The three top things that black students spend their money on is alcohol, petrol and bling.<\/p>\n
Coloured students splurge on clothing, computer software and takeaways while white students spend their money on contraceptives, music and toiletries.<\/p>\n
This is according to research conducted by Student Village which was shared during a presentation in Houghton on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
One of the directors of Student Village, Marc Kornberger, said their research revealed that students spent around R2,702 monthly.<\/p>\n
The annual report reflects an average 7.95% growth in student spending in the last four years, said Kornberger.<\/p>\n
“What we found is that students from UCT in Cape Town are spending the highest. On average, one student spends R3,925 per month. That is followed by Tuks [University of Pretoria] at R3,371,” he said.<\/p>\n
Funding for lifestyles<\/strong><\/p>\n The University of KwaZulu-Natal was third on the list of big student spenders at R2,725 followed by University of Witwatersrand at R2,364.<\/p>\n The universities listed seemed to attract more affluent students.<\/p>\n Parents and other relatives remained the biggest funders of student lifestyles at 86% but around 36% of students managed to fund their lifestyles through full-time or part-time jobs, said Student Village researcher, Reuben Kumwenda.<\/p>\n Fifteen percent of the students who were surveyed said they got some money from their bursary schemes and sponsors.<\/p>\n Eleven percent of students were however, thinking outside the box and getting money by starting their own businesses.<\/p>\n A total of 3,030 students from different varsities with a balanced ratio of the racial groups had participated in the online survey.<\/p>\n It found that men however, were spending much more than women, said Kornberger.<\/p>\n Women spent more than men on health, hairdressers, beauticians and cigarettes.<\/p>\n Men spent more on motor insurance, clothing and footwear, recreational and sporting equipment, alcohol, bling, books, newspapers and magazines.<\/p>\n No savings<\/strong><\/p>\n Very few South African students had got into the habit of saving and those that did, usually saved for short term goals like parties and alcohol.<\/p>\n Kornberger explained that it was all because of “instant gratification”.<\/p>\n “Students are not thinking of investment and savings but thinking of how then can spend money now,” he said, adding that money was never enough for students.<\/p>\n Keeping up appearances was also very big with students, like sporting branded clothing and carrying some of the latest cellphones and gadgets.<\/p>\n Where a student shops also matters, said Kumwenda.<\/p>\n For clothes, many of them turned to Edgars, Markhams, Truworths, Mr Price and Woolworths.<\/p>\n Kumwenda explained however, that while Mr Price was a favourite because of its reasonable pricing, many feared running into the same students sporting the exact same outfit as them.<\/p>\n Edgars was an option for many as their parents had clothing accounts at the store.<\/p>\n Where to eat<\/strong><\/p>\n Where one shops for food also matters to students.<\/p>\n According to Kumwenda, shops such as Woolworths, Spar, Checkers and Pick n Pay were favoured.<\/p>\n “The colour of the plastic bag that the students take home tends to mean a lot,” he said.<\/p>\n While online shopping is on the rise across the globe, students had not yet caught on to the trend.<\/p>\n This was because for a lot of online transactions, a person needed to utilise a credit card. A lot of students, were however, still using debit cards.<\/p>\n Despite this, students are in debt. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed said they are actual account holders.<\/p>\n But not all hope is lost. Sixty-once percent of those surveyed said they wanted to learn how to save.<\/p>\n Fifty-four percent said they wanted to learn how to budget while 46% wanted to learn how to invest.<\/p>\n Around 19% said they wanted to understand how loans work while 14% said they wanted more knowledge on loans.<\/p>\n News24<\/a><\/p>\n SA students pour R6.1 billion into tech<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n SA university MBA rated best value for money in the world<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on South Africa<\/h3>\n