Going to study at university is a major milestone in life. It is an opportunity to expand your knowledge, make new friends, take on greater responsibilities, and gain a degree.
Yet, it can also be an incredibly daunting time filled with academic, financial, and emotional challenges.
If you have a child or grandchild who has recently been accepted by a university and is preparing for their first year, you may be concerned that they aren’t ready to tackle everything that this new chapter may throw at them.
The good news is your child or grandchild has likely spent years learning from you and those around them and is probably more than ready to take their first big steps into adulthood than you might imagine.
However, if you have any lingering concerns, it might be worth imparting a few life lessons before they depart on their studies. Here are three simple ones to consider.
- Mastering the art of budgeting could make your life simpler
Your child or grandchild’s higher education is an opportunity for them to gain a valuable degree and leave them well-placed to secure a decent job upon graduation. However, financial worries could distract them from their studies.
So, helping your children or grandchildren learn how to master the art of budgeting and how to manage their finances could help alleviate their stress. Additionally, it might leave them better placed to focus on their studies.
Your loved ones’ university income is likely to be made up of:
- Their tuition fees loan
- Their maintenance loan
- Any grants or scholarships they’ve been given
- Any income from a part-time job
- Any financial support provided by you or other family members.
It is important they manage this income carefully to cover their various outgoings. And creating a budgeting spreadsheet or using one of the many budgetary apps on the market could help them keep track of everything. This could allow them to account for their:
- Rent payments
- Groceries
- Utility bills
- Course expenses
- Luxuries, such as nights out, weekend travel, and personal purchases.
A student budget can be extremely limited, so carefully managing it could help stretch any income to cover all their essential outgoings and help reduce any finance-related stress.
- Seize the day – happy memories can last a lifetime
University isn’t only a time for learning, it’s also an opportunity to foster new friendships, network with like-minded individuals, gain work experience in a related field, and maybe even meet a future romantic partner.
Yet, leaving home for the first time, and with it their childhood friends and local support network, could make your children or grandchildren anxious about putting themselves out there.
Yet, it’s important that your loved one should overcome any fear and seize the opportunity to make new positive memories while at university.
You might want to encourage them to:
- Sign up for societies
- Socialise with their housemates
- Meet as many people as possible on their course
- Apply for work experience or internship opportunities.
In the long term, the relationships they foster and experiences they gain could help set them up for their adult working life post-university.
- Healthy body, healthy mind, healthy life
University could be a stressful time for your loved one, as they deal with the pressures of their course, make new friends, and deal with their finances.
They will no longer have their regular support network close by to rely on and could, at times, end up feeling quite isolated.
These issues could be compounded by the fact that the university lifestyle might involve a significant amount of fast food and alcohol. An unhealthy diet could have an effect on their mental health.
So, taking the time to teach them about the benefits of staying healthy and active, as well as looking after their mental wellbeing, could give them a useful boost.
You might want to teach them some valuable cooking skills and how to prepare healthy meals that are both cheap and easy to make.
You could help them sign up for a local gym, encourage them to jog, or join a sports society at their university.
If you’re worried about your loved ones’ mental health, ensuring they have the right contact information at their disposal for relevant support services could encourage them to reach out for help if they are struggling.
Beyond that, just letting them know that no matter how far away they may be, their family will still be there for them could give them a lot of reassurance.
Get in touch
One final way you might be able to help your loved ones before they head to university is by setting them up with a meeting to gain valuable financial advice. This could cover a range of issues from managing credit options to dealing with insurance.
If you think your child or grandchild could benefit from professional advice, please email us at beyourself@murphywealth.co.uk or give us a call at 0141 221 5353.
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