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Anonymous

06 Aug 2020

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What is the market rate for a university student's allowance?

Entering uni in August and discussing with parents regarding how much allowance I should receive on a monthly basis but I'm not sure how much the average expenditure is. If you guys don't mind sharing, how much allowance did you receive or currently receiving as a uni student, and what is the rough breakdown of your expenses?

Discussion (7)

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I mean if you're from a rich background you can simply use any of the given comments as a gauge and take however much you won't feel guilty for. For me personally didn't really discuss with my parents or anything but was just an automatic thing that I stopped asking for it since my parents ain't rich and have 2 other siblings.

School fees I'm taking TFL but hostel fees my parents offered to pay since it's not for all 4 years anyway. Expenses are slowly drained from my NS savings so that's one slight upperhand for guys. For girls you can probably get tuition offers very easily compared to guys if you want to be "kind-of" independent since like mentioned by another user, most of us won't be paying rent or for food if staying at home.

Overall don't think you should compare with others, just think about how early or late you'd want to take charge of your own finances, there's no right or wrong until like after graduation.

I just graduated and received $400 from my parents every month in uni which I found to be about enough. I usually spend less than $10 a day on school food (bfast, lunch and dinner on weekdays), spend about $50 on transport every month, and spend the rest on myself (e.g. shopping, entertainment) or save up for big-ticket items. There are many ways to save, for example, not buying textbooks (could be like $90 for one tb) unless it was absolutely necessary by instead visiting the library every week to borrow free textbooks, or if you wanna socialise with friends - buy drinks and have them at home instead of going club / bar. I wouldn't say that my lifestyle is too frugal and I still managed to enjoy most uni experiences, by working part-time jobs / internships to finance my own exchange trips and holidays to Korea / Europe. (p.s. thankfully I had a scholarship that just about covered my tution fees + almost all of my hall fees, just had to top up a little from my own pocket)

I think it really ranges from $0-$800 a month so there's no fixed market rate. Many guys I know don't take allowance from their parents after they've served NS and accumulated some savings. Best to work something out that both you and your parents would be comfortable with! If you are fortunate enough to receive a higher amount, I would strongly recommend you to start saving and investing early, and return the money to your parents when you're financially independent. All the best in uni :)​​​

What allowance? Zero. Including having to finance my own tuition.

I have a differing view from most...

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