how much money...

[frankdux]

just curious, if you get an offer with funding, how much money do you plan on saving up/setting aside for initial start-up costs and everything? (the money you plan on using before you start getting your actual funding money and get yourself on that whole grad-student budget)

i'm aiming for $2,500-3,000.

[royalt3240]

$3,000 for me.

[Minnesotan]

There's a way to save money as an MA student? =)

[rising_star]

Eh, it all depends on how far you're planning on moving.

[Dreams]

This is a good question. I will begin saving come January and will likely cap it at between $1500 and $2000.

[timuralp]

Well, I can say I spent about 2-3k to get all setup when I moved. I refused to haul any furniture, so had to buy all the stuff, but it wasn't too expensive, since most of it came from a used furniture store. A TV was an ouch at around 700, but it's obviously not required. Without it, I'd be at 2k.

I also ended up buying a place, but I'm excluding the downpayment/closing costs from this, obviously.

[miratrix]

I'm more concerned about what happens if I end up going to one of the two programs that doesn't offer full funding (both MA, one only covers tuition & most fees, the other doesn't have any funding for first-year students). Loans, I guess...I'd like to be saving now, but the cost of Christmas presents and application fees means I just don't have the spare disposable income for it.

[rising_star]

Honestly, I didn't save up much money for moving. I used graduation money to move from NJ to GA when I started my master's. I was lucky in that I was given a headboard and dresser by my family. All told, I probably spent around $800 on the move. Why? I was moving out of a dorm room so I had no furniture. I moved all my clothes in suitcases, with the help of my family that came to graduation. I bought a discount mattress, which I sold two years later for more than I paid for it, a desk, and a desk chair. I moved in with someone that already had furniture, dishes, etc.

My cross-country move was more expensive. I drove with only what fit in my car, other than shipping 7 boxes of books and my mom flying out with a suitcase. I bought a mattress, dresser, and shelves for my room, along with a bookshelf. The drive cost me maybe $400 on gas and food on the road and $100 on hotels. The furniture I got cost me maybe $1K (mattress, dresser, shelves, nightstand, bookcase, and some small stuff), and again, I moved in with people that already had a house setup so I really only bought things for my bedroom.

I hope that helps give you an idea of what things cost me. Obviously, a cross-country move would be a lot less gas this year, since it's less than half what I paid in August. Honestly, credit cards are your friend. You apply for FAFSA so you're eligible for student loans, use the credit cards to pay for the move, then pay off the balance as soon as you get your student loans in August/September (preferably with subsidized loans).

[miratrix]

There's also rent to keep in mind - first, last, possibly additional deposit.

[studentfromLA]

It cost me about $4,500 to move from California to the Midwest for grad school (not including books and student fees, which were about another $500). Moving costs were about $2,500 (I actually moved furniture for a 1 BR apartment, as I had the furniture already and a lot of it was nice, heirloom stuff, and it would have cost me almost as much to replace it with crap in the new apt, plus I didn't want to get rid of it, and storage was more expensive than moving it). Plus, you need first month's rent plus a deposit. In my case that was $1,400, ($700 per month rent + 700 deposit). Gas, one night at a motel, and incidentals on the three-day drive was around $400 (I moved this summer when gas prices were crazy -- with prices what they are now, you could probably shave $100 off that cost).

If you are staying in student housing where you don't need to buy furniture or don't need a deposit, it will be a lot cheaper to move. You could probably do it for the price of a plane ticket/drive + whatever they charge for housing. However, if you are getting an apt., and aren't bringing furniture, count on at least $1,500 to buy what you need (it will cost you that at a minimum, even on the cheap), plus transportation costs, plus apartment costs.