As a mature student who has previously been in long-term full-time employment prior to beginning my university course, I feel like I have had a number of good years’ experience in learning how to manage money independently and juggling the high costs of living in London alongside personal and leisure expenditure. Throughout my degree I have continued to work on a part-time basis, and despite the drop in salary, being financially supported by the student maintenance loan and having much of the course materials provided for free online has meant that my financial situation has not differed substantially from when I was working full-time.
Despite this, my decision to return to education, partly motivated by my desire to live and build a career in London, has led to concerns around taking on a substantial amount of debt to study for a degree as well as the difficulties I have found in saving money to put towards a future deposit on a property in London. Although I have found that there are ample resources and workshops available through my university which aim at helping students to manage money throughout their degree, I have felt that there is less assistance aimed at students who are concerned about their post-university prospects of getting on the housing ladder in London’s increasingly expensive and competitive housing market. I feel fortunate to have not needed to rely on an overdraft or any other kind of loan arrangements apart from my maintenance loan throughout my studies, but looking further than my immediate financial expenditures such as rent, travel and course expenses has proven difficult. Perhaps the best advice I have received whilst at university was to set up a secondary bank account, paying in a set monthly figure from my primary debit account via standing order to begin saving money to plan for the near future where I hope to enter the housing market. Prior to this I’ve always allotted a rough ballpark sum of my debit account as money to save towards the future, but this money has been often eaten into by unexpected expenditures or last-minute social events or holidays. Having a monthly minimum amount automatically set aside has allowed me to more easily allocate and budget my spending money and also has allowed me to see the progress I’m making towards my savings goals which has been a great motivation.
Dan K
Kings College London