Hey! I'm 21 (22 during Freshers’ week ) and I'm off to Manchester University to study computer science. I'm a bit of a finance freak and I have a weird obsession for cashflow forecasts. I guess this would be ok if I had managed to get my student loan form off in time, but seems I didn’t I will spend the next few weeks relying on my lovely overdraft and credit card! (I can’t apply for one of their emergency funds in my first week can I?) I am already about £500 into my overdraft, mostly caused by housing deposits which unfortunately my parents were unable to help me out with. The rest has been spent on university essentials. I should hopefully be given my full loan and my parents will cover my university fees. But my major concern is that I may max out credit card and overdraft before I get my loan through. Has anyone else been late in sending off their application form? How long did you have to wait for the money to reach you? How much does Freshers really cost? Am I overbudgeting and thus freaking out unnecessarily?

You're already concerned, so make sure that you spend as little as possible. Maybe it'll be a good exercise in money management more than anything! You can get by on a budget in Freshers' Week, maybe you may have to be a little more anti-social than you'd like but it will be the safer option.