As the leaving date draws closer, it's time to get serious about how I'm going to handle my student finance. If you haven't even considered doing this, do it now! Be prepared, this is the boring part of being a student.

This is a rough guide, you're likely (if you budget well) to carry over money from your previous instalment to the next. I haven't added that into my workings out because I can't predict how much of it will or won't be - when you're next instalment is just around the corner you can work out how much you've got left over, but having more money than you accounted for will be a nice surprise! (but don't lose your head, maybe keep it back for a rainy day).

If you're being loaned and granted money - or just loaned - through student finance than the first thing you should do (if you don't already know) is find out when and how much you get paid. To go straight to the site, click here.

You should be paid three instalments, for example:

(student finance will show your loan and grant - if given - separately, but I've added it together because it's easier)

24/09/2012      £2000

07/01/2013      £2000

29/04/2013      £2040*

*It's very rare that your payments will be whole figures. 

To get your weekly spending money you need to find out the cost of your accommodation and how you need to pay it (it'll be a certain percentage of the total sum for each instalment). Once you've got all that, you can work out how much you'll have for each week. It is pretty easy to do but if you need any help on how, contact me via my email address - missisgoode@gmail.com. You're likely to have between £60 - £100 more or less depending on the size of your loan/grant.

The spending of your weekly money needs to be seriously thought out. You need to buy food, and you obviously want a good time. A typical family of four spends £70 - £100 per week (this was a hard statistic to find, but the Mums on mumsnet.com continuously give this as an average) so going by that, for just one person, you definitely shouldn't be spending any more than £30 - dependent on how much you eat. When you plan a shop, always take a list and avoid any impulsive decisions to buy loads of on offer things that you really don't need. Also, I'd my advise to always put some money back as savings and then have a sensible amount for a good weekend!

MissIsGoode