our maintenance grant, we transfer 4 months of rent+utilities to a savings account, so we know that between our 3 maintenance payments, we end up covering a year's worth. We then allocate how much money from what we have left over to a food budget (we have it as £300 per month for both of us, but often end up spending less) and then allocate some fun money for like dates and impulse purchases.
Students can also get student bank accounts that have an interest-free overdraft if their maintenance grant just can't cover it (the amount you get depends on your parents' finances). Most students also have part-time jobs as a survival necessity. I myself am a student ambassador for my university.
Hope this helps ^-^,
Kit

Thank you sooo much, this has helped me a lot. I really appreciate it :smile:

Reply 5

Emma:-)

Entertainment Forum Helper, Careers Forum Helper

Original post

by Panda_55

Hiii,
I’m a prospective uni student and I just wanted to ask how students who live in university accommodation actually manage their finances without being constantly broke 😭
How do you budget your maintenance loan so you can pay rent, afford food, transport, and still enjoy the uni experience like going out, socials, trips, etc? Any practical tips that actually work would be really helpful.
I’m also a bit confused about how student finance works in practice. When does the maintenance loan usually get paid, does it come before rent is due, and how do people usually pay for accommodation if rent is quite high?
Basically just looking for any advice, mistakes to avoid, or things you wish you knew before starting uni. Thank you!!