Finance Fridays – Cost of going to university

We were looking at online only banks for last week's Finance Fridays. This week we are talking about the costs of going to university. Many young people will have been accepted for degree courses after last week's A Level results were published. It's well known that going to university isn't cheap with course fees of around £9,000 a year but what other costs are there?

Rent – The average student rent is £125 a week but of course this varies in different areas and can range from £70 to £200 per week. Some tenancies will require you to pay for a full 12 months even though you may break up in May and not start again until October! You will also need to check if the rent includes Council Tax and other bills. If you are in halls of residence often it includes water, gas and electric and WiFi. You will still need to pay for a TV Licence if you intend to watch live television or use the BBC iPlayer service.

Insurance – I always had contents insurance when I was at university in case anything valuable was stolen, lost or broken. In those days I had no laptop, smart phone or tablet so it's probably even more important now to make sure your belongings are covered. There are plenty of insurance companies that specialise in student insurance.

Food – Nobody wants to live on beans on toast for days on end so be prepared to learn to do some basic cooking with frugal ingredients. Look out for good deals, cook in bulk and freeze meals for another day.

Homewares – You can bring your everyday bedding and towels with you to university but not everybody wants to bring them back and forth every time they pop home for a few days. You will also need crockery, cutlery and other kitchen equipment.

Travel – Hopefully your accommodation won't be far from your where your lectures will be and you can walk to them. Otherwise you will need to budget for public transport, maintaining a bicycle or the cost of a car.

Books, study materials and professional fees – Not everything is available for free on the internet and academic materials are usually more expensive as they are quite specialised. For some subjects you will need membership of professional organisations in order to access materials.

Going out – Whether it's clubbing or going to the cinema every student needs to be able to have fun whatever you choose to do.

If you want to join in with this week's Finance Fridays then add your link to the linky below. Any post concerning financial matters is allowed. Full details here. It doesn't have to be published today as you have until 23.55 on Tuesday 28th August 2018 to join in.

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