IG Reel · Is Student Finance a Debt UK Explained

Caption (EN)

Is UK student finance really debt? Yes, but not the kind that works like a credit card.

For new 2026/27 starters in England you are on Plan 5: £25,000 repayment threshold 9% on anything above the threshold RPI-only interest 40-year write-off

On a £30,000 salary that is roughly £37.50 a month. Interest is added to the balance, not to the monthly amount deducted from your pay. So the balance can grow even when your repayments are on time.

The headline balance is not the number that decides your monthly life. Your salary band is. That is the question worth focusing on.

Full plain-English guide link in bio.

Hashtags (EN)

#UKStudent #MatureStudent #StudentFinance #Plan5 #StudentLoanUK #UKUniversity #ReturnToStudy #StudentLoan #AdultLearner #UniLife

Cinematic script (4 scenes + outro)

Scene 1 — Hook

• eyebrow: IS IT REALLY DEBT?
• headline: Worried student finance equals bad debt?
• primaryValue: Yes, but
• primaryLabel: Not the credit card kind
• supportingFact: Repayment is income-shaped, not balance-shaped
• tone: neutral
• photoFilename: debt-scene-1.jpg

Scene 2 — Plan 5 vs credit card

• eyebrow: PLAN 5 vs CREDIT CARD
• headline: Different rules entirely
• primaryValue: 9% above £25k
• primaryLabel: Plan 5 repayment
• supportingFact: PAYE handles it · No default below threshold
• tone: neutral
• photoFilename: debt-scene-2.jpg

Scene 3 — The £30k example

• eyebrow: ON A £30K SALARY
• headline: Monthly cost in real numbers
• primaryValue: £37.50
• primaryLabel: A month, not a year
• supportingFact: Interest grows the balance, not the monthly deduction
• tone: positive
• photoFilename: debt-scene-3.jpg

Scene 4 — The right question

• eyebrow: ASK THIS INSTEAD
• headline: Forget the headline balance
• primaryValue: Monthly cost
• primaryLabel: In your earning band
• supportingFact: That is the number that decides your life
• tone: positive
• photoFilename: debt-scene-4.jpg

Outro

• hook: Worry about the right thing.
• ctaText: READ THE GUIDE
• ctaUrl: https://unistart.app/blog/is-student-finance-a-debt-uk-2026
• subline: UniStart: UK Student Finance for EU & Mature Students
• photoFilename: debt-outro.jpg

Upload steps

Render MP4 with the JSON in tmp/debt-shorts.json:

cd ~/Documents/GitHub/Content_Factory/video-pipeline/demo
node scripts/render-shorts.mjs --script ./tmp/debt-shorts.json \
  --out ./out/debt-shorts.mp4 \
  --composition cinematic

Auto-uploads to R2 + syncs both YT and IG drafts because the JSON has uploadTargets.

Upload to Instagram Reels:

1. IG → New Reel → add MP4 from out/debt-shorts.mp4
2. Cover image: auto-extracted poster JPG (already in R2)
3. Paste Caption (EN) + Hashtags (EN)
4. Add the blog link to bio via Linktree or direct
5. Publish
6. Click Mark as posted (manual) in dash