What does it cost to live as a student? Help!

ApeLove

I'm wondering how much students really get on their grants aside from the amount that covers college fees...estimates of how much is spent a week on accomodation/bills etc would really help.
How tough is it, financially, to live in Galway as a student?

Raging_Ninja

If you shop in Lidl and Aldi, use the freezer and stuff, bring a packed lunch to college with you, then food bills could be about €20 per week. If you want 'better' food, want to eat out, a conservative estimate would be €60+ per week.

The rent you pay is entirely up to you, and is probably the biggest variable. Rent can vary from €50 to €100 a week depending where you live.

The electric bill depends on the number of people in this house and whether its electric or oil (or whatever) heating. A reasonable estimate, for a house with 4-5 people (electric-conscious that is) and electric heating, the bill could be maybe €200 (maybe lower) for a 2 month period, rising to maybe €300 for the winter months, split between those in the household. This can (and does) vary wildly from house to house.

If you have oil heating, the electric bill could potentially be half that amount or even less, though the heating bill depends entirely on the price of oil.

Other bills could include internet and Sky/NTL. Assuming basic packages for both, this could be €40-€60 per month, split between however many are in the house.

Then it depends on how much and how often you drink, whether you eat out or not, purchasing of books etc. Be aware, academic books can cost anything from €30 to well over €100 each.

QueenOfLeon

Student accommodation would be 100-130 a week in general. It is usually paid in lump sums twice a year. You pay a high deposit (I paid 800) which covers electricity bills, tv, internet bins and heating. Theres nothing extra to pay unless you go over the limit on electricity.

If you rent privately its around 60-80 per week (paid by direct debit per month). You have to pay the bills separately, we had to buy a TV licence (160 divided up between all of us), and pay the ESB bill every 2 months (around 20-40 each). We also had to fill the oil tank ourselves which was by far our biggest expense - not sure what we were doing with it but we had to spend hundreds each for oil, suspicious that it might have been stolen We were lucky to have bins and internet included but not all houses have...internet could be around 30 per month divided between the whole house and the bins are a yearly bill.

Extra expenses are obviously food (easy to find ways to buy things cheaply), transport at the weekends if you plan on going home, and socialising. Galway is one of the best places for saving on socialising imo as clubs are very cheap to get into (if not free). I'm sure you're able to figure out yourself how much you'd plan on spending on alcohol and food :P

Then theres always other stuff cropping up like buying books, tickets for events, lab equipment, that sort of thing.

snubbleste

SU estimates it's about €1k per month :eek: but I'm sure it's doable on half that.
Ask our friend Google your question and see http://www.nuigalway.ie/international/faq.html http://www.su.nuigalway.ie/site/view/360/

filmbuffboy

A Breakdown of what I live on as a full time student in Galway city per month

Rent (large double room) : 360

Moblie Phone: 20

Moblie Broadband: 20

Electricity 190 euros every two months split between 4 = 23.75 per month

ntl 75 euros every three months split between 4 = 6.25 per month

Food (I only shop in Aldi) = 120-150 per month (I bring packed lunches to college to save money)

Spending money 20-30 a week (this includes cinema, clubs, pubs etc..... if i go out clubbing i drink cheap beer at home before hand and try to get into the club free before a certain time)

I dont drive so no pesky car tax & insurance

OP, you could live on even less than I am spending if you cut out broadband and lived in a smaller, cheaper room.

its all about frugal living and cutting corners so you have a bit of dosh for yourself at the end of the week too. Its doable! good luck

LAVADUDE

Depends really, despite what people say it is indeed possible to put your food bill at around €20 per week and still eat healthy, Lidl and Aldi are the best
(although Tesco do some good value there is more temptation to impulse buy),

Rent varies wildly it is possible to get rented accommodation from a little as €50 a week if you go private accommodation with 4 other people (not including yourself), but you must be willing to walk at least 15 minutes to University each day to get these low prices.

Heating and electric vary as well, depends on how much you and your house mates are at home.
Internet which you need would work out at around €15-20 a month (avoid getting extra channels if you get TV thrown in)

Also buy books second hand, actually better with some courses its a complete waste of time buying the book at all. Just borrow from the library and photocopy.

As you're in Galway there is little need to drive unless you commute
Also use your free webtext.

bootsmcginty

ApeLove wrote: »

I'm wondering how much students really get on their grants aside from the amount that covers college fees...estimates of how much is spent a week on accomodation/bills etc would really help.
How tough is it, financially, to live in Galway as a student?

its tough, but if you've worked before you will get the back to education allowance. also apply for tlt maintenance grants. forms availabel eat local library. if ur renting you could get upto 400 a month from the grant.

