How much do you spend in a semester's time?

December 16, 2005 10:43 AM

Two-part question about money and spending per semester: first part for college students, second part for those in the post-collegiate working world.

College students: How much do you spend in an average semester on expenses other than housing, tuition, and books? (I.e. money spent that doesn't go to your university in some form. If you don't live in on-campus housing, pretend you do by leaving out your housing/cooking/utilities expenses.) The expenses I'm interested in getting a feeling for are a combination of incidentals (eating out, shopping, entertainment) and unavoidable regular expenses (toiletries, cell phone bill).

Post-collegiates: How much do you currently spend in the same categories in the same period of time, i.e. approximately 3.5 months? (Bonus: About how much did you spend per semester when you were an undergraduate?)

I raise this question because as a current college senior, I had my first paying job this semester, albeit one that pays approximately $3.20 an hour, and as I was looking over my bank account activity for the semester...I found that I'd managed to spend a very significant chunk of my meager earnings.

So my recent review of the semester got me wondering how much others in a similar situation are spending, and how much those who are out of college (making "real" money) spend in the same amount of time.

Note: I'm not casting a value judgment on how much people spend (or don't spend), and you shouldn't either when answering this question. Whether you spend $200/semester or $2,000/semester, I simply ask that you refrain from castigating those who spend significantly more or less. Spending levels can be a very touchy subject for some, I've noticed. I'm not interested in hang-ups or value judgments—I just want the facts, whether that means an itemized accounting of your spending or a semester total.

posted by limeonaire to Work & Money (19 answers total)

I'm not sure I understand the purpose of this question, I think you're getting hung up on the fact that 1) I used to be able to get buy on $X 2) I now earn $2X yet I'm still saving nothing!

This is common at low levels of income and especially in America. I know trustfunders who spend $10,000 a semester and I know people who have daily budgets of $20. Once you get money you find ways to spend it -- better food, better clothes, vacations, etc. There's always something better to spend your money on.
posted by geoff. at 10:57 AM on December 16, 2005

Hmm...I'm just curious what others in a similar situation to mine are spending, that's all. I'm trying to establish some kind of way to compare where I'm at to where my peers are at as far as spending is concerned.

I'm a little concerned that I managed to spend so much this semester, but that's just background to the actual question.
posted by limeonaire at 11:00 AM on December 16, 2005

I spend about $40 a week on little stuff and fun stuff-- coffee, eating out, maybe a movie, maybe a concert, maybe buy some small toy or something. I don't really separate those expenses from my other living expenses in my mind, though.
It's good to be thrifty and know where your money goes, but it's not good to become "that guy" who's always talking about how much everything costs and sneering at my $4 chai latte. For me, talking about how much the food at a restaurant costs while eating the food kind of ruins the experience. Give yourself a budget and spend guiltlessly within it! Managing money is fun!
posted by bonheur at 11:02 AM on December 16, 2005

I don't understand the goal of the question either. If your end result is to buy a house at 22, you should be saving every penny and couch-surfing/dumpster diving. If your goal is to enjoy nightlife, you can spend every penny. There's "peers" doing both. Why compare yourself?

You can always find a way to spend all your money. Once you start in the real world and pay renter's insurance, and gas, and buy work clothes, and your dates become nicer (as in more expensive), it'll go away. What you save is up to you and your 5 year plan.
posted by kcm at 11:20 AM on December 16, 2005

College sophomore at NYU, so everything's figured in city prices. As near as I can figure, I've spent about $400 so far this semester. Feel free to ask about any other specifics.

