Album Review by JosephCurtin
Posted October 30, 2018
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Planning Your College Budget Ahead of Time: Tips to Making Money Stretch
Most college students aren't going to be making much money, and any money you do make will most likely be going straight into tuition, books and other expenses. Learn how to budget your money to make it last the whole school year!
What? I've Got Ten Cents to My Name!
Avoid bounced checks and last minute scrambles by making sure you have enough money to cover your expenses all year. Don't just add in tuition plus room and board. Try to realistically estimate how much additional money you will spend on books, food, entertainment and other things. Creating a budget doesn't have to be a challenge, but you do need to do it carefully and honestly. It's not enough to make a best-case scenario budget. Instead, it's far better to plan for the worst case scenario. Budget for the least amount of money you might possibly have while in school.
Tuition and Fees
Possibly the largest expense you will encounter while in college is the tuition bill. Don't just look at the semester price! Make sure you calculate the total price for the year. Are there extra fees for extra courses? Does the university charge a student services fee? You'll want to visit the financial pages of your particular institution to determine what your fees will look like.
Here are some possible charges you will receive from your university that you should research and include in your budget:
Tuition (Are you in state or out-of state? Can you register for residency in the state of your school and reduce costs?)
Matriculation Fees
Student health insurance fees
Student activities fee
Parking fees
Books & Supplies
College books and supplies are expensive! There are ways to save money on this expense - you can purchase textbooks used or borrow from a friend who took the class, but you should look at what your university recommends for its book budget. You should budget at least $1500 a year for books and supplies, if not a bit more so that you have wiggle room. The last thing you want to have happen is find out that your chemistry book is $200 and you don't have money for it. You'll want to include:
Cost of required and recommended books
Cost of lab manuals
Cost of lab materials
Cost of art supplies
Cost of study supplies
Include your expected expenditures for paper, pencils, printer cartridges, and other supplies in this figure. You don't want to be caught the night before your big paper is due with no printer ink and no money. Trust me.
Housing
Will you live on campus or off campus? You will need to determine what your housing costs will look like. Keep in mind that if you live on campus, your home will often be furnished for you. If you live off campus, you will probably need to furnish your home. Here are costs you should keep in mind when budgeting for housing:
If on campus: your student residency fee per semester
If off campus:
Apartment or house rent per month
Electricity
Water
Internet/phone/cable
Furnishings for your home
It may be a savings to live off campus if you have a roommate or if your utilities are included. Make sure you calculate the costs of both, make a decision, and then include that cost into your budget. Remember that moving will have an expense too, so account for that cost.
Transportation
Another substantial cost students will find adds up quickly is the transportation expenses. This includes costs associated with driving your car, taking public transportation, and going home to visit family on breaks. You'll want to figure into your budget:
Car payments
Car insurance
Car maintenance costs
Car emergency costs (Figure in at least $1000 so you're not blindsided should something go wrong)
Gas
The cost of taking a bus and subway
Ticket prices to go home to visit family
When calculating travel costs, you should base these on the more expensive travel period - the holidays. This way, even if tickets go up, you should be covered when it comes to going home.
Food
Keeping your food budget down and realistic can be a challenge - especially if you're living in a dorm. It's important to plan for making healthy meals (even if you have limited equipment in your room) and to plan for dining out with friends. Here are things you'll want to cover:
The cost of a meal plan
Groceries and cooking utensils
Dining out
Bars and alcohol
Coffee
I list coffee separately. It adds up really fast when you go to study at coffee shops and purchase a $5.00 mocha every day. If you're a habitual drinker, try to cut back on the number of times you go out for coffee. Nevertheless, you need to account for a realistic figure in determining your food budget. By the same token, you'll also want to set a figure for bars and alcohol consumption if you're of legal age and plan to drink. This is another very expensive category where you can easily destroy a budget in a weekend. Think very carefully about whether this is how you would like to appropriate your funds. View All Music And Book Reviews By | View 's Profile
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