A-level results 2018 have been and gone. Whether it was a day of joyous celebration or a calm and collected (!) call to student clearing, most young people will now be busily planning their next adventure into the land of University education. Of course, behind every eager student is an over stressed, under-informed and financially fearful parent or guardian. Having your child leave for university can be a stressful time. Concerns surrounding their safety, their commitment to study and their financial stability can leave even the most relaxed of us riled.
Whilst there is an abundance of advice for students, advice for parents of students going to university is somewhat sparse. As part of our Student September series, we’ve put together this special two-part guide. Read on for advice on how you can ensure your child has a happy and financially healthy time at University.
The F bomb: Student Finance
Working through the reams of information on student finance can feel like navigating through a money minefield. Rules and criteria differ depending on where your child is studying/ residing. Which? provides useful information depending on your location. Click below for the guide most relevant to you.
They have also produced a guide to parent’s top questions and a complete parent’s guide to student finance.
No matter where your child is studying, there is one question all parents or guardians face: should we give our child money? Legally, you are under no obligation to support your child financially through University. However, this is heavily at odds with the way current student finance works. At present, student finance operates on a sliding scale. In very basic terms, the more you earn, the less your child will receive in the form of loans and maintenance grants. With this in mind, it is often believed that parents should make up the financial deficit between what their child receives and the actual cost of them attending university. Save the Student has a useful calculator that provides an estimated calculation of the amount the Government expects you to contribute based on current student loan rules and costs of living calculations.
Of course, individual circumstances vary greatly and no parent should feel forced put themselves or the rest of their family into debt or financial hardship. If you don’t feel able to contribute financially each month, why not offer to pay for items such as their mobile phone contract, TV license, online grocery passes or student travel card. This approach may work better for families who do not have large amounts of disposal income but may also help alleviate the pressure off your child as they know one bill or financial outlay is being taken care of each month.
Budget, budget, budget.
Even for the most savvy of students, leaving home and balancing the previously unaddressed costs of daily living can come as quite the shock. We’ve all been there, madly counting the coppers before the next instalment of the student loan comes through. Rather than wait until they’re at University, sit down with your child before hand and talk them through budgeting procedures. Making them face the costs of things such as rent, utility bills, food, travel and ‘fun’ money upfront will ensure they don’t face any nasty shocks at the end of their first month or semester. We’ve included some handy calculators below. Chose which one best suits your child’s needs and spend some time walking them through it. It’s our experience that, over time, these budgeting behaviours will begin to be adopted automatically- a fantastic strategy that will set them up for life after university, also
- Ucas Student budget calculator
- Which? Student Budgeting Tool
- Money Saving Expert Budgeting tools and tips.
Hidden costs
As well as the big-hitters such as rent, bills and food, there are a number of so-called ‘hidden costs’ students face whilst at University. Make sure your child is aware of the following:
- TV license.It’s a common misconception that one license will cover everyone in halls of residence. This is not the case. The current TV license is £150.50 for colour and is required for watching live TV and catch up on media players. For more information visit the TV Licensing website. Remember, you can always apply for a TV license refund if you haven’t used the full 12 months.
- Contents insurance. With up to 1 in 3 students being victims of burglaries, having contents insurance is a necessary but often overlooked financial outlay. Modern students take a plethora of expensive goods with them to university so ensuring they are insured and registered makes sense. Endsleigh provides a range of cover options and is supported by the NUS. It’s also worth checking with your child’s bank as many will offer cover packages alongside student accounts.
- Internet. If your child is residing in student accommodation, their internet will be included. For those in shared accommodation, it is unlikely that internet will be included in their monthly rental agreement. When choosing broadband packages, concerns such as the amount of users, how heavy data usage will be and how the bill will be split all need to be considered. Get your child used to using price comparison sites to find the best deal and don’t forget to recommend they use cashback sites and student discount codes (discussed below) to ensure they get the best deal. We’ve included some useful price comparison tools below
- Go Compare student tool
- Money Supermarket student broadband calculator.
- Broadband Choices student deals.
- Travel. For students whose course requires a large amount of travel, either to and from campus or placement, weekly, monthly or yearly travel cards can be a sound investment. Make sure you check cards are valid for travel during peak hours. Check the websites of the local travel providers or National Rail for rail cards. Don’t forget, you can also use your Tesco Clubcard points to buy discount National Rail cards- a fab way of giving your child a helping hand without it leaving you out of pocket.
- Council tax. Whilst those in student accommodation are exempt from council tax, moving into shared accommodation can raise a few issues. For households where all members are students, no council tax is payable. For houses where one or more members are not registered students, a discount of 25% will be applied to the bill. As it stands, the council tax is only payable by the none student members. Make sure your child is aware that if they do chose to live with none students, they can not be held responsible for payment of council tax bills. It’s also worth noting that if your child lives at home whilst studying, you may be eligible for a reduction of 25% off your bill. Contact your local authority to find out more details. In order to obtain the discount, student’s can obtain a certificate of student status from their University registry.