How much should I budget?

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I've been a lurker in this forum for a long time and I need some advice!</p>

<p>Here's my situation:</p>

<p>I'm going to be a freshmen in the fall at a college 8 hours away from home. When I started the college application process, I was really worried about getting into my dream school because my parents have accumulated a lot of debt paying for my older sister's medical school fees and my older brother's undergraduate fees (he's in an expensive private college), and though we are middle-upper class earning about $90,000 a year, we also have scary amounts of debt (close to a 70K). So my parents can contribute nothing to my education or living expenses.</p>

<p>But anyways, I got into my top-choice with a full tuition merit scholarship! So I was really happy about that, but unfortunately, on-campus room+board would cost around $7,000+$3,000=$10,000 a year. Because of the financial difficulties mentioned above, I wasn't able to afford on-campus housing, so I've independently found an apartment a half a mile from campus to live in this year, saving me a lot of money ($3,000 for the year versus about $10,000, since there's no required board). Also, I am not allowed to purchase board from my college since I am living off-campus. FYI, I have already explored various financial aid possibilities (FAFSA, loans, grants, scholarships, work-study) and nothing has panned out. </p>

<p>So I have some questions for the wise parents of CC:
1. How much should I budget for food for the year (30 weeks)? Right now I'm budgeting $1,200 (about $40 a week). Is that reasonable? To tell you the truth, that's all that I have saved up (though I'm planning on working over the winter) and I really can't afford to spend anymore.
2. I've also budgeted $500 for miscellaneous expenses throughout the year. (this doesn't include plane tickets, as I have already bought those for the entire year out of my summer earnings. I've also bought supplies for my room through a friend). Is this reasonable, also? </p>

<p>I'd really don't want to ask my parents for any money because they are really stressed with money right now.</p>

<p>Regardless of my financial situation, I am super-excited for college!</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I think that you can do it, but you would have to be VERY careful and above all, hardly ever eat at restaurants (even a fancy cup of coffee at Starbucks could be $4 and that would blow your budget for sure!). You can save a lot of money on food by planning your meals carefully in advance, buying things on sale and then freezing them, and eating low-cost but healthy food like rice and beans (meat and dairy are expensive--eggs are a good buy). Sometimes big bags of frozen vegetables are only a dollar each, so stock up on them. </p>

<p>To expand your budget, is there any way you can get a part-time job? I wouldn't suggest working more than 8-10 hours a week your first semester (if you find you can handle it, you could increase it a little bit in the spring). Depending on your school, you might be able to pick up a work-study job that's gone unfilled. You might also be able to get a job babysitting, dog-walking, house-cleaning, etc. for someone who lives in the town. If you're talented at a particular subject, you might be able to tutor middle school or high school students--that pays a lot per hour, so you wouldn't have to work as much. And if you're good at standardized tests, maybe you could teach Kaplan or Princeton Review. Jobs like this are often posted on fliers around campus or in the school newspaper. If you live in a place with a teaching hospital, they often need healthy volunteers for medical studies (some are more invasive than others). And schools often pay students for temporary jobs, like working at homecoming or calling alums for donations. Your school's alumni or development office could probably tell you about those.</p>

<p>Good luck--don't stress out too much about it...your main job is to do well in school and keep your merit scholarship; you can always work more hours during later semesters if you're falling behind on money after your first semester.</p>

3

<p>40.00 sounds OK depending upon where you will be living and how much of your own meals you will be preparing. If you would like some suggestions for how to make your budget stretch further PM me. I am a healthy/frugal shopper and happy to share some of what I do.</p>

<p>x posted w/ Stacy whom I agree w/ 100%</p>

4

<p>Agree with stacy that this is doable if you are very cautious (I've been there and done that). However, I see that your college will not allow you to take a board option because you are living off-campus. Assuming that you're interested in board, have you pushed a bit on this, to see if given your particular circumstances board might be possible? Partial board (such as just dinners) might be affordable, and gives you a chance to eat with others and spare you the work of cooking (especially during finals). Breakfast (cereal and milk) and lunch (brown bag) are easy enough to do from home.</p>

<p>You can get awfully good at scrounging for free meals. Department talks, happy hour at local bars (free munchies if you buy a drink--get soda), there are all kinds of possibilities. Grad students especially are masters of the art form; if you're at university, ask them for hints.</p>

5

<p>I worked my way through college years ago - and as a result of that experience, I would definitely look to working part time in the food services arena as a budget stretcher. It still remains one of the best sources of cheap / free meals. Work a couple nights a week as a waiter/dishwasher/bus boy and get two dinners free. Focus on small, non chain restaurants - they tend to be more generous. </p>

<p>The other thing to keep in mind is while working during the school year - get out in front of your classes. When you are working and going to school you just don't have time to play catch up.</p>

6

<p>ohhhhh great idea scualum. I did that too. You can work for university food services and get free meals as well.</p>