-No cigarettes, drugs, alcohol
-Free Internet, landline telephone, heat, water, etc., all through NYU (I live in a dorm, prepaid, so rent isn't a consideration either)
-Two Broadway shows; tickets bought at a discount through NYU
-A couple of movies; off-peak tickets bought at a discount through NYU
-Lots of free entertainment (concerts, lectures, etc.) through NYU
-Lots of free/cheap/pay-as-you-will museums, especially with student ID
-Lots of public libraries and NYU resources (computer labs and libraries)
-Five meals/week free (meal plan, prepaid)
-$150 (meal plan, prepaid) to spend at kiosks run by dining halls -- they sell junk food, some staples, and some very basic toiletries; one kiosk is a Starbucks
-Plenty of scrounged meals available
-Meat (chicken, pork, fish) for dinner was purchased in Costco-type bulk at home, doesn't come into this accounting although other staples and food supplies do

In general, I try to spend under $20/week (all combined) on everything from eating out to entertainment, school supplies to food for making my own meals -- and the farther under $20 I can go, the happier I am. Metrocards ($20 for 12 rides) and occasional big-ticket purchases like the Broadway shows tend to throw me off, though.

I have a work-study job this semester. It pays $600/semester, no matter how many hours I work. I really, really don't want to figure out what it would be as an hourly wage.
posted by booksandlibretti at 11:27 AM on December 16, 2005

When I was in college I had a scholarship that covered all of my food and most toiletries purchased at the school market. I was lucky enough to go to a school with a lot of cafeterias (8+) with a good cominbation of yummy food. Therefore, I ended up eating out only once a month and had equally cheapskate friends. I don't think I ever spent more than $300 a semester. I realize that I may be an outlier. I was never too fond of going out.

Now that I have graduated I spend about $200 on food, both cooking and eating out. I only spend about $30 a month on gas and have an extra $200 for clothes, gifts, books and home repair items. Most of my friends make less money that I do, so we have a good time with little cash, mostly with board games.
posted by Alison at 11:33 AM on December 16, 2005

A little more than $500. I was also quite surprised at how much I managed to spend. (Particularly because the school I go to is in a tiny town in the Midwest, so you would think that there wouldn't actually be that much to spend money on.)
posted by almostbarefoot at 11:58 AM on December 16, 2005

When I was still in school I often fantasized about all the frivolous shit I'd buy when I graduated and got a high-paying job. Now I mostly feel guilty for buying a TV, and angry that I have to pay over $1000 a month for an apartment with crappy appliances and loud radiators.

On balance, I think I've done OK so far with my money (10% to long-term retirement investment, 10% to short-term savings/trading, not too many toys).
posted by rxrfrx at 12:01 PM on December 16, 2005

I just finished my third semester of college. According to Quicken, I've averaged about $1500/sem. (In Athens, Ga., by the way.) That seems higher than it should be to me, but I have no reason to doubt it. (It's funny, I keep detailed records of everything and really pay attention to where the money goes. And then I look up and it all... went.)

Particulars: I live in a dorm and have a 7-day meal plan, though I eat out often, especially on the weekends. I did not include the cost of dorm, meal plan, or books, as per your request. I do, however, have a fairly-expensive girlfriend, so take that into account.

(And on preview I see that I spend well above average so far. I hope I don't sound like a spoiled rich kid -- truth is, like 95% of the money I spend, dorms etc. included, is money I earned through scholarships or working. So I don't feel guilty about enjoying it ;-)
posted by SuperNova at 12:25 PM on December 16, 2005

I went to NYU, too, and found that any given school year I would spend approximately:

[the amount I had saved up over the summer, waiting tables full time] + [the amount I earned from my work study job during the year, tutoring part time]

That included food, though, most years.

Now I am in the "real world" I spend:

[my salary] - [$100 of every biweekly paycheck, because I have it automatically kick into my savings account]

Basically, in my experience, you spend what you have, unless you're consciously saving, in which case you spend everything you don't consciously save. Of course, that's in New York City, where temptation abounds.
posted by lampoil at 12:48 PM on December 16, 2005

I've been out of college for almost four years, live in Minneapolis.

