"Everyone knows about students wailing about how poor they are, but surely they spend more on alcohol a week than they do on books and food..."

Responding to generalisations with anecdotes isn't very interesting really is it?

*well not actually free

My grandpa owned a tavern, and left a huge supply of hard liquor when he died. So all of my friends and I got free alcohol. My dad would even drive up to deliver a fresh supply.

Anyway, don't a lot of college students just go to parties and drink from someone else's keg? Because I did that a lot.

I dj every fortnight, and I get paid £30 to do it. Which handily covers (pretty much) my going out expenses for the fortnight.

Unfortunately I'm going to have to stop doing this, as I really should be staying in to revise for my exams :(

now i am a rich student, and i spend most of my money fixing my car.

i thought everybody do this. i certainly know of non-students who do exactly the same.

anyway, last time i was on the dole i was on £40 a week. as a student it's £112 a week or therabaouts, which is very little if you have even the fainest zest for life. have worked but would rather be poor than return to a call centre which is the only place to earn any momney part time.
have known someone try the medical testing thing, but they did some peliminary tests on him and wouldn't take him.
i have absolutely no qualms about being a student. not much money, but it's far better than a grand a month and getting up at 8am every morning. i can go spend the day in the park practically whenever i like and fit the rest of my schedule around that.

also, drink cheaply by sneaking whiskey wherever you go. if you don't go somewhere at night full of white shirted geezers in jeans and smart shoes the security is usually lax enough.

£15 broadband is cheaper than buying records, second hand bookshops are a delight (whole terms books for £25). food i spend anything from absolutely nothing to £70 a week.

My average text book was £40 new = 4 nights out. There was only ever one copy in the library, almost always short-term loan and they introduced new books often enough to mean the second-hand bit of the Union shop only ever had obsolete stuff in stock. Most times I had no choice but to buy the book new. This was the reason I was skint all the time, not because I had a social life that relied on tanking up on Diamond White and Castaway before going out, then pouring skanky, watered down cider or whatever nail varnish remover they were calling Vodka for that week's promotion. RANT.