Living expenses! Help!

[JessePinkman]

So I am on a tight budget here and my likely destination Purdue is an expensive school. I had no problems before applying to Purdue, but then some personal problems came up and now I'm on a really tight budget. If I decide to go, I just wanted to know whats the bare minimum you can spend on living expenses (rent, food, entertainment, phone etc.) in grad school and still survive! I want to spend the minimum possible amount! I know the minimum rent I'll pay is around $300! What are the other expenses other than that? Just give me an idea and I can calculate my expenses accordingly! Thank you.

[iphi]

You're lucky because West Lafayette is super cheap. I'd say rent, phone, car, car insurance, maybe healthcare depending on what the school offers. Then stuff like food, entertainment, etc. That's obviously flexible!

 

A lot of this stuff is relative... I don't think anyone can give you a magic number. What are you willing to sacrifice? A car? A cell phone? Your morning Starbucks? Going to the movies once per week?

[Rolling Circles]

Just make a budget. Take your monthly income, subtract overestimated expenses, and you have a budget. Some things I put in mine.  Don't forget to take any other costs into account like apartment deposits, moving costs, ect.

• Rent
• Utilities
• Mandatory Health Insurance
• Loan Repayments
• Groceries
• Car Insurance
• Fuel
• Phone Bill
• Slush Fund
• Car Payments

[nugget]

Here is a list of some monthly expenses to help get you started on living cheaply, but you'll need to come up with some figures as I don't know local costs of each of these things:

 

-groceries (to eat cheaply, cook from scratch and do not buy frozen dinners; bring a thermos for your coffee instead of buying a cup every day; get a thermos that will keep food hot for hours to take to school; always keep some non-perishable snacks handy at school in case you stay late so you're not tempted to buy take out ie: nuts, microwave popcorn, granola bars, etc; buy foods on sale like meat that are about to expire and put them in the freezer until needed; eat local produce that's in season for cheaper prices)

 

-cell phone (comparison shop when getting a cell phone plan; don't just take the first one that looks good because you may stay with this company for a few years)

 

-rent (obviously cheaper with a roommate, tendency to get cheaper the more roommates you have, especially if you want cable, internet, etc as bills can be shared - how many roommates are you willing to live with?)

 

-cable? internet?

 

-transportation (weigh the pros and cons of living walking distance to campus - free transportation costs but perhaps higher rent) - cost of monthly bus pass? car? (insurance, gas, monthly parking pass, winter tires if there's snow, maintenance and repairs)

 

-moving expenses (will you be taking furniture and large items with you?)

 

-travel costs - do you plan to go home and visit at some point in time? how often and how much will it cost?

 

-furniture (some places are furnished but they are generally more expensive, weigh the pros and cons of each)

 

-pots, pans, dishes, microwave, coffee maker... (if shared accommodation some of these things might already be there)

 

-bedding - blankets, sheets, pillows (curtains too!)

 

-clothing (maybe a thrift store if you're on a really tight budget - new seasonal clothing if you'll be in a very different climate ie: winter boots, coat, hats, gloves, scarf, etc)

 

-school supplies, books - do you need a new computer?

 

-health insurance (medications, etc)

 

-gym membership? (perhaps it's free at your school)

 

-cleaning supplies (dish soap, laundry detergent, kitchen cleaning supplies) 

 

-toiletries (shampoo, bath soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, toilet paper, tissue, etc)

 

-long distance phone calls (free if you use Skype!)

 

-emergency money

 

-money for personal spending - recreation, socializing ie: movies, restaurants, drinks, etc....

Edited April 22, 2014 by jenste

[JessePinkman]

Thank you all for such a detailed reply! I'll prepare a list like this and calculate it accordingly