$$$$$ how much money have you spent on supplies/moving in/getting ready? $$$$$$$

[quicksort]

I think that after moving, deposit, furniture, supplies, computer accessories, clothing, and 1st month rent, I've spent around $3000-3500. Yikes! Does anybody else want to cry as they slowly see their savings go down before school has even started?

[Chasely]

I would say that's about right. I can tell when I've moved in my mint.com account because my cash flow for that month is very negative....

[user_name]

800 rent and deposit. 500 moving. found a desk and dresser. 300 bed. 1-200 stocking apartment

[GreenePony]

DH's parents and mine were really awesome and covered Uhaul rental, hotels along the way, and un/load help. That still left ~4000 with gas, deposits, licenses, title, registration, snacks, rent, ... and texts haven't even been posted yet (thankfully I took two of the topics in UG so hopefully there will be overlap in industry standard books) so that's another 200+

[Dal PhDer]

The biggest amount of my budget goes towards alcohol...I need it to cope with the money stress!

Rent, +1 month rent, plus 1/2 month's rent for damage deposit, hookup fees, gas for moving, food for the friends who move you, books/clothes/school supplies, first grocery run to stock the place, 1st, 2nd and 3rd run to Walmart....then it's the money for the first week of social events and post-social events! You stay up late which means you need more coffee to get through the day (that costs more money, because you end up also buying food on the coffee run) .... I found some unknown seeds in one of the drawers to my kijiji desk find...I am hoping they grow into a money tree!!

[new_to_kin]

The biggest amount of my budget goes towards alcohol...I need it to cope with the money stress!

Rent, +1 month rent, plus 1/2 month's rent for damage deposit, hookup fees, gas for moving, food for the friends who move you, books/clothes/school supplies, first grocery run to stock the place, 1st, 2nd and 3rd run to Walmart....then it's the money for the first week of social events and post-social events! You stay up late which means you need more coffee to get through the day (that costs more money, because you end up also buying food on the coffee run) .... I found some unknown seeds in one of the drawers to my kijiji desk find...I am hoping they grow into a money tree!!

The biggest amount of my budget goes towards alcohol...I need it to cope with the money stress!

Rent, +1 month rent, plus 1/2 month's rent for damage deposit, hookup fees, gas for moving, food for the friends who move you, books/clothes/school supplies, first grocery run to stock the place, 1st, 2nd and 3rd run to Walmart....then it's the money for the first week of social events and post-social events! You stay up late which means you need more coffee to get through the day (that costs more money, because you end up also buying food on the coffee run) .... I found some unknown seeds in one of the drawers to my kijiji desk find...I am hoping they grow into a money tree!!

Hmm...seeds. Are they roundish with spots on them? If so, you might not want to grow them. Or you might

[TakeruK]

So far, we've spent just over $2300 to visit our new city to find a place to live in September (we stayed at a friends' place so most of that is on travel expenses). But due to the airline giving us a real 36 hour adventure on our way home, we got just over $2000 in compensation.

For the actual move, it will cost us about $1300 to fly there (we're flying home first, then to our new place) and $2000 total probably to move all of our things (including moving supplies).

But we are selling some of our bigger pieces of furniture and hopefully our car too, which should cover most of those costs.

In the best case scenario, we will hopefully end up with about $1000 in total expenses for the move, including the apartment hunting visit. Then we will have to pay first months rent and a security deposit (which is higher since we're internationals). The school won't pay me until the end of October, but luckily there is a "new grad student" 0% fees/interest loan of $2500 or so that should pay me in September to help with these costs. We will also have to transfer some savings from Canada to the US but it's a small hassle to do so (and sometimes they take a while to clear).

[ktel]

Luckily my employed boyfriend covered most of the initial costs, so we actually have pretty nice furniture and stuff. I would say we easily spent at least $5000 on setting up the new place, moving stuff and paying deposits and what not.

