More than half (54%) of university students say their financial situation is having a negative impact on their mental wellbeing, a survey has found.
Just under half (49%) agreed that it has had a detrimental impact on their social life, while 45% said they are losing sleep thinking about money, according to the research for HSBC UK.
The vast majority (94%) of university students surveyed said they have made changes to their financial behaviour in the past six months.
More than half (55%) have cut back on spending, with the other popular strategies being looking out for student deals (40%) and using more vouchers (29%).
Nearly three-fifths (57%) of students said they need to borrow money to cover their spending.
Many students also said they had chosen to study closer to home to save costs, with proximity to home being the most important factor for 30% of prospective students – the third most important consideration behind the university’s reputation (36%) and the quality of the course (42%).
The research was conducted to mark HSBC UK launching its newest student account.
Tom Wolfenden, HSBC UK’s head of retail banking, said: “We know that it’s a challenging time for students at the moment.”
More than 1,000 current university students and 1,000 prospective students who plan to go to university later this year or next year were surveyed in May.