ApeLove

filmbuffboy wrote: »

A Breakdown of what I live on as a full time student in Galway city per month

Rent (large double room) : 360

Moblie Phone: 20

Moblie Broadband: 20

Electricity 190 euros every two months split between 4 = 23.75 per month

ntl 75 euros every three months split between 4 = 6.25 per month

Food (I only shop in Aldi) = 120-150 per month (I bring packed lunches to college to save money)

Spending money 20-30 a week (this includes cinema, clubs, pubs etc..... if i go out clubbing i drink cheap beer at home before hand and try to get into the club free before a certain time)

I dont drive so no pesky car tax & insurance

OP, you could live on even less than I am spending if you cut out broadband and lived in a smaller, cheaper room.

its all about frugal living and cutting corners so you have a bit of dosh for yourself at the end of the week too. Its doable! good luck

So that's around €120 a week, with a given that it could be cut down a bit by getting a cheaper room, spending less on socialising, credit etc...does the grant cover this for anyone? Any information on how much you will actually get per month on a grant, aside from actual college fees being paid? I'm planning on getting a job but if I can't get one for a while, will the grant cover these costs, or a decent part of them?

ApeLove

bootsmcginty wrote: »

its tough, but if you've worked before you will get the back to education allowance. also apply for tlt maintenance grants. forms availabel eat local library. if ur renting you could get upto 400 a month from the grant.

I'm going to college straight out of Leaving Cert so haven't worked before...€400 a month is a lot, but I'd need about €800 at least to move out, wouldn't I...is it at all feasible on the grant?

filmbuffboy

bootsmcginty wrote: »

its tough, but if you've worked before you will get the back to education allowance. also apply for tlt maintenance grants. forms availabel eat local library. if ur renting you could get upto 400 a month from the grant.

This is not entirely accurate information OP. YOu will be entitled to the back to education allowance if you are unemployed and recieving jobseekers benefit/assistance for at least 9 months immediately prior to the start date of your course.

If you can you should try and get on back to education allowance as it is better than the grant because you would be entitled to a medical card and in some cases rent allowance in addition to the 188 euros a week. The great thing about the BTEA is that youre paid weekly rather than getting three large cheques per academic year. Makes life a little easier

LAVADUDE

filmbuffboy wrote: »

This is not entirely accurate information OP. YOu will be entitled to the back to education allowance if you are unemployed and recieving jobseekers benefit/assistance for at least 9 months immediately prior to the start date of your course.

If you can you should try and get on back to education allowance as it is better than the grant because you would be entitled to a medical card and in some cases rent allowance in addition to the 188 euros a week. The great thing about the BTEA is that youre paid weekly rather than getting three large cheques per academic year. Makes life a little easier

This will create problems in the future if they waits, claims job seekers allowance then goes to college.
Such as the interview question "and where were you between (X date) and (Y date),
I also find it wrong to advise anyone to waste a year of their life, claiming the dole

filmbuffboy

LAVADUDE wrote: »

This will create problems in the future if they waits, claims job seekers allowance then goes to college.
Such as the interview question "and where were you between (X date) and (Y date),
I also find it wrong to advise anyone to waste a year of their life, claiming the dole

I wasnt advising anyone to "go on the dole" as you put it. to get the dole you must be in the unlucky position of finding yourself unemployed. my post states IF you can, try for BTEA, if meaning you find yourself in the position, not "give up your job and claim benefits before college" which is what you seem to think i was saying.

if you want to rant at someone about the system then write a letter to a government official as to why you have to sit on your arse for 9 months to get this scheme. dont shoot the messenger!!! all my message was trying to do was to clarify what a previous poster had misinformed the OP of and to clearly state the benefits of BTEA vs the grant. nothing more.

Raging_Ninja

ApeLove wrote: »

So that's around €350 a week

I think your math is a fair bit off there...

ApeLove

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

I think your math is a fair bit off there...

Oops, yeah, I'm taking pass maths for a reason ...was counting the electricity bills really inaccurately...so it's essentially around €90-140 a week then...realistic on the grant, or not?

filmbuffboy

its doable, you would just have to be super strict with where your money goes.

another saving tip: switch your mobile provider to o2 and you get discounted cinema tickets mon-thursday for only 4 euros just for being an o2 customer!!!