7

<p>I don't have any further advice to offer, but I would like to congratulate you on your maturity. Many, many young people would be whining and complaining in your situation. The fact that you are not is a great indication that you are mature enough and level headed enough to make this difficult situation work for you. Best wishes to you!</p>

8

<p>@ collegetneduts</p>

<p>I know the college cafeteria is not the cheapest and healthiest place on campus, but if your scholarship pays for a portion of it, I would highly recommend eating in the college dining areas. You will end up paying too much in groceries and dining out on your own over time. Ditto on getting a part-time campus job (bring a copy of your birth certificate with you so you can do the HR paperwork). The college dining experience was one less headache for me when it came to budgeting for books, supplies and toiletries.</p>

9

<p>You can make your $40 per week stretch but you'll have to remember that it means no fast food places or other restaurants. It also means paying attention to what you buy at the grocery. Think through what you think you'll prepare for yourself, make a list, figure out how much of it you'd eat in a week, and do a dry run at the grocery to get an idea of prices. Make sure you have a variety since you'll get tired of the same food day after day. The more you're willing to prepare from scratch as opposed to packaged frozen foods, the more you should save. </p>

<p>On-campus school year jobs are good and full-time summer jobs can help you earn more. You might be able to supplement with a Saturday or Sunday job as well. Grocery stores and other retail stores are often looking for part time workers. You can always balance your course-load (number of classes, difficulty of classes) with work hours as needed. </p>

<p>I also congratulate you on your approach to this. I supported myself and paid for my own college as well and it was fine. I probably worked more than would have been ideal since I was an engineering major but you do what you have to do.</p>

10

<p>Back in the dark ages (30 years ago), I put myself through school without any help from parents or financial aid. My food budget was $30/MONTH! Pasta, ramen, and other cheap dishes. Most of my friends had jobs in one of the school's cafeterias - as mentioned above, a paycheck and free meals. One good thing about not being on board is that I think you have a better chance of avoiding the "freshman 15"! Also do a google search on cheap meals for students. Here's one site: YumYum.com</a> - Student Cooking Ideas</p>

11

<p>Have you budgeted for books and cleaning supplies and utilities and shampoo and such??? I think $40 is mightly slim, unless you are eating only cereal, milk, pbj, storebrand bread, beans and rice. Fruit and veggies are expensive these days. I also encourage you to try for an oncampus food service job or other campus job so that you will have a little more money for food and supplies. Eating on campus is a social event, and if you don't eat on campus you may have difficulty forming strong connections with other students. Can you eat on campus by paying for individual food items if you wish? Some schools allow you to do this.. (if so, pick a few cheap items!)
My kid's school budgets $1550 for "personal expenses" and $800 for "books". That seems reasonable for a fairly frugal person, but a very frugal person might be able to get by with less. (Think Suave shampoo, borrow books from library or buy online or share with fellow student, etc...) :)</p>

12

<p>Is your older sister done with medical school? Why not ask her to contribute a few hundred dollars per month toward your education? It seems if your parents over-extended themselves to give older daughter a medical degree, the least she can do is turn around and help her younger sister out who is getting nada from the parents.</p>

<p>For that matter, how about your older brother? Are your parents paying a full ride (tuition, room and board) for him as well? If he has part-time work, couldn't he contribute 100 - 200 a month to you? If he doesn't have part-time work, maybe he should - and funnel the funds to you.</p>

<p>I think it is great that you are making this all happen on your own. But it seems since your parents over-paid for the older siblings that the very least the family can do is pull together and give you a little bit more help to get through college... </p>

<p>Even with 70K in debt, it doesn't seem unreasonable for the parents to attempt to help you out at least a little bit - and/or the older siblings to "pay back" the family by giving you a pittance in return.</p>

<p>Annika</p>

13

<p>Have you talked to your parents about this? Do they know that you are planning on paying all your own expenses, or do they think that your "full tuition" scholarship means "full ride" ? Just make sure you are on the same page about who's paying for what and that they realize that you are not getting the same deal as your older siblings...
Dining hall jobs often fall under work/study rules. If you want a similar job outside the system try contacting all the Greek houses at your school. I had several friends who made decent money plus got dinner every night by working the dinner shift at a fraternity/sorority.</p>

14

<p>Lots of good advice here. I, too, worked in food services and got a lot of meals for free that way. That along with ramen and other cheap eats can get you by.<br>
As others have mentioned, you should discuss this with your parents.</p>

<p>I am surprised that you cannot get a meal plan when you don't live on campus. Every school I have seen has commuter meal plans as well as forcing those freshmen who room to sign up for standard meal plan.</p>

15

<p>Meals.com</a> - 15,000 recipes is a great source for easy/low cost recipes. If anyone asks what you want for a grad gift I suggest you ask for a crock pot. It is so homey to walk into your apt. after a day at school and smell the food that's been cooking all day. It's a great time saver and you can cook extra and have left overs.</p>

16

<p>Regardless of income, you should be eligible for the unsubsidized Stafford loan of $3500 for the 2008-2009 school year. That should stretch your food budget.</p>