It all adds up
money's too tight to mention
Finances. A word every student hates to hear. Let me tell you, unless your parents are rich and help you out lots it is impossible to go through the first semester of university without money troubles. September to December is only three months, right? How much trouble can you get yourself into in three months?
I'm lucky. My parents give me £200 a month to pay for my food and books. The company I worked for back home let me transfer and so I walked into a job right near my university. And still, I find myself with no money frequently. Oh and, I have my loan, right? Wrong. This thing they call a maintenance loan is ridiculous. It should be able to go towards your rent, food and socialising.
OK, I pay a few pound extra to have an en suite, but surely my maintenance loan should leave me more than just over £100 for the entire year after paying my rent? I honestly don't know how I would survive without my job. Many people decide that they aren't going to get a job in their first year of university.
They are going to relax, enjoy the experience and get very, very drunk all the time. Those are the people who are now, at the start of our second semester, looking for jobs. It's not how it should be but finances rule a student's life.
Don't get me wrong, it is possible to handle your finances. But it requires a lot of self control. This is one thing I do not possess. I like clothes. I can't help it. I like jewellery. I love shoes. And my dad's not there when I get home to moan when I come home with another bag.
I have no idea how much money I spent in my first fortnight at university. I mean, I'm not close to anyone yet. I don't have much work to do because my course hasn't properly started and the shops are right down the road...what's a girl to do??
One thing I learned pretty quickly; stay away from store cards. They are evil. I also chose not to get an overdraft on my account. This has worked so far for me. I have enough trouble keeping track of the money I do have let alone adding on money I don't have!
For some people, however, an overdraft is desperately needed. Without one of my close friends at university applying for a £1000 overdraft at the last minute, she would not have been able to pay her rent for the first semester. Without some sort of control over your money, you can get yourself into trouble.
One person I know at university has had problems with depression because of her finances already. I think the most important (and possibly most sensible) thing to do is to write down everything you spend in your first month. Your first week with be fresher's week and so you'll spend a little more socialising than you will normally. This might even carry on throughout the month whilst you're making friends.
But see what you spend on food and how often you go shopping for clothes. At the end of the month sit down and look through where you waste things. I would, if I could start again, spend as little as possible through my first month so I could see how much I have left over to waste away on alcohol and handbags (er...I mean save). My advice is, buy a notebook to carry around with you.
Write down everything that comes out of your account and keep track of where that takes your balance. Keep track of when your rent comes out of your account and anything else you HAVE to pay (e.g. bills if you live in a house, payments on existing debts from store cards).
All you need to do is make sure you leave enough money for your rent and bills, socialising, travelling home, food for the month and clothes (but not too often). Try not to let finances rule your life but do everything you can to keep them under control!
Lauren Brown
Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge