We all complain we’re skint, but in reality it’s the most money we’ve ever had

Fresh out of sixth form, university is the most liberating experience a lot of 18-year-olds will ever have experienced at that point in their life.

Unless they’ve been travelling and found themselves, you’re left alone by your parents to fend for yourself.

So when the student loan comes in, and nearly £1,500 drops into your bank account, it’s hard not to go a bit mental.

But stats released this week by YouGov claim only 26 per cent of students think they have enough money to enjoy themselves.

The report said 21 per cent of students struggle to find the money for day to day needs.

On the plus side at least the number of us who say they have enough money is rising, last year it was a measly 16 per cent. This rise goes hand in hand with a rise from 26 per cent to 35 per cent of students who work either during term-time or vacations, along with a rise from 19 per cent to 26 per cent of students who get their loans topped up by their parents.

With uni accommodation prices being what they are, and with grants becoming loans it’s understandable that one in five students struggle financially and look to the Bank of Mum and Dad for help, but to say that only a quarter of us enjoy ourselves is more than farfetched.

There are definitely students that are genuinely hard done by, struggling to pay bills and with just enough money to pay for the bare necessities. But how many of us call mum asking for money to pay the bills, when really it’s to get legless on a Friday?

This is clearly not the case for the 56 per cent who say they lack the funds to enjoy themselves. All that’s needed is a look at the masses lining up at the bar to buy numerous Jägerbombs on a Wednesday with the disposable income they just don’t have.

According to an NUS survey the average university student in the UK goes out drinking twice a week consuming on average eight drinks a night. On top of paying for drinks there’s the cost of entry to the club and the inevitable post night out feast, not to forget pres and the cab home.

This isn’t an experience unique to only a quarter of students – this is the norm for most people attending university.

The problem lies with the culture of the british university experience – students expect the best three years of their lives where binge drinking and going clubbing twice a week is a given. It is a culture where paying for a TV license seems like a travesty but paying anywhere between £40 – £200 for a summer ball is a necessity.

We’re spoilt. A certain lifestyle is expected, a lifestyle where Netlfix is a hobby and Domino’s Two for Tuesday is a routine.

We’ll live this lifestyle very happily but will, at the first opportunity,  complain about only being able to afford to two nights out instead of three, or having to buy value food instead of brands.

It’s time we opened our eyes to the situation we’re in because once we’ve left university it’ll never be the same again. We’ll have to pay back our loans, higher rent prices and shell out far more than we have ever done to socialise.

We’ve got it really good right now, so why are so many complaining?