How much do you (or your student) spend on personal expenses per week?
Understanding that lifestyles vary, I’m trying to guesstimate cost of living in Austin for DS who will live in a dorm on campus. Normal kid who would like to eat out a few times a week, watch movies, sporting events, etc.
@romns116 So your student can look into purchasing a Big Ticket (for students only) if they are interested (which may start selling in late April or so) for all ‘Home’ UT sporting games. It’s a great deal - last years price was $175 for the entire school year. You can look it up online to learn more. I think I’ve heard $50/week or perhaps up to $200/month and go from there. It largely depends on ‘what’ they are using the extra money for. Remember there is the Target on campus now too.
Thank you @comptechmom !
Big Ticket sounds like a great deal.
Also you’ll want to consider ACL Music Festival one-day passes. You can get on the ACL Music Festival email list and they’ll let you know when they go on sale. I’ve always had mine opt for the 1 day passes because you never know when tests fall in October so it gave them more options. Most of the students just Uber it back to campus after the festival for a small fee (for safety reasons).
Also parents make plenty of use of Favor for any type of deliveries to students especially if your student doesn’t have a car or is OOS student. The most popular question - How can I get soup delivered to my student? Or a birthday cake? Or what do I need to deal with Austin allergies?
Remember there is a Texas Parents association with a network of 1000’s you can join to answer any and all questions you’ve ever had about just about anything. How can I gain Texas Residency is a popular one. Many of these parents also help other parents in any way they possible can - the network and support is superb.
This is so individual it is almost impossible to answer. Things to think about.
Will your Longhorn have a car? If so, getting to HEB to buy snacks for the room will be easier than one who takes the bus (free to students) but is limited in how many bags they can carry back. If they have a car, they need some money for gas.
How many times will you visit? We typically took our Longhorn to Target and HEB when we were in town and stocked them up on our dime with things like snacks, drinks, toiletries and cleaning products.
How frugal is your Longhorn? Some will take the free bus and some take Uber. Some eat out at Whataburger and others at restaurants downtown. Some will go to cheaper theatres for a matinee while others will go to the more expensive places. Mine hate Starbucks but some go there everyday.
Are you including clothes in the spending money budget or are those separate? We cover all clothes separately because I have non-shoppers. If I had shopaholics, I’d handle differently.
Will your Longhorn be in the party scene? If so, they will be buying alcohol somehow- whether using their own money or part of the “allowance”
Are they picky eaters? If so, the on campus meals may not appeal to them and they will eat out or snack more.
Will their class schedule or EC schedule conflict with on campus meal times? More eating out or more HEB trips.
Will they be in a sorority or fraternity or Spirit Group? Some meals covered in dues but a lot of extras like OU weekend, formals, Round Up.
If they date, will your son pay for his dates? Or expect them to go Dutch?
Is Spring Break covered by you or them? ACL? SXSW? Texas Tribune Fest?
We initially came up with a budget based on how many times we thought it was acceptable to eat out, go out, etc. I thought the amount seemed high compared to my own college experience but found it was about right for my kids. They know people who get a lot more and people who get a lot less. If they overspend, it comes out of their money. We can still make exceptions when we feel like it is warranted.
@comptechmom I’ve never heard of Favor. Looked it up. What a great concept! but I don’t think we’ll be using it much (but who knows!). We don’t live very far away, but there’s so much more to do in Austin than in San Antonio. Thanks for the wonderful feedback!
@gettingschooled Wow! these are great questions to as! I’ll definitely use them to determine a realistic budget. Thank you!
As a film student, I know he’ll have related events/equipment/etc that will add more costs. I wonder if students are offered SXSW discounted passes.
No car. But if he chooses UT, being much closer than his other options will definitely help with travel costs.
New unlimited dining plan help with costs, but he is a picky eater.
Definitely will attend sports events, esp football. Someone told us about Big Ticket. It seems like a good deal. We may get that for him.