Rent: $600
Groceries: $250
Entertainment--drinks, theater, etc.: $250
Dinners or lunches out: $100
Student loans: $200
Credit cards: $150
Cell phone, utilities, etc: $100
posted by hamster at 1:21 PM on December 16, 2005

In school, I spent about $400 per month on food/recreation/toiletry type things. i worked part time and paid for school/books/supplies/housing with a shit ton of student loans.

now that i'm out of school, i'm currently paying back said student loans. my "misc." expenses are averaging $500/month (this includes stuff for my dog, shopping, recreation, etc.), and another $250/month for food. i'm starting grad school next month and will be paying oop for that, so i've still got a few things to figure out...
posted by booknerd at 2:05 PM on December 16, 2005

Oh yeah, and I'm blessed to live in one of the most expensive cities in the country... San Diego, where my rent to share a house is $700/month.
posted by booknerd at 2:06 PM on December 16, 2005

I'm at the U of M Morris, a little rural branch of the Minnesota University system. I'm also a frugal kid. The most money I've spent is reimbursing friends on rides back to minneapolis for the weekends.

I handle my meals at the cafeteria and often find myself carrying snacks out with me. I haven't had more then $50 dollars in my wallet at any point this semester, and only used the ATM once.

I don't keep a budget or anything, but would put my spending at about $100. I'm not a big fan of movies, and I'm in a small enough town that there aren't many distractions to burn holes in my pocket. Thats partly to offset the purchase of my computer this summer, on which I spent most of my money.
posted by kjell at 3:25 PM on December 16, 2005

Junior, living off campus in Baltimore.

Rent: $650
Groceries & Booze: $120
Eating out, coffee, etc.: $80
Misc. (Occasional movie, cd, etc.): $50

Utilities (Gas, electricity, internet): $60

So, total: $960/mo.

I'm actually thinking of sharing a rowhouse with some friends to cut down on the rent and utilities.
posted by scalespace at 3:56 PM on December 16, 2005

Whoa, kjell. I grew up in Morris (2nd Street and College Ave.). Small world.

I graduated from college 1.5 years ago and I spent very little money when I lived on campus. Maybe $20 a week. Once I moved off-campus, the money I spent driving around and feeding myself seemed to almost offset the extra money I made.
posted by Coffeemate at 4:26 PM on December 16, 2005

When I was a student (early to mid 90s), I spent about $525 a month on rent, groceries and fun. My rent made up $300-$325 of this -- I lived in Vancouver, which was/is pretty pricey. I believe my bus pass was $54. I paid my tuition at the start of the semester, so that is not included in the total. After rent and transportation, I had about $175 to spend on groceries, my share of utilities and meals & entertainment.

Today, I am married and have a child and so my expenses are higher but shared. Figure *combined* totals of $175 for phone/Internet, $70 for cable, $350 for meals out, $400 for groceries, $200 for clothing/grooming/etc, and so on. I don't think it's worthwhile to compare our spending to that of a student, especially since there are three of us. We also budget for vacations, gifts, retirement savings, education savings, etc. Our spending on mortgage, car, clothing and meals out are not really relevant to student life, so I wouldn't use them in the comparison.

Oh yeah...I graduated with no debt, despite living away from home and footing the bill on my own. Today, my husband and my only debt is our mortgage. We still live beneath our means.
posted by acoutu at 4:39 PM on December 16, 2005

Fresman
U. of Pittsburgh
I spend around $200/month on food, and another $200 on cell phone, entertainment, etc.
posted by matkline at 7:18 PM on December 16, 2005

I am a junior at Pace University in New York city.

Tuition, room and board are outrageous, school housing alone costs me nearly $12,000 a year. My friends in NJ pay half as much for comparable housing. My weekly expenses amount to about $90, which includes, $60 for food, $10 for a metrocard and $30 for toiletries and misc.

Entertainment adds another $200 monthly, thats for $5 beers, movies, and occasional dinner. It may sound like a lot, but its totally worth it. So all in all, If you do the math I spend $2500 per semester.
posted by ubono212 at 8:52 PM on December 19, 2005