<p>After given $1700 from the food and housing dptmt, how much $ does an avg college student need on a monthly basis? casual dining in with friends, movie, etc. nothing to fancy. and not including shopping. my understanding was the $150 is plenty.</p>
<p>That really depends on your kid. If your child is a studious homebody, then 150 a month might be good. I can tell you my d spent much more. She only had a 10 meal plan. She ate most of her lunches on the drag, and ate out on A Saturday night. Including buying some supplies for class, entertainment, and a bit of local shopping, she was spending a about 75 dollars a week most weeks. If she went to a concert, it would sometimes reach 100. She is a music fan, and liked to go hear bands and concerts. If your child goes greek, cost can go higher as well.
I am sure you can do it for less. Really depends on your child, and the rules you set out for them.</p>
<p>I went though 2k my freshman year. Now if we take out fraternity dues (for a semester) and shopping (clothes only really), I probably used around 800 dollars or so on general food, fun, and alcohol. So figure 150 a month, that’s actually more than I spent. This includes grocery shopping though.</p>
<p>I would say around 200 to 300 dollars a month. I pay my electricity bills and credit card bills.</p>
<p>^ I was assuming we were talking about somebody living in the dorms, so housing (incl electricity) and the majority of meals are included.</p>
<p>I think that’s what they’re asking, because the DID and BB amounts correspond to how many you get in student housing (dorms).</p>
<p>My son knows that things are tight for us, so he understands why we’re allotting $100/month for him. We’ll see how it goes. He’s taking 17 hours as an engineering major, so I don’t anticipate that he’ll have much free time to spend money.</p>
<p>How much is considered reasonable including food, water/electricity, and allowance per month?</p>
<p>It depends what you plan on doing. If you like to shop and eat out a lot, then you’re going to be spending more than someone who likes to hold to a strict budget and only do things within a certain price range.</p>
<p>100 a month seems good.</p>
<p>no way french boy. 25 bucks a week? unless money is you know on the rocks (been there, done that :S) - its more like $50-75 including little emergencies. </p>
<p>If anything a financial aid counselor from UT would be more than happy to help any Longhorn figure this out.</p>
<p>LOL 25$ a week. That’s like secluding yourself in a dorm room with ramen noodles and disgusting vienna sausages for every meal.</p>
<p>That would mean no emergencies could happen. That would mean you cannot do anything entertainment wise.</p>
<p>It is different for everyone. Personally, I ended up spending $175 a month on average. This is with eating basically every meal but one or two a week on my meal plan, entertainment that cost money maybe 2 or 3 times a month, and not buying anything like clothing or electronics.</p>
<p>I will be living off campus. I was told it’s about $45/month for water & electricity. Is $15/day including meals reasonable?</p>
<p>An average person would eat around 10-15 dollars a day. You get around $100 already for food each week if you take $1700 given for the semester, divided by 8. How much more extra cash will be needed depends on the type of student and theres no way to tell otherwise. If he/she likes to watch stand-up comedy shows, theres going to be a lot and their around $20-$50. You also need to allot some cash for personal groceries, water bottles, etc. Just fill up a separate bank account with $300. Be responsible with it and make sure whatever you buy is worth it.</p>
<p>plnlin2, If you live on a 1/1 for around 600 square feet, plan for AT LEAST 60 per month in electricity. Why? city of austin charges 5 bucks for the anti-litter residential program which coa says it is for street cleaning. Drainage is 5-10 bucks depending on your property and transportation user fee is five bucks. And if this is your first time getting electricity in your name, then consider a 200 dollar deposit for the first month. </p>
<p>Finally, initiating service is 25 dollars. If you want same day initiation, that is 75 dollars. And add the 8.25% tax on top… do the math.</p>
<p>so every month your “fees” not including electricity by the City is at least 15 bucks.</p>
<p>What I do with my electricity is I come home at 5-7 PM and leave the apartment at 9 AM. Thus save some bucks on electricity.</p>
<p>well im stayin in a dorm on campus so i dont have to worry about bills or anything. more so just food when im not eating with dine in dollars, hanging out/going out on weekends only. seems to me $120-150 has been the average range</p>
<p>W.T.F., a $200 deposit? UGH. Now I’m upset that i’m not living with my current roommate. That is f-ing unbelievable. Since when do you have to put down a deposit for electricity? I mean, I suppose I knew this, but what, am I gonna return it damaged to the City of Austin? GRUMBLE GRUMBLE</p>
<p>(PS I know it applies to your electricity bill BUT STILL)</p>
<p>100 a week is good, 15$ a day on food? go to the dollar menu. 100 is especially great for @Maines kid, since he has his grandpa there. I guess you people forgot that i wasnt the first person to say 100.</p>
<p>You have a meal plan use it, eat out once a week or something. Get a job if 100 isnt enough from your parents.</p>