How I Spent Only $714/Month As An University Student
Tags: College, University, Personal Finance, Save Money, Budget

Sure, the pandemic is still ongoing and you might be living at home for another year but this thing will certainly end at some point and you might have to move out to attend those in-person lectures, so I think you’d still find this relevant somehow.

I had lived in a total of three different places while I was away at university.

The first place I rented was a room in an apartment. There were five other people living in other rooms. We had 2 bathrooms and 1 shared kitchen. I also had my own balcony which I didn’t realize would be inaccessible for me during the cold winter months. It’s also walking distance to school and to the bus station so it makes grocery shopping more convenient.

Note: It took me about 15 minutes to walk to school if you’re curious.

Rent — $500

I paid 500$ for that room every month which is roughly the same price I paid for the other two places in the second and third year.

Food — $150

For my grocery, I do it at a local Walmart and a local Asian grocery store. The fruits and vegetables are at a much lower price, are of higher quality, and have much more varieties at the Asian supermarket. If I were to do my fresh produce shopping at Walmart I’d probably budget an extra $20.

(P.S. don’t worry about the coronavirus, you have a roughly equal chance of getting it at other grocery stores. Just get your shots.)

I don’t eat out, instead, I opted to cook everything myself saving me A LOT of money. I spent about $30 per week on food sometimes more if the food is on sale and I’d buy a bulk of it (ie. Rice, noodles, Nutella). Every month, I spent about $150 on food.

Transit — $15

It took me about $3 per week to commute to and from the grocery store plaza. I rarely return home to my parents during the school year. If I do, it costs 6$ to, and another $6 back. I spent about $15 per month on transportation.

Personal hygiene products — $15

When it comes to personal hygiene products these include toilet paper, hair shampoo, body shampoo, conditioner, soap, period pads, etc. I bought them whenever they are on sale so some months I spent $45 and some months I spent $0.

I remember buying a 24-roll toilet paper pack which lasted me three years! Here’s a tip: don’t buy napkins. Use toilet paper as your napkin. Keep separate rolls for the bathroom and your room of course.

Phone — 28$/ year or $2.33 / month

I use a top-up option phone plan so that it cost me $28 to fill it up to use it. I usually do 0–1 refill a year.

It costs me 25 cents per call and per text however, I do all my communication online via Facebook and on other chat messaging apps. Calls are free and high quality as long as I have wifi. The only time I used my phone to call or answer calls was when I’m on my way to my parents’ house.

Internet — $0

Free. The place I rented gave me access to fast internet without extra charge. Make sure you test out wifi-speed at the place you’re considering renting before you sign it.

Utility — $0

Free. The place I rented gave me access to water and electricity for free. Well, it was in the rent of course.

Books — $0

I spent the most on books during the first year which was about $300-$450. I opted to buy second-hand books if I didn’t need the access codes. Some textbooks give out access codes that the professors might utilize. Access codes may contain quizzes that can count towards your grades. Access code can only be used for one student. They may even have an expiration date. If you buy a physical book with a used access code, you’d have to still get an access code which is less expensive than a physical book but the access code already contains the virtual book thus, there would be no reason to purchase a physical book in the first place. I can also sell my used textbooks if they still use the same version next semester or next year.

I’m very fortunate that my peers are so nice. Many of them would find pdf versions of textbooks online and link them in the group chat so that no one had to buy anything.

I hadn’t been buying any books at all for the past 4 semesters at school.

So I’ll put down $0 for books

Insurance — $0

My tuition includes medical and dental insurance so I don’t have to pay anything every month. In most cases when you’re paying for your glasses, dental work, pharmacy medicine, etc, you either get it for free since your insurance covers it or you might have to pay $5-$50 for the services and/or products (depends on specificity).

Gym — $0

Access to the school gym is included in the school tuition so I do not have to pay for anything every month.

Clothes / Shoes — $15

I didn’t have to buy any clothes much of the time. In fact, I don’t budget for clothes during the school year at all. If anything, I shop for all my clothes once a year during the winter break.

Other — $200 / year or ~16$/month

This includes a printer (which I never used but got for $20), calculator, mug, USB, charger, phone case, etc. These aren’t recurring monthly costs and thus I’d schedule about $300 per school year for them.

Entertainment — $1/month

In my school, everyone studies extremely hard and no one has time for many social events. If there is any social event, it’s usually free. At times there were trips to the ice rinks for instance which I might opt-in. It cost about $12 per trip and that’s about the only entertainment I had for the whole school year. I know it sounds boring. However, I still do go to movies and restaurants with family sometimes.

Total — ~$714/month