Students managing their money and financial decisions, highlighting spending habits.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 brought widespread financial concerns for many South Africans. The team at Varsity Vibe wanted to know how students navigated through their financial challenges alongside the added responsibilities of university/college life. So, in December 2021, we sent out a survey to our users, to get some answers to these burning questions.
From the 5 854 respondents, 83% confirmed that they worry about money. The majority of students are struggling to make ends meet or live on a tight month-to-month budget. It is even more unsettling to see how financial stress impacts their normal lives. 61% of students have reported mental health issues as a result.
Based on the information gathered, on average, students are over-spending by R761 each month. What is alarming is that 1 in 3 students don’t have an actual monthly budget. Only 24% of students are able to stick to their budget, with the majority of those students being post grads due to their higher-income earned from working.
We found that, on average, students are spending R5 287 per month with the majority of their money being spent on accommodation (46%) and groceries (25%). While, on average, students are only earning R4527 per month and are receiving this income from various sources such as parents/family, financial aid, working, hustling, savings and loans. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many students (40% of our respondents) have had to turn to side-hustles to earn some extra cash.
The numbers do differ substantially when comparing a few things: the year of study and geographic location.
There is a large proportion of 1st years and 2nd years who have not fully adapted to university/college life and the financial responsibilities (and stress) attached to it. From 3rd, 4th and Post-Grad years, they start becoming more diligent in terms of spending as well as obtaining more income to cover their expenses.
When looking at the findings geographically, there is a significant spending gap based on where students are living. Students located in the Western Cape and Gautengare spending almost 10% more, when compared to the rest of the country – rent and socialising being the major contributing factors to this higher expense. This does not come as a surprise since property rentals in the major metropolitan cities of Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria and the general cost of living in urban areas comes at a much greater price than that of more remote areas.
Despite all the difficulties and challenges being faced, there is a clear answer when we asked “Is University worth it” – a resounding 97% believe that going to university is worth it, with many believing that without a degree, you cannot be successful.
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