Over half of students reveal money worries impacts their mental health

A survey of students revealed that four-fifths (79%) worry about money, with 57% saying this worry impacted their mental health.

The research carried out by the National Student Money Survey 2019 and published by Save the Student also found that money worries affect students’ diets (53%), social life (79%), grades (35%) and sleep (41%).

As well as this, the survey showed that 74% of students used maintenance loans to help pay towards living costs, however 62% of students said that this loan wasn’t big enough to cover all their costs. Other places students went to help fund their studies was parents (73%), part-time jobs (67%), overdrafts (49%) and savings (49%).

Students using overdrafts to help fund their studies should be aware that while many student bank accounts offer interest-free overdrafts, once they leave university the overdraft debt can be hit by high interest rates. Ideally, overdrafts should only be used as emergency money and paid off as quickly as possible or else students could find themselves starting their career having to pay off extra debts on top of their student loans and maintenance loans. To find out the best student bank accounts for overdrafts, read our guide best student bank accounts 2019/20.

With 49% of students using savings to help fund their studies, clearly having a good amount of savings before heading off to university will be beneficial for students. Although easy access savings accounts typically offer lower rates than fixed rate accounts, they are usually a better option for students as they offer a more flexible saving option, including quick access to funds. Currently, the best rate in the easy access chart is 1.50%, which is being offered by Cynergy Bank, Marcus by Goldman Sachs® and Virgin Money.

No matter how students pay their way through university, with 79% suffering from money worries, being able to manage finances will help to reduce stress for the majority of students. Our guide on how to manage finances as a student provides those going to university with some useful advice on how they can best manage their money.