Am I overspending at University?

[b0rn2sk8]

Well in the last week iv spent round £850(samsung 26r41bd £480, DVD's £150, Airsoft stuff(£215) (TM MP7 ) . That is abit worrying to be honest. Iv got around £200 left until the end of term. But i know how much iv got to spend each week now. Im in catered halls so everything is payed for. Just one phone bill and CC bill to pay before the end of term. Iv ony got £200 on my CC and no overdraft so im prity good at the min....

 

[A2Z]

i have spent about £1000

although this is on stuff like laptop/cpu/ipod/zen/clothes that ill sell in the next couple of weeks, to make a few hundred £ profit

 

[R.O.S.S.I]

rofl good luck making a profit.

 

[NickXX]

If you're running out of money, then use your student loan - that's what it's for. I worked summers when I was at uni, and tried to live off the cash - but it was never enough. Every term I'd end up running my student loan down to zero. Now almost two years out of uni and a Student loan to pay off, do I regret it?

Hell no, a couple of hundred is what most graduates can earn in a week - I'd never have traded it in for financial difficulty when I was at uni. It is set up so that even if you come out of Uni jobless, you won't be struggling with the debt.

Besides, if you run into overdraft troubles whilst at uni you'll be doing a world of damage to your credit history.

 

[Chronos-X]

I wish I had the choice of sticking mine in an ISA...

 

[dirtydog]

Am I overspending at University?

You've spend £1,200 on rubbish in three weeks and have run out of money.. erm yes I'd say so

 

[Agent_matt]

Ive spent a good £500 -
£35 per month on phone bill
£5 per month internet bill (my payment out of six of us)
£35 server rental
£8/9 MMORPG per month

The rest has been on going out etc. It almost angers me a little as I don't have to spend any money on fee's or rental etc yet at the end of the term i know im going to be a few quid short due to overspending.

 

[jezsoup]

So far ive spent 900, 400 was rent, 180 was money i owed from alst term and had a couple of bdays valentines day etc etc so spent on phone and food shoppin n goin out about 300 since 17th jan.

 

[PeterNem]

Since January, my approx spending are:

Rent: 460 (2months)
Gym: £31 (2months)
Food: £130
Eating out/Cinema/Pub: £100
Car Insurance: £130 (2 months)
Petrol: £40
Cash from ATM: £65 (most likely split on additional food shopping/petrol)
Clearing credit cards: £1200


So, credit card payments (which I made using a tax rebate and selling a few shares), my total spend is around £956.

This figure doesn't include any bills which I need to settle with housemates (£20pm for ntl broadband/tv), gas, electric etc, although water is paid up for quite some time.

 

[ArmyofHarmony]

I've spent quite a lot, because Warwick university is a rip off


I've switched to drinking purple rather than spirits now... thats if i drink at all


I've started just drinking before going, then having blackcurrent squash when i get to the union (40p)

 

[dirtydog]

Can people afford to eat out and drink etc just off the student loan? Surely the student loan should be just enough to provide a basic functional living, and if you want to eat out or drink then you should get a job as well.

 

[Agent_matt]

Dirtydog, without sounding rude, I think you have a real problem with Students having any sort of fun.

The student loan probably doesnt cover eating out and drinking if you have to pay for rent and tuition fee's by yourself etc. However, if your lucky enough to have parents paying for fee's and rent then sure you can afford to eat out. On the basic loan (about £1000 per term) that leaves about £250~300 per month depending on how long your term is of course. You obviously can't eat out everyday but you can certainly enjoy yourself with it.

 

[dirtydog]

Dirtydog, without sounding rude, I think you have a real problem with Students having any sort of fun.

So long as they pay for it and don't annoy other people they can do what they want

 

[PeterNem]

Can people afford to eat out and drink etc just off the student loan? Surely the student loan should be just enough to provide a basic functional living, and if you want to eat out or drink then you should get a job as well.

No, certainly in my case the student loan just covers my rent and utility bills.

That really is about it.

Thankfully my parents pay my tuitions fees and all my other spending is either from my savings or my earnings from my year out.

Unfortauntely these have about run out, so for the next few months it's likely all spending will be on credit cards (overdraft not far off being maxed out).

 

[woodsy2k]

No, certainly in my case the student loan just covers my rent and utility bills.

That really is about it.

Absolutely. Rent eats atleast half od my student loan, and bills for 3 months at a time, and food eat the rest.

 

[Arcade Fire]

oh wait yeh your're probably one of those that sticks it in a ISA for 3 yrs, with no substantial gain.

Really? Gosh. I stuck mine in a stocks and shares ISA. I've put in about £11,000 so far and it's now sitting comfortably on £15,000 - and I've taken about a grand and a half out for a few impulse spends, and times when I was running short on cash.

 

[Arcade Fire]

Can people afford to eat out and drink etc just off the student loan? Surely the student loan should be just enough to provide a basic functional living, and if you want to eat out or drink then you should get a job as well.

Yup, exactly. I've largely paid for my education by (i) living in places with cheap rent, and (ii) having a job every holiday!

 

[bcjames]

Absolutely. Rent eats atleast half od my student loan, and bills for 3 months at a time, and food eat the rest.

I get 20p a week out of my loan

 

[E1mo]

Wow, £1200 in three weeks, pretty impressive lack of budgeting you've got there.

I guess I go through the entire student loan installment in a term, so I guess that I spend approx 80-100 a week. That doesn't include any rent or fees. The installment usually lasts me okay for the smaller holidays too. Obviously its a job for a month in the summer to try and get a grand in the savings account.

I think you're going to have a big big shock when you get your first job at around 20K salary. Most people I've known have taken a quality of life hit on their first job!

 

[woodsy2k]

I get 20p a week out of my loan

For what dude? I dont get what you mean