Preparing for University-Student Finance

Student Finance 

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Good evening my lovely people! I was meant to post a vegan recipe today but I had so much to do I didn't have the time; but I will make sure that it's up and ready for tomorrow afternoon :).
I thought that it would be necessary to give you some advice on how to apply for student fiance, and how to spend your money wisely; as well as telling you my personal experiences with it.
If you feel like this would help you or somebody else out there give this a little read, or share it; simply because everyone needs someone to calm them down and give them some great advice in the student finance world :).
Sit back, relax and take a deep breath, I'm here to help:).

If you want to read other advice blog posts, click here!

PLAN LIKE CRAZY:

Before you start University you need to plan what you need to buy, as well as what you already have. By doing this you can save money when needed, for example, if you already have spare cutlery at home use that, instead of diving into your University funds. Little things like this will go a long way.

• Make a list of items that you need and don't need:
  When making this list split into different categories, I did this by room, For example, if you start with bedroom, you can decide what you will need in the bedroom, write your list for this and then move onto a different room; do this until you have completed all the rooms. This way you can't get anything mixed up, plus you can't miss anything out if you do it that way. 
• Prioritize selected items:
  If your list is exceptionally long, which is what mine locked like. Select certain items which you feel you need ASAP. This way it's easier to manage, and takes so much stress of your mind. All the mandatory items have been brought on my list! This has made me feel so much better about myself; it's really reduced my anxiety. Now all I need to do is complete the rest of the list; which will happen on pay day this month. 
• Dedicate a day for applying for student finance:
  Profoundly, I feel like it's easier if you take a whole day out of your week just to apply for student finance. Simply because you are able to gather all the valid information that you need, and you can do it all in one go. Once it's done you can forget about it until you start University. 

APPLYING FOR FINANCE:

Fundamentally, when applying for Finance you need to be calm and prepared for the amount of time that it will take. From experience it was a terrible time, I let my anxiety get the better of me, I would cry with anger, or worry for no reason. I couldn't find the paperwork for my parents finances, it was all falling apart for me. Evidently I managed to get all the paper work sorted, and it started to flow from there. If you enjoy paper work and filling out forms, then you will love the student finance application. I would say that the entire process takes around 4-5 hours, depending on how much information you need. 

A few tips and tricks I would advice for you would be:

• Write down all your passwords and reference number.It will make the process longer, but it will save you time in the long run. Imagine if you forget your password or reference number, it will be a long and frustrating time for you, simply because you need your student finance ASAP. This will make it so much easier for you. This being said, make sure that you keep them in a safe place, and also a place where you would remember. There is no point writing all this information down, for you not being able to find it. 
• Have someone there with experience:
  Luckily enough I had my boyfriend keeping me calm and making sure that everything was correct. He had already been though the process the year before, which made it a walk in the park for me; especially with my nerves.
  I can't explain how helpful this was, if you can grab somebody who will hold your hand throughout this stressful experience then please do; it will make it so much easier. 
• Take your time:
  I know how cliche and condescending this may sound, but it's probably one of the best points. Please take your time, don't rush, you need to make sure that every single detail is correct; if not then you will not receive your student finance. Do you really want that happening to you? I don't think so my lovely; as annoying as it sounds please listen. It's not a race, you can do this at your own pace. 

THE PROCESS:

1. Go to the Gov website https://www.gov.uk/student-finance-register-login;
2. use the reference number provided, they would have given you this when you applied for university on UCAS;
3. set up passwords and security questions, write these down as you go along;
4. fill in your personal details;
5. give them the debit card information, this is where your student finance will appear;
6.  create your parents accounts, as they have to support your student finance account, (in order for you to get more money);
7. finish your application and fill in your declaration form and send it off in the post;
8. wait a few days until student finance give you your final money amount, keep hold of this documentation as you will need it when you register at your chosen university. 

This is the end of the blog post! I really hope that you found this helpful! When I was going through student finance it was rare that I came across a blog post in this much detail. I wanted to write this so that I could help people, as I know that some individuals still haven't applied, or some people that are heading to university next year; this will be a great stepping stone. 

You don't have to follow everything I have written, but even if it's a point or two, it will really help you in the long run. 

I love you all so very much, I am going to be writing another blog post on how to prepare for uni, it's going to be a tiny series. If that's what you want of course! If you have any other ideas then please suggest them :).

I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening, I will be posting my vegan recipe tomorrow :). I'll be heading off to bed shortly, I'm rather exhausted. 

Sweet dreams Little ones, stay safe and stay tuned :) x x x 

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Twitter:AmyRoseMcGuire
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Email: missamymcguire@hotmail.com
If you want to keep up to date with that I do on a daily basis follow me on my social media above, and I'll be sure to follow you right back :).