Students Are Not Poor Anymore

For as long as university students have existed in modernity, there has always been a stereotype that they never have any money, they live in freezing cold houses and eat nothing but beans. Whilst I’d like to disclaim that many people do indeed lead very impoverish lives as students who certainly  should be admired for their resilience, there are an overwhelming amount of people who live reasonably lavish lifestyles off the back of their student loans, and can afford things that years ago would not have been possible for the average student. In this week’s post I’d like to examine from a student’s perspective, what exactly it means to be a student in 2018 - what lives are we able to live and what commodities are now within reach thanks to student loans, and is this a good or bad thing?

Take me for example. I live in a central London flat. You go into my room and there’s a wardrobe completely full of clothes, a brand new Fender Jazzmaster guitar and amp, a dresser full of makeup and skincare products and even more draws of clothes. I have a gym membership, a phone contract, a subscription to Apple Music and more. This is not me bragging, no. This is me saying HOW ON EARTH IS THIS POSSIBLE - and it is literally only possible because of student finance. I understand that each person’s total student money is calculated based on a number of things, and I am given more based on the fact that I live in London and rent is through the roof. But I, and I know so many other people similar, are not just in a position to afford rent, but can live quite comfortable, expensive lifestyles (at least for a significant part of a semester) with not much trouble at all. 

Gone are the days of the old student life we hear about where everyone had to wear jumpers instead of putting the heating on, or live off the same meal all week because you couldn’t afford ingredients for anything else. No, students these days are ordering takeaways, going out for meals and expensive club nights out, buying new clothes and makeup regularly and generally living an extremely comfortabe lifestyle. Living in halls of residence in first year, it was astounding how many parcels were delivered daily (ones for me included) from every kind of retailer you could imagine, with visits from Deliveroo drivers being more frequent than some of the residences - it is amazing how luxorious all of this seemed. 

I also understand that many students work throughout their studies, me included, and that certainly helps with people’s financial matters. Even this I find to be somewhat of a luxury. Whilst having a job is a pretty general human aim in life, to be in a flexible enough uni schedule to be able to work extra for pocket money even if it’s just to fill your fridge shelf a bit, is something I also see as as tremendous advantage. Whilst not everyone will involve themselves in this practise and will simply live happily off their loans (this is perhaps the more probable case for people who live at home), it is becoming even more common that students are proactively working throughout their studies, perhaps hoping to continue the lifestyle that their hefty loan briefly offers them. 

Some could be seen as taking advantage of their fortunate financial situation as a student a little too much however. I myself have been guilty of going into my overdraft a week or two before my next loan installment, not quite making it stretch as far as it probably could. Some go one better (or worse) though, with maxing out £1500 overdrafts becoming all the more common as students rampage their way through expensive nights out, buying everyone a drink in a drunken state and stepping out in a new outfit for every occasion - it begs the question of whether any of us are truly in the right state of mind to be thrust away from our parent’s gaze with a massive lump of cash and no idea how to budget it. 

While it would be silly not to take advantage of certain student perks like UniDays discounts and other student centrered offers and events, it seems a lot of people, and I do include myself in this at times too, overestimate how fortunate our finances seem to be, and having not had to budget ever before, we can often be left falling short at the expense of commodities that we simply do not need to be spending so much money on. I know that I could be cooking more economically for myself, and yet after a long day in uni the only thing I can think of is ordering in, simply for the convenience. Sometimes I can resist, but often I can’t and then my bank balance suffers once more. It’s a vicious cycle I’m sure many can relate to.

So, what is the solution to this? It’s not like we can be expected to not be given as much money. My rent is extremely expensive and any less money would be detrimental to whether I could stay in London or not, but still I and so many others are being fairly irresponsible with their fortunate student finances. Perhaps better education in sixth form and colleges, before people head to uni, would be beneficial in letting young people know that yes, you may receive a lot of money, but that money must be spent usefully and with caution.

Although, another part of me wants to tell people to enjoy themselves and go a little crazy now while we have the chance. It is very unlikely that we will ever receive lump sums of money in regular increments like we do at uni, at least not in our first few jobs when we leave. As long as rent and bills are payed is it so bad if we splash out a bit to make stressful uni life a bit more bearable? Is a snazzy new outfit really THAT essential for everything you’re invited to? Let me know your thoughts!

Thanks for reading :)

H x