[TropicalCharlie]

From Hawaii to California (and Ca is not where my school is), so far we've spent $7200 which includes shipping costs and car purchase. Driving to our destination (~1500 mi) and settling in will probably cost another $3200. Luckily, grad student housing at my school doesn't charge security deposit, and it comes partially furnished.

[commcrazy]

Luckily my boyfriend moved with me, and we had a really short move, so my moving costs weren't crazy extravagant (but still, deposit, 1st month's rent), my family came up for my graduation from undergrad to move me an hour north before the ceremony with my dad's truck, and we've purchased our major furniture from craigslist right before all of the students' leases were up here.

But things like Target trips to buy the necessities have really piled up, and I have no savings after paying for grad apps/GRE/etc. I'm definitely in austerity mode. 

[fenderpete]

A lot. More than I was expecting and it's eaten up pretty much everything I'd saved from the previous year of work. Flights alone was about $1500 then $430 damage deposit, $200 for my visa, $1200 on furniture... It adds up.

[socscholar]

I am coming right from undergrad. I have been working as on office assistant all summer to pay for this friggin move.

~1400 deposit, rent thru September,

~150 flights

~1000 new fancy computer (graduation gift to me)

~900 set aside for furniture

~250 for those bloody target trips and startup groceries.

I'm excited because it's finally time to spend some of this cash I've been saving allll summer. Thankfully I'm moving into a house with other roommates, so I just have to furnish my room and buy some extras for the common areas.

The scariest part is that my first fellowship check comes Oct. 1, so I have to make it through September and hope that there's no delay in my first check so that I can pay October rent.

I'm excited though....

[lydibird]

I've budgeted about $3500 for the move and I hope it covers everything! My stipend doesn't start until the end of September so if it goes over I'm going to be hungry for a month or so! Luckily my roommate has most of the furniture we need in order to get started so that really cuts down on expenses. I think all I have to buy until I start earning a paycheck is a mattress.

[virion]

2500-3000 across the country with pod-type service and driving myself. Though I still lack a few pieces of not-technically-essential-but-normal-to-have furniture that are going to have to wait a month or two.

[wildviolet]

Too much. First month's rent + $650 deposit. Gas for driving 4000 miles in a car that gets about 25 mpg. Hotel for one night. Food for three people for one week. Brand new bed (can't get over the willy nillies about sleeping in a used bed), new couch, used furniture, household supplies (i.e., Target), stocking the pantry, new kitchen pots and pans, utensils, etc. I don't even want to add it all up. For me, it was probably about $5000+ and I even got assistance from my university and a bonus from work. The upside is that I'll be in my program for five years, so it makes sense to me to create a home environment that is comfortable and soothing.

[BrokenRecord]

Wayyy too much! I am so BLESSED for my boyfriend who was financed my expenses 100% so I didn't have to tap into savings. I really don't know what I would do without his love and support.

I am moving from the east coast to the west coast to a on-campus apartment (4 bedroom suite) that is furnished, so that luckily cuts down on having to look for furniture and things. But I still believe that I purchased way too much stuff for one room. My initial expenses included:

Prorated first month's rent and deposit: $950

Plane ticket (one way): $200

Winter clothing/undergarments/boots: $400

Flat screen TV (got a true steal!)/electronics: $250

Bedding/pillows/mattress topper: $250

Toiletries/kitchen supplies: $250

Shipping costs: $200

Books: $110

Total: $2500+ (not including costs of recruitment visit, groceries when I get there, etc.)

My stipend doesn't come until the beginning of October (moving in september 15th), but I will probably take out a no-interest short term loan that my university has to help me offset some of my costs and pay it back over the course of the semester with my stipend.

Edited August 13, 2012 by BrokenRecord

[rockhopper]

I'm right there with everyone. Moved from St Louis-Texas. $1200 on Uhaul, gas, hotel on the road. $500 for new bed. $400 for August rent. $170 first trip to wal-mart. My stipend starts Sept 1, so from what I read on here, I'm relatively lucky with that.

Starting grad school in two weeks: Priceless!