Financial realities of living in the UK

When I entered college the last thing that was in my mind was going abroad. I was bent on finishing my course as fast as I can so that I can repay my college loan as swiftly as possible. Finishing fast meant getting good enough grades so that I won’t have to do any other additional work or, god forbid, retake any subjects. You can say I was a man on a mission and my end goal was to finish a four year course in less than four years. Ambitious? You bet it was but I had my reasons and the least of it was bragging rights or glory. I just wanted to start working and I know that with a degree under my belt I’m likely to get into a good paying job. I was just really being practical about it.

So it came as a big surprise that I was chosen for an exchange program that rewards students with good academic standing a chance to finish their studies in the United Kingdom. Who would have thought that the level of work I was putting into my studies was going to get noticed by my department heads and it will lead to me being nominated for the program?
So here I am in London continuing my studies. I will be staying here for a year and I am quite excited because I will have some of the top authorities in my field as professors. Unfortunately, that enthusiasm is dampened a bit when faced with the financial realities of living and studying abroad. Yes I do have a stipend, which is part of the academic program I got involved with. But a stipend will never be enough to make a student live comfortably in a country where the exchange rate is just so much higher. Couple that with the fact that there are certain expenses that you should pay for like groceries and paying utilities as well as paying the rent for the place. With the high prices it is no wonder that most students try to actually apply what they have learned very early on by looking at various resources and advice that would help them stretch their money even further. Sites like BBC Money, HSBC and Norwich Union had been a great help. Endsleigh Insurance is also a great resource.

Because of the limited financial support for exchange students most of us also work on the side to support ourselves. The good thing with this though is that we sometimes earn enough that we can practically ourselves as self supporting students. When this happens we would try to put our money in some form of productive endeavors. Finance experts would recommend getting a house, whether on a fixed rate mortgage or variable rate. The house insurance is also discussed. For those (which means all) who still need more finances, home loans are now made available even for exchange students.

Lastly, the subject of having a car is also an issue that exchange students have to contend with. There are those who just save what little they can in order to get a car. Of course, being a foreigner does not exclude them from paying for the required Young drivers car insurance or student car insurance.