My lovely grand-daughter

PS. My lovely granddaughter has just got a place at Solent University and has sent me a picture of her smart new PINK haircut

I would just leave things exactly as they are and not ask any questions. If she is happy, enjoying uni and has a good social life then it's money well spent. She will remember your kindness in years to come.

There's plenty of time for her to learn about budgeting which she will have to do when moving out of Halls. It's all part of life's experiences.

Don't rock the boat!

Well DoraMarr you are lucky to use taxis quite a lot you must be in a much better financial situation than I am I use my bus pass all the time and if it’s before 9.30 I walk or cycle When going away if it’s before 9.30 I walk with a wheelie suitcase just 20 min walk as I know I ll be sitting all day I couldn’t afford many taxis and I m sure the original poster isn’t providing money for a teenager to use taxis

I think you should encourage your granddaughter to get a job weekends and or evenings so she learns the value of money teenagers think twice if they re spending their own money

I think you have to continue as you have been giving the £200 when you are asked. But talking to her generally about Uni life is a great idea. As has been said one night out can gobble up money, but so can other social activities there is a fee for most university clubs and travel and food can be expensive. If she is finding things difficult you could offer help with budgeting or give her gifts of essential items. When my DS was at Uni I used to do a huge shop whenever I visited him and fill his cupboards with food that would keep.

Has to not had to.

My GD had to buy her food too *Annie". Although she is in halls, there is no food provided. She clubs together with her pals and they go to Aldi!

It doesn't really matter how much money she has, what matters is the need to learn to manage it. By saying she can come to you when she is short will take away that need and of course make her dependent on you. I think you need to discuss with her and if need be, her parents.

I just think it would be very difficult to question your DGD without sounding nosy and prying, but it might just be worth mentioning that you are always there if she has any problems regarding anything and that you hope she can always come to you.
When our DD was at uni (early 2000s) she had a loan, but we were lucky enough to be able to afford £400 a month for her to cover food and to help with rent and utilities, clothes etc.

Our GD started uni last year. We give her £50 a month and put the odd extra bit in now and then. She has a job back here which they keep open for her each holiday. Her mum is encouraging her to try to get a part time job on campus but they are few and far between. I'm sure she wastes a lot of money, but she's young and having the time of her life to be honest. I wouldn't dream of questioning her. I think it would be hard to stop giving her the money once you have started. We gave ours a large lump sum when she got to 18, which her mum is trying to keep maybe for her to use as a deposit for a home or something. We decided that if we give her money, we give it with good heart and forget about it (with guidance from her parents).

Yoyr grandaughter may have had an expensive Christmas and needs money to tide her over. Does she have any sort of part -time job to provide extra income?
If she is in Halls and in a campus university she shouldn't incur large travelling or food expenses.
Most academic resources are online so access and availability, particularly in the first year, should not be an extra cost.. Does her course require extra materials for work, such as art, technology, or visits to exhibitions, museums etc?

It sounds as though she is not managing her money very well, and is probably overspending on personal things and entertainment. By all means ask her if she is having money worries, and don't continue to advance money unconditionally, but don't discuss it with her parents unless a serious problem emerges.
When I went to college my father, not noticeably generous, said to me 'we don't ever want you to be without money, so if you are short tell me and I will lend you extra, and then in the holidays we will go through your finances and see where you can save.'
I never asked him for extra money and learned to manage on what I had!

Is it her first year? It is very difficult the first year away from home, when budgeting and managing your life entirely independently is a new experience and things can get out of control.

She may be in a bit of a state and trying to sort herself out, and worried about telling you or her parents, so a kind word from you asking how she is coping and letting her know that you understand and will help her (not necessarily money) if she has got herself into a bit of debt may be very welcome.

Both my DC got themselves into a bit of a financial muddle in their first years at uni but we made sure that it was always easier to talk to us about it than take out loans or have huge overdrafts.

A couple of glasses of wine ... bottle of booze... new tee- shirt... entry fee to a club... take away ...£100 gone!

