Student bank account

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1

Hi
I was wondering if Monzo does a student bank account as i need one for uni

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You donā€™t need a specific student bank account for uni, any bank account will do

But no, they have no account specifically for students

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Maybe they mean one with the free overdraft that seems like a great deal until years later you realise itā€™s only great for high street banks so they end up with a bunch of customers in a cycle of perpetual debt at high interest rates?

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For a lot of students, if managed correctly, it is great due to the stupid loans system that assumes parental contribution.

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Agree with this.

Biggest problem is often a rental deposit, which obviously youā€™ll get back one day. If you can pay for this via an interest-free overdraft, then that is surely the best method possible.

And if you move during uni, youā€™ll often have to have access to a deposit amount x2, because youā€™ll need to pay your second flatā€™s deposit before youā€™ve had your first returned (and whilst the landlord is no doubt being a little shit about said return).

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Most people I went to uni with tended to get smashed for a week when the money came in from SFE then lived on pot noodles until the cycle repeated itself

I donā€™t think they were efficient at managing their ā€œfree moneyā€

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Haha I mean valid, Iā€™m sure I could name a few/lot too.

Point was just I think student overdrafts are worthwhile, especially as separate to SfE money which, as poster above says, often doesnā€™t line up with the support one might actually be getting from their family.

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If I had a student overdraft I wouldā€™ve probably maxed it out and chucked it into a high interest savings account to then withdraw it and pay it off just before the 0% period ended

But I think student overdrafts (besides credit cards) are what keep banks going.

I think of student overdrafts as even more predatory as you get sucked in at a younger, more impressionable age where the free money just seems that little bit more exciting so you can afford another night out with the mates

Iā€™m sure there are plenty of people out there who make the best use of it and use it responsibly but sadly I think the vast majority of people donā€™t

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I think thatā€™s all super fair, and I very much agree.

Itā€™s also what happened to me to some extent. Some of it for very practical reasons, some less so, but over the three years I ended up treating my baseline as further and further into the overdraft.

Had a few months once interest came back (I think a year or so after uni and gradually increasing the portion on which it was payable) of paying stupid amounts, and then moved it all to a 0% balance transfer card which Iā€™m making my final payment on in a couple weeks :tada:

So feel like some was responsible, some wasnā€™t, but on balance was def useful. Remember a time where I literally didnā€™t have money for some unforeseen stuff and managed to get my overdraft increased in an afternoon - much better than having to get some shit loan or something, even in the long run.

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Amen.

Cut to a 23 year old Jonathon paying off the ā€œinterest freeā€ Ā£4,000 overdraft with a fee of Ā£3 a day and only able to pay off Ā£100 a month. Ā£90 of which would be a fee.

Honestly as bad as I was as a student not thinking of it as someone elseā€™s money; it took me 7 years to pay the darn thing off.

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I spent my student loan on DVDs, booze and takeaway pizza. Then I spent my HSBC overdraft on the above. Then I got the next two loan payments and repeated the process.

Then I managed to open a second account (which in theory you arenā€™t supposed to be able to do) with NatWest who gave me an even bigger overdraft and let me spend it on Pizza and DVDs.

They helpfully increased my OD every year and I managed to buy even more DVDs and waste even more money on pizza.

All I have to show for it now is a big gut, a warm feeling for donating thousands of DVDs to charity (except for my west wing box sets) and a terrible credit history.

Avoid student overdrafts like the plague.

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Since you seem like a pizza connoisseur.

Does pineapple go on pizza?

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:no_bell:

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Mine ended up being a lifeline for me.

My Student Finance application was held for additional checks because Iā€™ve somehow managed to score myself an NI number made up entirely of repeating digits, so on first glance it looks made up.

My overdraft meant I was able to carry on day to day life, safe in the knowledge that I would eventually get the money.

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