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Student Money Surveys

Students and Money 2013 – Infographic

This is an infographic we created showing the key results from our National Student Money Survey 2013. 2,332 students were asked for their experiences and opinions.

If you would like to include this infographic on your own website, you'll find the code to use at the bottom of this page.

Students and money stats infographic

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Supporting press release

4 in 5 students constantly worry about money

According to a new survey, nearly 80% of current university students are worried about having enough money to live.

The associated stress appears to be having a knock-on effect on broader student welfare too, with over one-half of those surveyed claiming that money issues affect their academic studies and more than two-thirds admitting that their diet suffers due to a lack of money.

The nationwide survey, carried out by Save the Student on 2,332 undergraduate students, also revealed that the average monthly student spend has increased by 11.2% compared to the equivalent 2012 survey.

Significantly higher rental prices are the main culprit, and in response it is clear that students are becoming much more cost conscious when it comes to 'luxuries'. Most notably, spend on socialising has almost halved from £120 a month in 2012 to just £65 a month this year.

Securing a part-time job is still the most popular way that students look to alleviate their money troubles, with two-thirds currently holding a part-time role or looking for one.

The most surprising statistic revealed by the survey however, is that 1 in 5 students have turned to gambling as a way to make money, and 1 in 4 admit that they would consider selling their body for medical trials or in the adult entertainment industry.

Over one-half of all students rely heavily on their parents for financial support, despite nearly two-thirds also claiming that they feel their parents don't help them enough. Only 8% would turn to their university in a financial emergency, preferring a trip to their bank.

Jake Butler, editor of Save the Student, comments:

It's clear that now, more than ever before, students require much more in the way of support, awareness and wider education when it comes to personal finance. Maintenance loans only go so far to cover the rising cost of living. It's also important that students are made aware that support is there for those who really need it, for example in the form of university grants and funds and through advice portals like ourselves.

It really does concern me when we see how much worry and stress money issues are causing, when after all students should be focusing 100% on their studies.

The results show that a lack of money is a cause for worry across the entire student population, with very little difference between the genders or indeed between first years (who are under the new student finance system) and other years. It will be interesting to see what happens in next year's survey.

ends     -

For more information and statistics, please contact us.

Notes to editor

Sources:

  • Survey statistics are taken from the Save the Student ‘National Student Money Survey’ 2013. Sample size was 2,332 university students in the UK between 16-27 May 2013.
    Please also refer to our report here: https://www.savethestudent.org/money/surveys
Owen Burek

WRITTEN BY Owen Burek

Owen is the founder of Save the Student, the leading student money website he started in 2007. He's passionate about educating young people about personal finance and ways to make extra money. Owen has appeared on BBC News and writes for major publications including The Guardian, Entrepreneur and HuffPost.
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