In an idle moment today I decided to google "Food budget for one UK" and one of the first sites to come up was Edinburgh University giving advice to new students coming from overseas. I'm still reeling! They suggest that a student needs a food budget of £145 to £260 per month. It may be that life would be more costly for an overseas student with a diet which would be unusual in this country than for those of us for whom the supermarkets design their product ranges, but this seems very high to me.
They may have limited cooking facilities and even more limited cooking skills and almost certainly would have higher energy requirements than an older woman like me. They would probably not have access to a garden, allotment or even much of a window box. There are probably factors which I haven't even thought about.
So how much you reckon a single student would need to budget?
I think my daughter spent about 35 UK pounds per week when she was a student in Kingston,lived in Surbiton, per week. She's a vegetarian, but due to limited cooking facilities, she did tend to pick up some convenience foods like veggie patties, pre-made hummus, and other things that would have been cheaper and better to make herself.
ReplyDeleteSo much depends on their ability to cook and to understand the theory of budgeting and planning, and also where they are situated. London prices may be much higher than in the rural areas. Those figures do seem a bit high.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter spent around £15 per week on groceries, sometimes less. She cooked from scratch, made soups etc and went yellow sticker hunting in the evenings. She does the same now that she is no longer a student.
ReplyDeleteOuch for my daughter. I wish she roomed with yours when she was a London area student.
DeleteEven more ouch for some Edinburgh students who are spending £60 weekly. Your daughter was just at the lower end of the Edinburgh suggested budget.
DeleteI'd have thought a maximum of £100 a month. Less if they take some staples from home such as rice, cous cous, tinned tomatoes, beans etc with them each semester.
ReplyDeleteHi Thisissixty. Welcome to my blog.
DeleteMaybe the higher food budget considered the student might eat out some of the time or buy convenience foods. I think people who don't know how to cook spend more. Maybe?
ReplyDelete