Knowing cfwake as I do, he isn't exactly going and drinking all his cash away each weekend. Maybe every other... I digress...
Anyhow, I live around 40 miles from Oxford and commute each day. I'm in the beneficial position of living in a house owned by my folks, so don't have to worry about rent. Living costs run to about £450 a month (including fuel). I'm not one to be going out on the town a great deal. In fact, during this course I became somewhat of a social hermit. I knew I'd have to make some sacrifices for the course, so no problems there. If I was living a mile away from the airport, then I could probably happily exist on £200 a month.
cfwake mentioned life and loss of license insurance. I would heartily recommend that you take these out if you commence a course. Life insurance particularly... planes do crash, and I doubt your folks would appreciate having to pay off the loan by themselves... A rather morbid thought, but necessary.
What I would say is that with the current economic climate, I'm sure it won't be long before OAA start adding fuel surcharges to the course costs. It could happen before you start, or halfway through, and the T&Cs you sign at the start permit them to do so whenever they choose. The cost of fuel is definately going to be impacting on profits this year.
I'm surprised that there are still so many people willing to risk so much money on a course with no guarantee of a job at the end. Several hundred prospective students came along to a recent open day. If I was starting out now, instead of when I did, I would probably look for something more earth-bound for a career. Remember, OAA customer services are there to sell spaces on courses. If people aren't coming through the door, their careers are on the line...
Last edited by Flying Wild; 2nd Jul 2008 at 22:52.
Reason: adding more...