Cost of Living: Student nurse down to her last pound

Student nurse Kim Lloyd is down to her last pound.

It is not much to show for a week where she's done 37.5 hours unpaid on a ward placement and 24 hours of paid work.

Her situation is not unique - with students' unions warning of people struggling to stay in education and pay rent, transport and food bills.

The Welsh government said it was committed to helping all students and "provides the most generous living costs grants in the UK".

"Over the last two years there's been times I've wanted to quit… but I've carried on going because it's something I really want to do," said Kim, 33, from Welshpool.

"Hopefully I'll be able to get through the next year and qualify and be in a good job at the end of it but it's very difficult.

"It just makes me feel sad for other students because if I'm in this situation, I dread to think what other students are going through."

Kim, 33, is a trainee nurse at Bangor University, and is on a placement on a ward at Wrexham's Maelor Hospital.

When she is on placement, there is a limit to the amount of paid work she can do - no more than two 12-hour shifts. But even that can affect her studies.

"It can impact on my [university] work and time management of meeting all my deadlines… and making sure my work's not suffering.

"My grades matter to me, but then I need money to be able to survive and live. It's just a vicious circle," she added.

Her income is a mixture of student loans and paid work - and it's eaten up by rent, diesel and food every month.

Kim said: "Roughly, I aim to bring in around £1,000 a month, and it's not quite enough.

"I can't physically do any more shifts than what I'm doing.

"It depends what I've got going out to how much I am left over with, but this week I am down to my last pound.

She said the situation leaves her asking "why am I bothering?", but although life is "tough going", she wants to succeed and start her new career.

Kim describes her fridge as "quite empty," with a small carton of milk, half a tub of butter, and a few "not-so-good-looking vegetables".

"I don't buy brands. Bread, I buy a loaf and I freeze it and I kind of try and budget my loaf of bread.

"I actually have a little planner on my fridge saying I can only have three slices of bread one week. The cheapest stuff I can get, I will buy," she said.

Kim is worried about how she is "going to survive" the final year of her degree which starts in September, but her concerns are not unique.

Cara Walters will be a second year student at Swansea University in the autumn.

A summer job will help with fuel costs, but she is aware of the financial burden on her parents who have another daughter in school.

Cara said: "Everyone is worrying about next year.

"Definitely there will have to be cutbacks on socialising. I've had to look for a cheaper house to live because the rent on where I was living was getting so expensive."

She thinks the government could increase grants to help students.

Bangor University Students' Union president Nyah Lowe said: "We're hearing an increasing number of students really struggling to pay their rent, pay food bills, and just generally living costs.

"We've had multiple cases of students saying that they want to drop out of university because they don't have the financial funds to support them."

She believes Covid has had a big effect: "We're seeing huge amounts of social anxiety with our students and it's making it hard for them to reach out to us for support."

According to the National Union of Students, who surveyed 567 students in Wales, 92% were concerned about their ability to manage financially.

Their survey found 89% of respondents said financial worries had had an impact on their mental health.

The students' union is concerned some will be hit worse than others.

Student nurses or teachers who have to pay rising fuel costs to travel to placements, as well as mature students with children or dependents, could be under the most pressure.

Ms Lowe wants the Welsh government to support these people and recognise "students doesn't just mean students under the age of 18".

Mother-of-three Sue Chingombe-Smith, 44, from Anglesey, is studying for a PhD in mental health sciences at Bangor University.

She noticed a big change recently and said: "I can't afford to come to the library as often as I used to do over the years.

"I have to make maybe one trip per week, because of the fuel costs."

Sue and her husband have bills to pay, as well as three children under 18. She has taken on a job as a mental health support worker to bring in more money.

"The job itself is physically and mentally draining and at the end of the day I'm too tired to study," she said.

Originally from Zimbabwe, she said education is a highly-prized "life-changing process" for people from Africa.

She fears others following in her footsteps won't be able to afford to carry on learning, and said she knows of one person who has had suicidal thoughts at the prospect of having to drop out.

A Welsh government spokeswoman said: "Living costs should never be a barrier to studying at university, which is why Wales provides the most generous living costs grants in the UK.

"We have made a further £15m available for the Discretionary Assistance Fund which can provide financial support for those experiencing extreme financial pressures. This will enable us to extend the additional support we have put in place via the fund until the end of March 2023, ensuring those who need it can access emergency support for their immediate living costs.

"We remain committed to widening access to higher education, ensuring it is available to all who can benefit throughout their lives."