Money worries while at Naval College

[torialouise]

Hi All,

I have received and offer from a sponsorship company and whilst I do not argue that the offer is generous I have some concerns.

I have finished uni and been working for a couple of years now and have become accustomed to living alone and earning my own money. One of my concerns about accepting offers is how far the sponsorship money tends to go. I don't earn a lot of money right now, I was just wondering whether people found the need to have savings beforehand or supplement their sponsorship.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks.

[moose]

Depending on whether your sponsor company pay your first months rent... yes, i'd take some money with you.
You don't get paid until the end of the first month at college, so i'd be prepared for some spends that will include equipment, materials etc.

[Blondie]

It really depends on how much your sponsor company pays - some pay more than others

[Pinkscampi]

I get my last pay right before college start and I've started putting some aside for the first month! I've sat down and budgeted every penny. You will be fine if your careful

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[kirky1122]

Sorry to change the subject but does anyone know when CMT pay their cadets? Start on 17th Feb, I assume it's monthly pay but is there a months lying time or anything?

[JonathanI]

Yeh I never really had a problem living off the money. You should be okay aslong as you budget ! Clyde pay you last Friday every month ! So they will pay you a week probably

[kirky1122]

Good stuff! Was wanting to see if I could go home for the weekend for my birthday but considering it's the 8th march I doubt it, ah well, there will be many more


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[Martyboy]

My honest answer (and people may disagree) is...... How much do you like a drink/night out? OR how expensive are your hobbies. If you stay in halls, the typical cadet in phase 1 has ?160 left over after paying halls (basing this on team Maersk who are happy to admit they pay the average wage for a cadet) soooooooooooo Does your alcohol/hobbie budget live within ?160 a month, keeping in mind your halls fees cover rent utilities and food

Also.......halls at college are usually WAY below the standard you'll of had at uni, so don't turn up with high standards or you'll be really disappointed

[laura]

Hi All,

I have received and offer from a sponsorship company and whilst I do not argue that the offer is generous I have some concerns.

I have finished uni and been working for a couple of years now and have become accustomed to living alone and earning my own money. One of my concerns about accepting offers is how far the sponsorship money tends to go. I don't earn a lot of money right now, I was just wondering whether people found the need to have savings beforehand or supplement their sponsorship.

Any advice would be great


Thanks.

Hi,

I was in a similar situation to yourself when I started nautical college, self supporting for several years. It was tough but manageable. Being at sea was the hardest as after bills I was left with about ?50 over for the month... I actually couldn't afford being home for more than a week or so. But made sure I wasn't ever in this position.

Are you renting? It's probably cheaper than halls, but sub letting while at sea is definitely a consideration. My problem was the sea phases don't fit well into rental agreements and finding storage for belongings can be problematic/ expensive.

Used to working, you're going to have to reduce your budget dramatically... bills, heating, telephone, weekend trips- reassess what you can manage. I don't know who you're sponsored by, but with a management company when I was a cadet- ?65 was rent, ?45 approx all bills (gas, mobile, elec), ?15 food approx, the rest (?35) to save for clothes/ monthly night out/ luxuries. It's not much but possible, you have to be quite disciplined especially if you've got no parents/ partner to fall back on. If you have savings it might be worth dipping into these. Part time work is not so viable due to sea phases/ exams, but some people do manage. You should be exempt from council tax or on an apprentice rate at the least.

It can be awkward keeping contact with working friends, who don't always realise how thinly you're stretched, but be honest from the off. You end up missing social engagements which can lead to losing touch with folks in the end. If you've ever been a student, you're going back to that, financially anyway. It's a very different life.

Student loans are a consideration depending on your circumstances, but they need paid back! Could be worth seeing if you're eligible for funding/ bursaries of some sort.

Is it manageable? Yes. Is it great at the time? No. But when you finish you get to play on boats and get paid so if you're keen it is worth it in the end.

[kirky1122]

The halls I'm staying in are self catering, how much do you reckon I would be spending on food? I don't eat a lot / buy snacks and stuff. My halls are around ?85 for rent, also does this usually come with wifi etc?

[laura]

Depends what you cook! A good thing if you're
kinda organised is to share meals/ food...
like everyone does a turn cooking and everyone pays for their 'meal' on a rota, saves a load of money but you need to
be sharing with the right folk to make it work.

Give yourself a budget, I dunno ?25 or something I guess is reasonable these days.. stick to it, cause the money left over is for fun stuff- night outs, trip to the five a side pitch/ swimming/ cinema... but it really depends on yourself and how you cook/ eat and what you spend your money on. I'm guessing you're a wee bit younger? There's a 'girl called jack' who does a blog about eating for ?10 a week for two.. and the recipes and stuff. Loads of that kinda thing online.

Go onto a supermarket website and see how much you would spend for yourself for a week- realistically- if you eat crisps, want nice cereal... budget it in, see how it adds up to give you a wee idea.

[Martyboy]

I spent ?50 on shopping at Asda yesterday............. but I do have a lot of steaks and mince and stuff The phrase "It's student loan day" was used a lot :P

[laura]

Also sounds stupid, but you forget about stuff like washing up stuff, cloths, loo roll... salt and pepper for the cupboard.. it'll probably all need bought too.

[kirky1122]

Yeah I'm 16, I would be getting the gym membership up at Shetlands, I train a lot but which will have an impact as high protein foods are dear so I'll need to make an adjustment!


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[kirky1122]

I dunno if I'm right in saying this but I 'think' I get some kind of housing benefit because in living independently at 16, could be wrong though, also see how I'm getting the sponsorship payments am I also allowed to enquire about bursaries from the college?


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