Funding over the summer holiday

Hello again everyone! Welcome back to our series of blogs on making the most of your summer holiday.

We’re about a month into the summer holiday now, and if you’ve logged into your banking app recently, you may be finding that funds are starting to get a little low. We know that balancing your budget over the summer can be a challenge – especially as you won’t be receiving another student loan payment until September.

With that in mind, this week’s blog, by our Student Funding Advice team, is all about helping you to balance your budget. We hope it helps. If you are financially struggling, please reach out to the Student Funding Advice team at fundingadvice@yorksj.ac.uk to discuss your situation – we are here to help.

Make a budget (and stick to it!)

If you don’t know how much money you have to spend, there’s no way that you can manage your money – so your first step has to be making a budget. We recommend registering for free with Blackbullion – it’s a free online platform that helps you to manage your money. Their “Budgeting 101” pathway takes you through what a budget is, how to set one up, and how to stick to it.

We know that making a budget – and even checking your bank – can be really intimidating. But not knowing about how much money you’ve got in the bank, or not knowing how much you have to spend, doesn’t mean you’re better off – it means that you might end up in a much worse financial situation. And keep in mind that it’s never too late to make a budget, even if you haven’t had one all year. So take the first step – you can do it!

Saving money on your shopping

After your rent and household bills, one of your largest expenses is likely to be your food shopping. Other than the obvious (shopping at the cheaper supermarkets and looking for reductions), you can try the following apps to help you to save money on your food:

• No Waste: Track, organise and manage the food in your home to reduce waste.
• Trolley.co.uk: Compare prices across supermarkets and save money on your everyday shopping.
• Too Good to Go: Find discounts on surplus food at local shops and restaurants.
• Olio: Pick up items that are no longer needed from people who live nearby.

As a student, you can also get discounts for loads of shops and services through UniDays, TOTUM and Student Beans. There are also loads of offers on the MoneySavingExpert website, which is updated regularly – so it’s always worth checking to see if you can get a discount instead of paying full price.

Emergency food assistance

If you do find yourself in an unexpected situation without food, we can offer you food assistance through a stock of non-perishable food items as well as supermarket vouchers. This support is designed to help relieve immediate pressure during this difficult time. To access this support, please contact the Student Funding Advice team on fundingadvice@yorksj.ac.uk.

You can find information about other food assistance in York at the following links:

• York Food bank –https://york.foodbank.org.uk/locations/
• Salvation Army York Community Church – https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/foodbanks
• Trussell Trust – https://www.trusselltrust.org/get-help/find-a-foodbank/york/
• York City Council – https://www.york.gov.uk/HelpWithFood

If you are not located in York, please visit the Trussell Trust website to find your local food bank.

Working over the summer

If you won’t have enough money coming in to cover your expenses over the summer, your next step is going to be finding a job to make up the shortcoming. Next week’s blog is coming from our Careers and Opportunities teams and is going to be all about finding a summer job – but for now, know that the University is here to support you.

Our Careers and Opportunities team have links with businesses in York and advertise jobs all year round including summer internships. You can find these jobs on our online careers portal, Handshake.

You can also use Handshake to book an appointment with one of our Careers advisers to discuss your CV, and to get advice about how to apply for jobs, including how to prepare for interviews.

If you can’t work over the summer

If you are a parent, carer, or have other circumstances preventing you from working over the summer, please contact our Funding Advice team at fundingadvice@yorksj.ac.uk for support. 

Universal Credit and welfare benefits

If you are already receiving Universal Credit or benefits, they may have been affected by your receiving student loan. As you won’t receive a loan over the summer, your income from Universal Credit and other benefits may increase over the summer.

Universal Credit is usually paid once a month and is based on your circumstances during that month. This is called your ‘assessment period’. An amount for any maintenance you get will be taken off your Universal Credit for each assessment period that you attend the course, your student finance should not be assessed as income over the summer period.

If you would like to discuss Universal Credit or welfare benefits further, you can contact Citizens Advice.

Make sure you reapply for student finance

If you haven’t already reapplied for next years funding, you need to do this as soon as possible. You can log back into your online student finance account and reapply for the 2024-25 academic year. Do keep a regular check on your inbox for any information/evidence requests from Student Finance to ensure your application is approved ready for the start of the new academic year.