After ‘necessities’, students can only dream of saving

STUDENTS are becoming increasingly aware of the need to save for a rainy day and strive to put some of their monthly allowances away – but with increasing petrol, electricity and food prices, some are battling to save.

With a recent survey showing students were not prone to saving and instead blew their cash on booze, cigarettes, clothing and their partners, students in the Eastern Cape said it was not by choice but because there was not enough money for everything.

The Student Village survey, in which 3 646 students aged between 18 and 24 were polled, also found that students spent more than the average South African at R45 216 and R25 208 respectively.

The students, who get the bulk of their income from their parents, said they first attended to necessities, including toiletries, food and “the occasional item of clothing”.

A Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) student, aged 25, who would not be named, said he did “mean- ingful things” with his R3 500 monthly allowance from his parents.

“The bulk goes to groceries and petrol, at about R800 each, and then there is electricity of about R400.

“I spend about R800 on entertainment and the rest I put away for a rainy day,” he said.

Rhodes University student Edumisa Makhonco, 19, said the bulk of the R800 she got from her uncle each month went on toiletries and snacks.

“I stay and eat at res, so I spend money on snacks a lot because we have supper quite early,” she said.

“When I have more money, I’ll save, but there is not much to go around now.”

A University of South Africa (Unisa) student, aged 22, who would not be named, said she was left with nothing to save from her R600-a-month allowance from her parents.

“If I had enough money to save, I definitely would.”

She said she had to stretch the money to cover her monthly hair treatment, cigarettes and alcohol and an item of clothing “if it is a good month”.