Uni & The Cost of Living Crisis: A Gen-Z's Take

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Are you a skint Gen Z student struggling to make ends meet? Welcome to the club! With inflation skyrocketing and wages stagnating, it's no surprise that we're all feeling the pressure. But fear not, I have some tips and tricks to help you navigate this diabolical financial landscape.

In case you’ve been living under a rock since 2021, let me just run this through for you real quick: the cost of living crisis in Britain refers to the decrease in ‘real’ disposable income due to the rise of inflation. Currently, inflation in the UK is at the highest it has been in 40 years and inflation now stands at 10.1%. This means that everyday items are more expensive whether it's chicken or Smirnoff, everything is on the rise and money just doesn’t go as far as it used to.

During inflation, students have suffered with studies showing that young people are now spending more than twice the national average on unavoidable and non-negotiable expenses such as rent, bills and essential purchases. The National Student Money Survey conducted last summer revealed that the average uni student suffers a monthly gap of £439 between their maintenance loan and living costs. So, if you’ve found yourself wondering why your maintenance loan doesn’t seem to be maintaining much, don’t worry you’re not alone!

Due to the rise of living costs and the effect this has had on students, the government have announced that they will increase the maintenance loans for the next academic year by 2.4%...but this doesn’t even begin to touch the sides when inflation is at 10.1% and we are already struggling to make ends meet. So, as the government doesn’t look like it's going to help us out (thanks Rishi :/), we’re going to have to figure this one out for ourselves.

Firstly, I’d encourage you to sign this petition calling for the government to increase maintenance loans so that they match the rate of inflation. And, whilst we wait for Rishi to remember that we exist, here are six tips and tricks... continue reading here.