{"id":3657,"date":"2018-02-07T16:03:28","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T16:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/?p=3657"},"modified":"2018-02-08T13:50:14","modified_gmt":"2018-02-08T13:50:14","slug":"nsmw2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/student-voices\/2018\/02\/07\/nsmw2018\/","title":{"rendered":"My experience of student finance and housing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first thing I should say when talking about student finance is this: each person\u2019s experience is unique. Everyone has different financial situations at home and has different relationships with money so no one story is a blueprint on how to deal with this system. This is not really an advice piece, more an account of what I did with student finance over my time at York, and how that\u2019s affected me, how it will affect me in the future, and some lessons I\u2019ve learned along the way that will hopefully help you (if you\u2019re strapped for time, I\u2019ve put some key bullet points at the end \u2013 you\u2019re welcome).<\/p>\n

Free money?<\/h3>\n

So, let\u2019s start way back in 2013 when I first came to the uni; I was studying Economics, moved into some of the standard bracket accommodation in Vanbrugh college, which costs \u00a3145 a week. Now at this stage, I\u2019d had a quite sheltered lifestyle, parents looked after the money, I was given an allowance, I didn\u2019t really think about it. And then suddenly, BAM there\u2019s a lot of money in my account, and my 18-year-old subconscious clearly said to itself \u201cwell this is mine now, and I guess I can buy just about anything\u201d. And wouldn\u2019t you know it, I was soon in my overdraft and had no clue what that meant (some part of me clearly went \u201cFREE money? No immediate consequences? Count me in!\u201d). All the time I was studying a course which was growing the roots of depression which had started in sixth form, and was manifesting into some serious eating problems, enabled by my new found monetary freedom.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be pressured into housing decisions<\/h3>\n

In early Feb of 2014, all my flatmates and course friends had arranged places together without me, so I went to a meet and greet\/networking event that Vanbrugh had organised to help those without housing find spare rooms and vacant spots in houses that needed filling. This is where I learned a key lesson about housing: external landlords and estate agents can pressure you into making snap decisions on housing by preying on your fear of not having somewhere. Before this event I had been looking at one-bed places for double the rent, and off-campus student housing, and everything was higher and higher prices which would have been extremely bad for me at this stage. This however showed me that not only were rooms plentiful, they were cheaper that I could have thought \u2013 I managed to find a lovely room in a house not far from campus for \u00a380.50 a week, \u00a320 less than any of my previous flatmates were paying. Now as it transpires, I was in fact not going to like the room for many reasons; I didn\u2019t get on with my housemates after a while, my depression meant I didn\u2019t clean as much as I should have, the landlord passed on his duties to his son who was less helpful, and it was further than I had first thought, but the lesson still stands; don\u2019t let a fear of missing out on housing mean you get pressured into quick decisions. You\u2019ll find somewhere, just be ahead of the game.<\/p>\n

Make sure your landlord is doing their part<\/h3>\n

I spent a year in the house paying \u00a380.50 a week, and it was ok, but it required painting on the day I moved in, and the previous tenant hadn\u2019t cleaned, so I demanded that the landlord have it professionally cleaned since that was stipulated in their contract and they hadn\u2019t fulfilled it. That\u2019s another lesson: make sure your landlord is doing their part \u2013 anything breaks, anything isn\u2019t working, call or email them because it\u2019s their job, and if you don\u2019t it can backfire (more on that later). During this time my spending habits with my student loan got to a point where I was almost at the bottom of my overdraft and needed an out, so I got a job to supplement the loan. When it comes to jobs, I think it truly depends on the individual in question; if you think you can balance uni and a job great, but make sure it\u2019s the right job, not just A job, as some will be less concerned with your time at uni and won\u2019t accommodate it as I found. Smaller, local companies are often better, and make sure they\u2019re aware of your other commitments way, WAY in advance, otherwise it\u2019ll get messier closer to the time when it turns out you\u2019re timetabled to work during the big event your favourite society is running.<\/p>\n

A new direction<\/h3>\n

At this point my depression was pretty severe and I came to a crossroads the end of my second year of Economics, as to whether I continued doing something I despised and, I had realised, that I couldn\u2019t stand doing for the rest of my life, or did I start again, adding more and more to my student finance debt. So, having thoroughly talked it over with my supervisor, my parents and myself, I decided that my best solution was to start again on a new course, Music Technology, and beg Student Finance England for an extra year of student finance (which they gave me) and simply live with the extra two years of debt.<\/p>\n

After that year, I moved into a 7-bed place with some friends from societies and my previous flatmates, and that was around \u00a386 a week for a LOT more space, and a much better quality of life. More light in each room, more space, better housemates, a better course; a real improvement from my previous year. The next two years played out fairly simply, with me pulling myself up and tightening my belt on spending so that, by the end of it I was out of my overdraft, and I was also in a very good place mentally.<\/p>\n

For this final year, myself and one of the friends from that second year in the 7-bed found a place that is serving us very well; it\u2019s on the edge of campus, a 5-minute walk from my department, with a lovely view of fields, and while, yes, it costs a bit more (\u00a3136 a week compared to \u00a386), we think it\u2019s worth it. Also, having got out of my overdraft with some changes in my behaviour and attitude to money, and some help from my parents, I can now afford this place, so long as I\u2019m still sensible with my spending. I\u2019m also working 3 jobs currently, but for two of them I am self-employed, so I dictate my own hours and work around university work. This allows for steady income, whilst also giving me something on a CV.<\/p>\n

So, hopefully, that\u2019s helped and here\u2019s some bullet points of the key lessons:<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. Student finance money isn\u2019t bottomless, and it certainly isn\u2019t yours; be sensible, don\u2019t go wild, or you may regret it later. Food, drink, some nights out, maybe a couple treats or a hobby.<\/li>\n
  2. Your overdraft is not free money, it is a lifebelt. Try and avoid it if you can<\/li>\n
  3. When it comes to housing, get organised early, in a few ways;\n