Students - are you financially ready?

Many of my friends' children and the young people in my youth group have received their A-level results this summer.

They have all gotten into the Uni or College of their choice - congratulations guys! 

However although they are relishing the prospect of no longer having a bed time or having to eat their greens, little do they know that with adulthood comes responsibility - for their money, their belongings and their financial wellbeing.

Oh yes, lads and laddesses. Your bank account is now your domain, and yours alone. So consider your savings, and protecting your lovely, shiny new belongings. 

A study from Sainsbury's Bank has revealed that students own approximately £3000 worth of possessions in their university accommodation. This makes you a prime target for thieves in some areas, or a disaster waiting to happen.

To wit: in 1995, we watched from an open window in a mate's house, as my mate was on the phone to an ambivalent police force, some students moving into a house just up the road. There was a red van parked around the corner, and as soon as the students were moving in with their enormous boxy TVs and laptops the size of a small car, thieves were running in behind them through the open front door, and taking their belongings into the red van.

Also in 1995, Andre the French Dude's room was turned completely upside-down, and all his belongings were covered in papier mache. I may or may not have had a hand in this. These were the heady days of Tetley Hall in Headingley. Ah.... memories. Anyway the redecoration also included his massive Enigma-style computer, which never completely recovered, nor could the disk drive forgive and forget.

Stolen from Bryony's webpage, her room (note the bottles... ahem)

For a view of one of the rooms, my friend the Rev Bryony Taylor took this pic (left) of her room at Tetley Hall back in the 1990s. Yes, it was before digital cameras were invented, yes I'm old. Get over it ... 

Nowadays there are a lot more electrical items sitting in student accommodation, and a whopping third of students say their possessions aren’t covered by home insurance.

According to Sainsbury's Home Insurance, only 10% of students living away from home have cover on their parents’ home insurance policy.

With 92% of students owning laptops and smartphones, this could be a costly item to replace if there is no appropriate cover. Furthermore, the vast majority (85% of students) say they have a physical collection of books; and the typical value of a student’s bookshelf is now £181.

SO, students - before I write a post about great ways to save for a fun three-four years at uni, please please make sure your parents have checked their home insurance policy to see if Uni accommodation and halls of residence are covered.

If not, conveniently, many providers, including Sainsbury’s Bank, offer protection for student home contents as part of its regular home insurance cover.

Item	Percentage of students who own this	Average value
Laptop	92%	£578
Smartphone	92%	£304
Books	85%	£181
Jewellery	59%	£355
Stereo/music system & speakers / headphones	59%	£112
TV	48%	£254
iPad or other tablet	44%	£299
Cameras	44%	£286
iPod or similar	42%	£124
Sports equipment	37%	£251
Games console	36%	£263
Electronic items - other	29%	£210
Musical instrument e.g guitar	23%	£634
Mobile phone (other)	18%	£159
Desktop PC	17%	£923
E-reader	16%	£89

Source: Sainsbury's Bank