A Week on a College Student Budget: Rocky Mountain Style

Major: Film Studies and Production

Age: 21

Year: Senior

College: University of Denver

How do you pay your tuition and fees?

I am fortunate enough that my parents pay my tuition and fees which accumulate to $16,464.00 per quarter. With the academic scholarship I received, $6,667.00 per quarter gets covered. The actual total paid is $10,190.00. My University is on the quarter system which means that I pay this amount three separate times in an academic year.

What are your monthly expenses?

My current monthly expenses are mainly my rent. I pay $894.00 a month for my room in a 3-bedroom, 3-bath apartment. As for the grocery store, I usually spend about $60 for every two weeks. My apartment building is close enough to campus that I walk to all of my classes and I don’t spend too much time driving, so I usually only spend about $40 a month on gas. I also have smaller expenses like the $5 a month that goes toward my Spotify student premium account.

How do you pay your expenses?

My parents help me out a lot by paying for my tuition and my rent. I know that this take a lot of stress off me and I am incredibly grateful to have this kind of support. I do currently have a part time job that pays a decent amount. I use this money to help pay for my groceries and more luxury expenses like going out to eat or going to the movies.

What are your budgeting plans for after graduation?

I try to save a portion of each paycheck I get so that I have a cushion after graduation. The income from my part time job allows me to grow my savings while I continue my job search for after graduation. I hope to save at least $4,500 by graduation in order to feel that I have a good amount to start a new job or find a new apartment as my lease ends around this same timeframe. My apartment is located near campus and as a result is rather pricey. If I stay in this city after graduation, I hope to find a more affordable apartment even if it comes with a bit of a commute. However, this is still all up in the air as I am applying to opportunities that may take me out of the state. All the more reason to build up my savings as I am unsure of where my career path after graduation will take me.

How did you spend your money last week?

Monday January 28th

An empty pantry leads to a trip to the grocery store where I pick up the essentials like peanut butter and bread, and scrambler bowls for breakfast. I order-in Panera with a friend as we watch the Bachelor.

King Soopers Grocery Store- $28.21

Panera Bread: $13.12- A “you pick two” meal with a half sandwich and soup with a green tea.

Tuesday January 29th

Between work and class, I make myself a sandwich for lunch but splurge on a dinner out with a friend.

Dinner with a friend: $13.98- Sesame chicken and a side of fried rice

Wednesday January 30th

After class I pickup a bagel to eat while I wait for an academic advising appointment. I cook dinner for myself that night.

Einsteins; $7.57- A turkey sandwich on an asiago bagel

Thursday  January 31st

I eat in all day by making a sandwich for lunch and pasta for dinner. My big spend for the day is ordering some more hair product on amazon. Although it is expensive, it lasts for 6 months so I am happy with this purchase.

Amazon prime: $21.57

Friday February 1st

After an entire day at work, I buy a student ticket to attend the hockey game that night with friends. After the game, I go for a late-night snack at Sonic.

Hockey Ticket: $6.00

Sonic: $9.39- a kid’s grilled cheese, tater tots and a soda

Saturday February 2nd

After a shorter work shift in the morning I do my laundry. In the evening I go out to see a movie with a friend.

Laundry $3.00- each cycle is $1.50

Movie ticket- $12.99 for a standard ticket

Sunday February 3rd

I buy myself Starbucks for breakfast before work. In the afternoon I go to dinner with a friend and splurge on an entire shake shack meal.

Starbucks  $7.61- a venti tea refresher with a bagel and cream cheese

Shake Shack $14.56- a burger, fries, and shake

Week Total: $138.00

Spending Breakdown:

• Food: $94.44
• Entertainment: $12.99
• Personal Care: $21.57
• Household necessities: $3.00
• Transportation: $0
• School Supplies: $0

How does seeing this influence your spending habits

Having my total I spent on food in this past week nearly reaching $100, I know that I could definitely work on eating in rather than going to restaurants. It can be hard especially since most of my restaurant meals go hand-in-hand with spending time with friends I don’t see throughout the week without planned dinner dates. However, I could ask them over to my apartment and cook dinner for us to incorporate better spending habits and quality time with friends. Also, it is hard to not take an easy meal on campus but I can also work to start packing sandwiches and snacks to eat between classes to alleviate these costs. As for my other spending, I would say I don’t over indulge in any other category. However, it will still be beneficial to set out a plan for each month’s spending so I can track my money use and plan for other expenses that I have that didn’t necessarily have an effect on this past week.