Cost of living

Thecost-of-living crisis is affecting pretty much everyone at the moment. One of the causes of this is high inflation (the RPI has been going up by 10%), however energy prices have been rising even before the crisis. One of the major problems that has resulted in this was the pandemic in 2020/21, which cost a fortune in furlough, and the UK economy still hasn’t quite recovered. Another drawback is the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine because we get much of our power and food supplies from both countries. And another problem is all the ramifications and consequences that came from Brexit a few years before.

The government is helping by currently providing financial support for amongst others people with disability, childcare and/ or housing needs.

According to the NUS (National Union of Students) a third of UK students have £50 or less to live on per month after paying rent and bills. Despite inflation currently reaching double digits, the value of maintenance loans for students in England has only increased by just over 2%.

A survey of more than 4.5K UK university students, carried out by the NUS, found that 96% are making cutbacks, with over half spending less on food, another half heating their homes less regularly and one in ten cutting back on sanitary products. Three quarters also report socialising less to save money.

The NUS Vice President of Higher Education, Chloe Field, said:

“We urgently need the government to provide inflation-proof student loans and maintenance loans, bring in legislation to control student rent to avoid a homelessness crisis, and provide additional funding to education providers to bolster hardship funds. In addition to specific support, the government must also ensure that students are no longer excluded from general interventions intended to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis such as energy grants and one-off payments to households.”

Nick Hillman, the Director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), said:

“The evidence is so overwhelming that the most urgent and pressing issue for students [...] is not actually fees, it is day-to-day living costs. Sadly, to date, the Government at Westminster has largely ignored students when it comes to tackling the cost-ofliving crisis, with – for example – English maintenance loans going up by just over 2% whilst inflation surges past 10%.”

Tag interviewed some students about their finances:

First we spoke to Bo Bonnet, 21, from Hastings, studying Creative Media Production in Eastbourne.

Tag: What are your outgoings?

Bo: I have many outgoings, overall they come out to be around £450 [per month].

Tag: Tell us about your living situation. Where were you living? Where are you living now? And what do you have to pay for it?

Bo: I am currently living back at my parents’ house. I had to move out because of rent increases. I now pay around £200 a month in rent.

Tag: How much do the basics cost e.g. rent, food, travel, bills?

Tag: How much do the basics cost you e.g. mobile, food (snacks, takeaways), bus?

George: My rent is around £140 per week, a food shop is around £100 a month, travel isn’t that expensive, because of being a University of Salford student, we get a free bus which goes directly to campus.

Tag: How much do you earn at the moment from your part-time job?

George: Currently up in Manchester I am unemployed but when I go home during the holidays, I am able to pick up a few shifts and over the Christmas holidays for working about eight days I earned about £500.

It’s clear that many factors have impacted the current cost-of-living crisis. Its effects have been felt across all age ranges and are not predicted to stop any time soon. However, despite government intervention in the form of financial support for households, no one ‘normal’ again.

Tag: How much do you currently earn of living is going to affect us in the next year?

Bo: I believe that next year the prices will rise too quickly that there will be another economic breakdown like in

This is what 19 year old George Walker from Eastbourne, studying film at Salford University, had to say:

Tag: What do you have to spend money on every month?

George: All my bills are included within my rent, and this is roughly £2000 every 3 months.

Tag: Who do you live with, and do you have to pay any contributions to the household?

George: Before moving to uni I was living with my parents but now I’m living up in Salford with eight other people in a flat that go to the same university.