My estimate of college spending. How do YOU finance living and housing?

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>I'm an undergraduate, living off campus, dependent, California resident, first year at Cal, transferring into junior year from community college. </p>

<p>I noticed there's not too much talk about how people actually finance a school experience or how much they actually spend every year or month to live happy. I had friends drop out of school because they weren't able to keep up with the costs so I wanna prepare myself and plan my finances. I need to start looking for a place to live, so I need to figure out how much I should actually spend. </p>

<p>Disregarding the school's own poorly calculated estimates of how much it's going to cost me to live, this is what I actually predict my expenses to be and how I expect to pay for them. I'm calculating on a 10month basis. Let's just say the other two months out of the year I go to live with my folks. </p>

<p>PREDICTED EXPENSES
$12,500 for tuition and health
+$1,500 for books
+$10,000 for rent
+$5,000 for living
= $29,000/10monthyear</p>

<p>PREDICTED INCOME
$16,500 from financial aid and scholarships
+$4,000 from loan
+$4,000 from work 24500
+$4,500 from parents
=$29,000/10monthyear</p>

<p>I'd like to start living on my own, without even having to deal with roommates. Truly independent. I'd like to spend about $1000/month on a private single bdrm apartment/studio a short bike ride away from school. At the moment I'm spending around $600/month on food and other expenses, and plan to continue doing so.
Hopefully I can find a work study job that pays more than average minimum wage. Otherwise, worst case scenario, that's 10hours/week at $10/hour. My parents have been supporting my living on my own so they'd be thrilled to pay only $4500 a year to keep me alive and well. Getting a loan for $4000 isn't too bad, right? I'm already a junior and have yet to accumulate debt, but I plan to go on to graduate school.</p>

<p>What do you guys think? Does my plan sound realistic? Does it look like I'm trying to spoil myself, am I going to starve myself, or should it work out?
How much are you spending while in college? From tuition to rent to food and booze.
How are you paying for it?
What percent of your total costs are payed for by financial aid and grants, work-study, loans, or by your folks?</p>

<p>I'm sure a lot will be cleared up for me when I go to orientation, but any tips, suggestions, or helpful anecdotes would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>1000 a month on rent? That seems ridiculous, but I don’t know the area. I pay 450.
And 600 a month on food? That is absurd. I spend max $100 a month.
And I spend max $400 a semester on books. It’s called amazon marketplace (or ebay/half.com)
Also, where are you getting that $5000 living? This really seems like you’re going overboard.</p>

<p>Also, I was under the impression that you cannot make more than $2000 a year in work study.
Any job you’ll want if you make more than that will have to be outside of work study.</p>

3

<p>Yeah, it seems as if you’re a little bit on the high estimate of your expenses, unless you have a high style of living.</p>

<p>Just curious, why are you wanting to be completely independent, without roommates? Even some adults get roommates to lessen the cost of a nicer place. If it’s just one other person and you get, say, a $1500/mth apartment, then that’s $750/mth for you. You’re only a junior in college. I’d save the independence for grad school or when you’re actually in the workforce.</p>

4

<p>How are you going to make $4000 on work? I know work study covers up to $2000, but the employer can hire you and pay themselves as they did for some of my friends. But I just don’t see how you could humanly work this much and maintain a decent GPA. </p>

<p>Takes as many subsidized loans as possible…</p>

5

<p>To save a bundle, get an apartment with roommates (as long as you each have your own bedroom).
This way, you split the utilities/garbage removal/cable/internet expenses.</p>

6

<p>What’s the breakdown for the $600 for food and “other expenses?” Do you eat out a lot? To me, $600/month sounds rather high, unless you’re paying for car insurance, gas, etc. </p>

<p>And I totally agree about having roommates. You might avoid having to take out that 4k loan if you get a roommate. Also, do you have an idea of how much utilities and apartment furnishings will cost you?</p>

7

<p>You don’t see a lot of threads about how people are going to finance college because a lot of people jump in, take out tens of thousands of dollars in loans, and assume they’re going to be just fine.</p>

<p>That said, I think you might need to re-think some of this plan. I’d NEVER spend $600 a month on food unless I had a family. When I lived on my own I’d typically spend about $30/week on food. My main other concern is gas money, and then after that just a little spending here and there. The only thing I’d spend $600 a month on is rent, unless like it was pointed out, that’s going to include some kind of insurance.</p>

<p>And I don’t think I’ve spent more than $200 at the MOST per semester on textbooks. Amazon is my best friend.</p>

<p>Oh, and an important life lesson: never assume your parents will give you money once you’re living on your own.</p>

8

<p>Around here a 1 bedroom apartment costs $650, and my fiance and I spend AT MOST $200 a month on groceries and household supplies (for TWO people.) I have heard California is expensive, but what on earth are you spending $600 on?</p>