Cost of student life is quite different to when I (69 -72), & then my DDs , ( 90s) were at that stage.
An average weekly shop cost about £1/2s in ' 69 which would be approx £17:25p today...but we would get far less for that money today! My parents provided £20 per month for me.
DH set up an account at Waterstone's for the DDs so they could always get the texts they needed and we gave them an allowance too.

Also, she probably won't be buying textbooks. The majority are available online through the uni now and no student I ever knew spent their money on books when they could get access to them for free (and spend the money on alcohol!).

As someone who was a student not too long ago I think apart from food it's probably being spent on nights out and clothes for those nights out. Most students are out 2-3 nights a week. That soon adds up! Although it is a lot of money spent I don't regret it (and nor does my younger sister). It was fun to do whilst we could!

I think its a lot of money; more than a person on universal credit gets, and lots of people were quite scathing about why food banks were needed.

My three grandchildren had to buy their food when they were in halls.

Also it is January! Many people struggle to get to pay day in Jan uary. Christmas festivities take its toll on the purse! A hundred a week sounds a lot but in reality will be aesy to spend. Does all the money get into her account at once? You might suggest that you put your £200 in on the 15th of the month or whatever..so her income is spread out a bit.

Actually I use taxis a lot, in the evenings, or when I am catching an early train to go away- there’s not a lot of difference between a bus fare and a taxi, and I am paying for the convenience too. ( I can’t use my concessionary pass before 9.30.) I rarely pay more than £8 a trip. When I was a student I used to hitchhike home from a night out- I would rather my grandchildren used a taxi. This young woman is indeed very fortunate to have parents and a grandmother who can afford to give her quite a generous allowance, the poster is just concerned that she may not be budgeting effectively yet.

Halls are not always local to campus anymore. My son had a good 20 minute bus ride to campus at Exeter when in halls. They were nearly all self catering halls there too. My daughter at Surrey was a lot closer but had to travel to placements and was self catering from the start.

Can’t she get a part time job surely that’s what most kids do
I love the bit someone suggests ‘taxis’ well who has money to spend on taxis unless on a special occasion do you all use taxis on anything other than an exception ...she’s in halls so needs no travelling to and from uni and surely socialising will mostly be in groups Don’t most cycle, walk or have student cards for buses
You say you can afford it but no wonder working class kids don’t get to go to uni any more
If you start paying her early she will never learn to manage Kids should be managing their money as soon as they are old enough to start their paper round

Spot on cornergran get her chatting next time you meet up.

I think I’d ask generally about university life, face to face if she will be around soon if not in a phone call,when you know you both have time to chat. Be interested. Let her chat. Listen for what the pressures are, what she particularly enjoys. Has anything been surprising in a good or bad way and then listen to what she says. If anything obvious is left out ask her gently ‘I was wondering about.....’. Remind her you love her and want her to enjoy her time at University. It is a big change for her, there will be pressures she hasn’t experienced before. Money does disappear quickly sometimes, as long as you keep your conversation non blaming I’m sure you’ll hear if there are any real worries. We all have to learn to manage money, sometimes we get it right sometimes not.

I agree it sounds a lot, but as others have said, she is young, is experiencing more freedom than she has had, and is probably taking a while to learn how to budget. She is probably spending a lot on socialising, eating out ( eating in hall every night can be boring,) taxis, clothes. I think, since you are giving her the money, you are justified in telling her that you will stick to an agreed date for her allowance every month, and will not pay out before that, so that she can learn to budget a bit better. When she leaves halls and goes into rented accommodation next year she will need to be able to manage her money carefully.

I agree with dolcelatte and dizzy. Although £400 per month sounds a lot, if that is being used for text books, toiletries, clothing, travelling and socialising, plus perhaps food, then it can soon be used up. Some text books can be incredibly expensive.
You could perhaps ask in a more general way how she is coping.

Does her hall provide food? A lot of them are self catering and learning to budget for food can take a while. As someone else said books are very expensive as is socialising. Libraries only have a limited number of the most popular textbooks and you can’t take them out for long. I wanted my daughter to go out and make friends, it’s so important to establish a support network when they’re away from home for the first time.