Is there such thing as a crumb line?
If you think being a student is hard financially – try being a ‘full time’ athlete with no access to funding.
No interest/fee free over draft, no wavering of council tax, no student loans or grants to help ease the pain. Plus the addition of other living expenses I never once encountered as a student.
I attended Keele university, based in the midlands – possibly one of the cheapest places to live. After rent and bills were taken into account (a staggering £350 a month), I had roughly £40 to live on a week if I didn’t want to dip into my overdraft. That sounds like a measly amount but with student discounts, no car, £1 a pint nights and living around the corner from the holy grail that is Home Bargains it was actually pretty manageable. Anyway, if I did end up dipping into my overdraft by the time loan payment rolled around it matter little to me as it was interest free.
Whilst rowing at Leander I also work part time, earning less than £1,000 a month. Which, actually, compared to my fellow squad members is quite a bit more than the average. Commute time is 30mins each way, in terms of petrol it equates to anything from £60-100 a month depending on how much of a rush I am to get there. Including the occasional weekend travel I would say I average two tanks, which is just shy of £80.
With understanding housemates, I have managed to make my rent work in my favour. The problem with rowing at Leander is it’s situated in one of the most expensive parts of England. Once the bills tot up, I’m paying just under £500 a month for that. A few years ago I had some other money related stresses, which ended up with me leaning on my credit card a bit too heavily. I’ve consolidated onto one card and pay a measly £50 a month (just over the minimum).
Yet you begin to add this up and that’s already ~£700. Add in other random unnessecary things that have clung on from my days of having money, such as Spotify and other little bills like ye olde mobile phone and you’re getting up to £750. As an athlete I eat considerably more than as a student. Throw into that devilish mix the fact I’m gluten free (pasta & bread = 3x the price), is pretty difficult to spend less than £50 a week on food.
OK, so factor all that in, you’re getting close to £950. Oh great. That leaves me with £30 for any other necessities. Except I rent a boat for £40 a month. So now I’m on -£10. Already. And I haven’t bought any new kit, haven’t gone out for drinks with friends once in a blue moon, haven’t paid for any additional hobbies I may have. So that’s 0 social life and I’m already on -£10. Even if I saved on food (which may impact progress, so totally counter intuitive) and scrapped all those little clings ons…I’m still probably only giving myself a maximum of £50 a month of ‘cushioning’. Now you think about birthdays, Christmas, mother’s day, father’s day and all those other days.
Living so far below the breadline I’m searching for crumbs is made even more difficult by the fact 75% of the people around me aren’t in the same situation, as they’re working full time and actually most of them in pretty OK paying jobs.
This might seem like a random post. But I’ve seen a lot in the media about students struggling on their pittance (when really they just aren’t money savvy, I was perfectly fine at Uni), and I’ve also seen some articles about the level of funding which goes into athletes. Just take it from an athlete who isn’t funded. Who has to spend half their day as a zombie in an office to live off.. -£10 a month. Putting this much effort into a sport isn’t luxury. It’s means a life of being very strict or facing the consequences (hello, piling debt and over draft fees). Despite common misconceptions, rowing isn't purely dominated by the wealthy. Some of us have to scrape along on what we have and any additional funding from our family is a gift from the Gods. I appreciate everything my family and friends do to help me, without that I would have even less than -£10!
Natalie X