<p>Have you actually found a $1000/mo apartment?</p>

9

<p>Rent
Why would you want a studio? That’ll jack up your rent by about 50%. Studios/1 brd apartments ARE around $1000 at Cornell too but only the wealthy can afford that kind of luxury. Most students have housemates and pay $400-800/month on rent (excluding those in NYC/LA/Chicago/SF). There is no way you should expect to pay $10000 per year unless luxury is your prime motivator. My friends and I rent a really nice house (8 brd, 3 bath) in a good location for $550/person.</p>

<p>Food
$600/month on groceries is ridiculous unless you consider filet mignon and caviar staples. Most people can live comfortably on $100-150/month on groceries. I eat out a fair amount too but my total monthly food expense doesn’t often exceed $250.</p>

<p>Alcohol/Miscellaneous
Here’s where the most variance appears. I spend about $100-150 on alcohol and maybe an extra $100/month on clothing and other crap. Some people could live happily on $0/month in this area–I can’t. It’s a personal call.</p>

10

<p>hmmm…</p>

<p>i spend maybe…maybe $150 per month on food, but thats with other things that i need as well.</p>

<p>i may splerg and by a game off of ebay once in a blue moon</p>

<p>i normally spend less then $300 on books.</p>

11

<p>It all depends on your standard of living. Example:</p>

<p>I’m a scholarship student, full tuition, room, board paid. So I’m really lucky there.
My parents also pay my car insurance and health insurance, so still lucky.</p>

<p>I lived on campus and ate in the dining hall when I could but due to medical problems couldn’t always stomach the food.
My parents will give me twenty or forty dollars when they see me. (About once a month)</p>

<p>I ended up spending maybe $3000 in a year, including the cost of gas, books, food, medication, alcohol, other substances, other transportation (metro mostly), and other entertainment (movies, bars, etc). Books were about 800 total, so 2200 in ten months so about 220 a month. (It was less balanced than this. The last month I probably spent 120) Fortunately most of this was covered by outside scholarships and the occasional present from a relative.</p>

<p>My roommate wasn’t on full scholarship, but her parents paid tuition, insurance. She didn’t have a car, but all our other activities were the same, except she ate out a lot more than I did, and did not have to pay for medication.
Her parents gave her 500/a month allowance and she often spent more than this.
She just wasn’t very good at budgeting, cutting back on things and ate a lot of take out and fast food.</p>

<p>So you can easily live up to your estimates, but it wouldn’t be hard to cut back on your expectations now, and not expect so much to be handed to you by your parents or work study.</p>

12

<p>How do you spend 150$ a month on food? I spend $650-$800 a month on food an I am underweight.</p>

13

<p>My family of 6 spends 800 dollars a month on food…try buying cheaper food.</p>

14

<p>My fiance and I walk into the store twice a month and throw absolutely whatever we want into the cart with zero restraint, including things like steaks, and the most we have ever spent at the grocery store was $100. What kind of stores are you guys shopping at?</p>

15

<p>

Dude $650-800/month is many deviations above the norm for college students. The real question is what do YOU eat? </p>

<p>$150 in groceries gets me good quality staples: steak, vegetables, cold cuts, bread, pasta, fruit, eggs, rice, juice, etc.</p>

<p>I spend an extra $100-150 eating out: burgers, sushi, pizza, wings, whatever else excluding bar-related expenses</p>

16

<p>darkdream, so you spend at least $21 on food a day?</p>

<p>Are you out of your mind?
Where the hell are you getting your food?</p>

17

<p>Well I guess my metabolism is crazy fast since everybody thinks I am crazy. I am a 5’9" 127 pounds, but I eat consistently and am rather active for a physics and math major. I buy food from costco, trader joes, vons, henry’s, ect. [no one particular place-but I do not shop at completely overpriced places like Whole Foods]. I eat US prime beef, organic chicken, pork, crab, lobster, various fish, almost all types of vegetables and fruits on a regular basis. I also eat out frequently, but isn’t that typical of a college student?</p>

18

<p>If I ate like you I would be spending almost my entire income on groceries. My student loan payment is as much as your groceries!</p>

19

<p>I wish I had a $650 budget for groceries. I’d feast like a king.</p>

20

<p>Ah. In other words you’re a 5’9’’ (male?) garbage disposal.</p>

<p>I’m tiny at 5’1. Regardless of metabolism, I couldn’t physically eat that much.</p>

<p>And I wouldn’t say that eating out frequently is common at my school. The only people I knew who went out commonly also took a cab to where they were going, and routinely spent at least $50.<br>
I could theoretically do that, but I view it as complete overkill.
I got out to eat maybe once a month? Otherwise I eat on campus or (starting next year since I’m just moving off campus) eat at my apartment.</p>

<p>That once a month doesn’t include steak’n’shake runs of course, but that’s cheap as dirt.</p>