In a matter of weeks, parents across the UK will be bidding farewell (or good riddance) to their kids who have been lucky enough to get in to university.
But before Freshers across the country crack open the Vodka a new report suggests they may need to keep a closer eye on their finances.
The Research, conducted by Nationwide FlexStudent, found that millions of students are spending their loans within months – on nights out, clothes, parties, holidays and cars. Over a quarter have spent their student loan within a few months and one in ten has gone through it in less than four weeks!
Roughly translated this means parents should beware, they may have flown the nest but their offspring haven’t yet relinquished access to The Bank of Mum and Dad, with 68 per cent having to subsidise their children’s further education, as a third of students would rather ask their parents for money than work more hours.
If that’s not enough to worry parents, the report also found that many are forced to take more extreme measures to ensure their children benefit from a university education, with one in six borrowing money or getting in to debt, and one in seven taking a second job or delaying early retirement.
For students, this is the time of their life, freedom from parents, an endless pool of new friends, a new city and no expense should be spared. Around one in three (30 per cent) admit they would rather run to their parents when they have no money rather than forego nights out, cut back on their food budget (five per cent), get a job (nine per cent) or do more hours at work (11 per cent).
What it really comes down to is an inexperience with money management. nearly seven in ten said they were insufficiently taught about finance and were ill-prepared for student life, with nearly a third (31 per cent) saying they taught themselves everything they know about how to manage money.
Dan King, Nationwide’s Head of FlexStudent Current Account, said: “Nationwide, as a mutual, has created a student current account that is simple and flexible to use, with an interest-free and fee-free overdraft that puts the student in control.
!It also comes with a whole range of interactive education support and tools at www.yourstudentmoney.co.uk, helping to ease the pressure financially for both parents and students.”
Nationwide’s FlexStudent current account, offers a range of benefits including up to £3,000 interest-free overdraft with no fees, one per cent credit interest on balances up to £1,000, exclusive access to FlexGraduate2 and the chance to win £15,000 to share.
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