Talking Money

I'm Mike, I'm 21 and i'm a law student from Nottingham Trent university.

My favourite bit about uni so far has been the ultimate freedom you have.

The worst thing about university has been managing my social, financial and working life.

Obviously work experience is really important to me but at the same time I don't want to lose grip on my social life.

What surprised me about university was how easy it is to manage your finances at university once you get it right.

In about 10 years I intend to be studying - er! No I don't! (laughter) I'll be sick of that by then!

In about 10 years I intend to be working as a barrister for the government legal service.

Top tips

Umut: OK...Umut's tops tip, Umut's tops ti...(laughter)

Vinit: Vinit's top tips are, 1 learn how to cook.

Alex: No 2 is to be friend's with your bank....no that's rubbish.(Laughter) Keep on top of your finances, the more you keep on top of it the better.

Jana: Don't be afraid to try new things.

Jemma: Get to like jacket potatoes, they're really cheap, they're healthy...

Jana: I haven't thought about it really, I have to think about it sorry. No 4....

Alex: is to keep your ear to the ground, there are so many opportunities out there while you're at university and the time goes so quickly so take advantage of that time and go for any opportunity that you possibly can.

Jana: Study more.

Mike: My top tip would be, if you are a smoker, stop smoking now.

Jana: Erm...make erm, make new friends.

The undergraduate's view

Mike: I chose Law because I wanted to do something challenging, however it is a 3 year course with a further 3 year commitment. After my first 3 years I'll go on to do an another course called a BAR vocational course. Following that I"ll be working closely with barristers, shadowing them and seeing what they do for a living.

Interviewer: Do you know what the cost implications of that would be?

Mike: Obviously the normal cost of a degree, on top of that the BAR vocational course is around £14,000, which I'll have to find funding for.

I should be earning anything between £40,000 and a £120,000 a year. Any investment in my future will definitely be worth it.

Investing in your future

Sarah: OK, tell me when to start, directions please. Hi I'm Sarah, I'm studying at the London School of Economics in my first year.

Mike: I should be earning anything between £40,000 and a £120,000 a year.

Ursula: 5 years later if I progress onto a consultant level I'll be earning between £60-100,000 so it should definitely be enough to fund me eating out like I do now.

Vinit: Education, as my dad once said, is one of the best investments you can make. Research your course and talk to as many people as you can because it's one thing you wouldn't want to get wrong.

Mike: Any investment in my future will definitely be worth it.

Claire: Money is always an issue, it does get me down sometimes 'cos I'm thinking what am I going to do if I don't have money, but what am I going to do if I don't have this career, what will I have for myself.

The dos of budgeting

Mike: When I first got to University I found that my finances went in somewhat of a whirlwind. My accommodation had come out and my bank statement was looking rather dire.

Sarah: Obviously, you don't have to sit down and work out I can spend this much on food, this much on out???, this much on clothes, just you can have a rough idea, in my opinion, on how much you're spending.

Mike: For my course, I had to buy a lot of books which cost an absolute fortune; my bookshelf is now worth more than a PS3. I started to budget because I realised if I didn't I was going to end up in serious trouble. Budgeting is really important when you first start University.

Sarah: And, making sure you stick to it, I mean, don't go over it, don't go under it, really train yourself to spend a certain amount every week or month.

Mike: My way of budgeting is by listing everything going into my account, everything going out of my account, and then breaking it down in to week sections.

Accommodation top tips

Raz: Ok my top tips are decide if you want to live in hall of residence or live at home

Jemma: Accommodation will be your biggest cost at university, so what you really need to do is work out all the costs involved, not just your rent.

Aaron: Understand that you might be forced one day to pay a water bill that you thought you had paid all of.

Mike: You should think carefully about who you want to live with. There is a lot of shared responsibility, but when it works, it works well.

Naz: Put your Ribena in your room it's the champaign of cordials.

Alex: I think a lot of people found the advantage of being able to study together a great opportunity.

Claire: It is a free part of your life and you're growing up and you're learning things. Just enjoy it as much as you can because you probably can't go back on this moment.

Budgeting top tips

Mike: Budgeting is a really important part of managing your money.

Ursula: Use student deals for restaurants and living and eating out.

Mike: List all your income and all your expenditure.

Aaron: Don't buy what you don't need.

Lucy: Err.. I can't remember what number 3 was! Err. There's that one where if you go to the supermarket late in the afternoon they have all the marked-down food.

Jemma: Get to like jacket potatoes. They're really cheap, they're healthy and you can have lots of different toppings on them.

Jana: There are loads of things that you can do for free - walking, hiking, borrow books or films, if you want to watch DVDs you can borrow them from the library. Take advantage of the many discounts that are offered to students.

Jemma: Jacket potato fillings - butter, tuna, mayonnaise, egg?!

Lucy: No!

Jemma: Prawn

Lucy: Yeah!

Jemma: Chicken..

Lucy: No

Jemma: Chili!

Lucy: No

Jemma: Salad..?

Lucy: Yeah

Jemma: Fish! ... that's it.

Student loan low-down

Mike: I have two types of loan, I have a Tuition Fee loan which is for £3070 and a Maintenance Loan which is about £3000. You have to repay these loans as soon as you are earning £15 000 or more. I estimate by the time I start working I will owe between £36 and 42 000.

Interviewer: Sorry Mate!

Make-up Artist: This guy's going to be a lawyer don't be sorry for him.

Mike: Once I start repaying my loan, I will be paying it back in monthly installments which will depend on how much money I am earning at the time. It's pretty hard to tell, but I reckon by the time I am earning I will be paying back around £120 a month.

Getting a bursary

Mike: Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it, it's always available. I got a UNIAID accommodation bursary by filling out a form and sending it off.

Rosie: The bursary is worth £3500 which is what it would cost me to live in London for a year.

Aaron: I was lucky enough this year to receive a housing bursary from UNIAID.

Rosie: It pays for my accommodation, so I don't have to worry about that which is a huge amount of money.

Mike: It's quite competitive, but if you deserve it you will get it.

Banks and bribery

Rosie: I had a bank account before I started university, but I changed to a Student Account because they were offering a good deal.

Mike: When choosing a bank account don't be lured by gimmicks.

Jemma: Think about what's really important. If you've got an mp3 player, why would you want another mp3 player? Think about what your bank offers in overdrafts. In terms of service so that when you need advice will they be there for you? Where are their branches? Will they be near your university? You may have a really long relationship with your bank which will last for the whole of your life, so it's really quite worthwhile thinking quite seriously about which one you want to pick.