<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I would like to know what $ amount do students typically spend per month when they are in college, far away from home: laundry, movies, beer/ice cream/pizzas, clubs, personal items,.. (not counting any expenses related to school and studies).
I jut would like to have an idea about such expenditures. </p>
<p>Thank you for your responses.</p>
<p>comfortably? $300</p>
<p>typical? $50 :)</p>
<p>I could live off of $50 if I had to, but I end up spending a lot more than that now that I live off campus and have to pay for gas, groceries, rent, etc. But, I think $50-150 is do-able...about what you'd make at a part-time job.</p>
<p>i spent about 400 but that included my car payments, insurance, gas, food, etc.</p>
<p>laundry is probably a couple dollars a week, clubs usually only have dues in the beginning of the semester, and can probably range from $5 to hundreds of dollars (especially the greek organizations).</p>
<p>beer / ice cream / pizza / movies... the more money you have, the more money you will probably spend on those. You can definitely get by on $50.</p>
<p>my biggest expenses are laundry~$3.00/wk, food~$10.00/wk, ink cartidges~$20.00 every few weeks, and clothes~$25.00/month</p>
<p>Plus I have sorority stuff, like dues and t-shirts, which definitely rings up a bill, though I count the dues as part of my tuition, not expenses, really.</p>
<p>200 per month is good. easily attainable if you have a job</p>
<p>i go on about $30 or so but I dont spend all that much so a good amount if you dont have to pay for food is like 75-100.</p>
<p>just on food and alcohol, about 150</p>
<p>So is all of this "food" in addition to any dining plan?<br>
What about sporting events and other entertainment? I don't see much mention of that.</p>
<p>I can get by with ~$40-50 a semester.</p>
<p>Rural town, no car, part time job, no alcohol, total cheapskate, etc.</p>
<p>Other than school expenses, I like to have about $50-75 per week, for coffee, dorm food, dinners out, laundry, alcohol, cigarettes, plus a once a month clothing purchase to make me happy (no more than $100 on clothes a month, unless I need something like a winter coat).</p>
<p>Depends where you are really.</p>
<p>I can get by not spending more than $200/semester on NON-sorority stuff because I live in a rural town where's there's only a couple of places to eat off-campus. I don't have a car... buses are not worth taking down to NYC :)</p>
<p>Usually entertainment and college sporting events are free to the students with their IDs. If you're looking to do pro games- be prepare to pay like everyone else.</p>
<p>Thank you for all your responses. </p>
<p>I am a dad sending soon my daughter to college, most likely in the East coast as she wants to go there. I want to have a reasonable idea about what to $ budget for her personal expenses (not counting school stuff)...</p>
<p>$850 rent (I live alone)
$50 cable internet (it's a necessity)
$35 electricity/gas
$35 phone
$150 food (I try to minimize dining out)
$30 fun money
TOTAL: $1150</p>
<p>(& since I have a scholarship that pays $2500/month, I'm living comfortably and still saving a ton)</p>
<p>mvdad, realistically, I would say she'll spend about $120-$150 per month. That is around what I am spending as a female, 1st semester, freshman who lives in a dorm. This includes snacks/room food & drinks, satisfying the morning coffee fix, maybe eating out with friends once a week, a movie here and there, and maybe a splurge at the local mall. My advice is to agree on an amount that you will give her every month, and have an understanding that if you are to send more there should be a good reason (ie: she's going home with a friend for a weekend and needs a little spending money). My parents and I opened a joint checking account for when they send me money every month ($50; the rest of my spending money is what I worked for at the job I had senior year), and it's a good way for both you and your daughter to see where the money is going and how fast it's going.</p>
<p>In the month of October I spent about $15 total, out of pocket (there were other exepenses that my parents reimbursed me for). Most of that went to laundry. Most months I probably spend closer to $30, but still, not a big amount.
Basically my only expenses during the semester are books and laundry. I'm lucky that my mom pays me back for medicine I have to take, and buys a lot of the extra snack food I have in my dorm room. If I had to buy the snack food/bottled water, we'd probably have to tack an extra $15-$20 onto that total. I don't drink, so alcohol is not an expense. There's a lot of free/cheap stuff to do on campus, so my friends and I stay on campus most of the time. I try to buy most of my clothes with gift cards, etc. Now the months of November and December will get worse, because I'll have to start buying Christmas gifts. But still not out of control. For sporting events I go to the sports on campus. I'm at a fairly good D1 hockey school and a pretty good 1-AA football school so there's plenty of fun to be had on campus
I realize I'm not necessarily a typical college student with regards to how much I spend, but that's me. I've always been frugal. I have to be. I have grad school to pay for in the very near future. I still have plenty of fun, and do splurge on myself occasionally, but I'm not a big spender. A lot of my friends would give you similar amounts of money that they spend as well
I do not go to school in the city, but there is an easy to get to mall, as well as many accessible restaraunts. We just don't go out much.</p>
<p>My typical expenses:</p>
<p>$40 for gas
$50 for a new polo shirt
$10 for lumber/nails/other woodworking supplies
$20 for other expenses (if I want a new book, ballgame, etc.)</p>
<p>That's only $120. Between my job and other income I get about $300 each month. The rest I bank in a savings account to save for car repairs. Many months I get more than that in income ($300 is the minimum) so I'm able to splurge and get stuff like shorts, etc.</p>
<p>I'm able to spend virtually nothing on activities outside of ballgames. Don't see a lot of movies (I can't sit still that long) and never go to concerts. The gym is free at my school so I can chill out there. And I am involved in some other stuff on campus and if I want to hang with my friends I just tell them to come over to my place. It's free to everyone and my mom pays for food so it's all good.</p>
<p>Being a woodworker you can make gifts for people. My family I go shopping for but my friends I make stuff at Christmas for.</p>
<p>First semester, freshman girl:</p>
<p>$2--load of laundry (usually 3x a month), but luckily this comes off my Student ID Card = no quarters :)
$15--ballgames, going to movies (tip: eat in the dining center before going to the games...less likely to spend $5 on a burger and $4 on a pop)
$10--snacks, pop, food for the room</p>
<p>I hate shopping so I don't spend much there. Okay, so I splurged on Cardinals World Series stuff but hey...you take what you get. Anyway, the most I've probably spent in a month is $30. Of course, I don't pay for gas, rent, etc. and the bus system in town is free for students</p>
<p>:) Living in a city is expensive. BLUF.</p>