Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Category:
Personal Finance Tips
New research by HSBC and NUS has revealed that students’ finances are becoming progressively tighter when it comes to their final year at university.
Therefore, students are increasingly likely to take on ‘paid employment’ as a source of money. In fact, it was found that 40 percent of students in their final year depend on this additional income, compared to 26 percent of first year students. It has been suggested that this could be due to poor financial decision-making during the first two years of university and additional costs in the final year, such as materials for dissertations and projects.
Findings also revealed that 67 percent of students are concerned about the state of the economy, but primarily from the perspective that it restricts their ability to find employment. Furthermore, approximately 59 percent of students were found to be reliant upon support from their parents – without which, 29 percent admitted that they would not be able to afford the cost of university. The research also uncovered that students spend an average sum of £223 per week on rent, groceries and socialising. However, the amount spent by men would appear to be 30 percent greater than the amount spent by women, at £33.50 and £25.70 per week respectively.
HSBC's Youth and Student Manager, Lucy Payne, commented: "It's so easy for students to lose track of their expenditure, especially if they receive a lump some of money at the start of their studies. Students who don't budget properly and spend their whole student loan or max out their overdraft facility in the first years may find that they need to take on extra work to cover costs in the final year. The final year at university is such an important time for students and they should not have the distraction of worrying about their finances."
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Homeowners who are juggling personal loan repayments dating back to their student days could consider taking out a secured loan to tie these up into one place. One of many finance options available, a
secured loan for debt consolidation could be used to wrap up multiple credit card repayments into a single monthly repayment for example. This new monthly outlay could even be lower than existing outgoings, thereby leaving the borrower with a little extra in their pocket each month. However, when taking out a debt consolidation loan, it must be remembered that consolidating your debt may increase the amount you pay back overall and extend the repayment periods of your debts.
