This summer, I worked two jobs. I wanted to save all my money for spending money in college. Of course I didn’t wind up saving ALL of it. I bought some extras I wanted for college/my dorm. Bought some food. Paid for gas. I went to the eye doctor and even with insurance, I had to pay $330. I went to one concert. I paid $8 a month for netflix, $10 a month for the gym. Life happens. But after all that, I saved $1,372. I don’t know if I’m working this semester or this year or not. I probably will try to get a job in the spring semester, for sure. But that was a big deal for me. I went to transfer my money to a different bank so they gave me the money to transfer in cash. It felt amazing holding it in my hands and knowing I earned it all myself. I wanted to earn enough cash to be comfortable and be a typical college student. You know order a pizza, see a movie, etc. I know as a present to myself on my 18th birthday, I want a piercing and the piercing/wound care will be about $100. I’ve wanted it since I was 9 years old. But aside from that, I’m scared to spend my money now! I didn’t really budget in the summer. I’d try not to spend all the time and when I was spending money, I’d get to a point and be like “hey you’ve spent a lot of money lately.” And then I would get very frugal and would not spend any at all. So how should I watch it if I want it to last the school year? (I’m going to school in Philadelphia by the way, living on campus.)
If you want it to last all year, divide it by the number of weeks you want it to last and give yourself that much per week. If you don’t spend all of it you can use it another week when you need more. Budgeting is a challenge but also a valuable skill.
Definitely budget it, although if you’re looking for a job that will help immensely. I spend probably about that much (minus flights home and such), maybe a little more. Most of it is food since eating in the dining halls gets old. Some of it is transportation (public transportation down to the city from the suburb I’m in). And then of course some is entertainment like movies. Subtracting out the $100 dollar piercing and dividing your now $1272 by 30 (could be a little bit more depending on your school) you get $42.40 which isn’t much.