Read on to see a week-long student budget for a nursing student at ASU.
Major: Nursing (minor in Family and Human Development)
Age: 21
Year: Senior
College: Arizona State University (Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation)
How do you pay tuition and monthly fees?
My parents pay for my tuition, so I don’t have to worry about that and any school loans in the future. They give me an allowance as well every month to spend on food, gas and other necessary items. I’m currently unemployed, so they help out. I had a job right before my nursing program began, but I felt it would be difficult to balance a job and a rigorous major that requires lengthy clinical hours.
What are your monthly expenses?
I still live at home, so thankfully I do not need to pay rent or groceries. A majority of my money ends up going towards gas because my school is very far from me. I attend ASU’s Downtown Phoenix campus and I live in the Gilbert area, which is usually about 45 minutes by car. During rush hour, however, it takes me about an hour to get home and to get to school. With the recent increase in gas prices, my monthly expenses have been totaling around $400-$500, including if I need to pay for meals outside of home and the occasional coffee.
How do you pay these expenses?
Like I mentioned earlier, I used to be employed at a restaurant in downtown Gilbert, but once the nursing program started, I quit so I wouldn’t be as stressed with juggling both school and work (not to mention clinicals). So my parents pay for most of my expenses, but I also have a lot of money saved from work, birthdays, holidays and etc.
What are your budgeting plans for after graduation?
I plan on staying home at my parent’s for a while and working, at least until I can place a down payment on a house or apartment. Currently I’m undecided if I want to continue my education after my bachelor’s degree, so the plan is to see what happens after I’m employed in my career of choice. I’ve already decided that I’m going to put aside money as I earn it in case I decide to go back to school to pursue a master’s degree or doctoral, even though it is very expensive. However, ASU is opening a medical facility/school so the possibility of me staying in state and attending in pursue of a master’s degree is very high.
How did you spend your money last week?
Sunday April 23rd
I stayed home on Sunday and spent most of the day studying for upcoming exams, especially because I had a clinical the prior Saturday. Clinicals last 12 hours, so by the end of the day, I’m super tired. This semester my clinicals were only 15 minutes away from my house, but next semester I’m going to have an hour and a half commute unfortunately. Most weekends I end up staying home and relaxing, while also studying. Sundays are my chill days.
Monday April 24th
I saw my friends’ little cousin’s Snapchat story, where she mentioned that she bought pimple patches on Amazon and there were about 180 of them, so I thought it would be a great purchase since I usually spend about $20 on a single pack of 20 patches that lasts about two months. I bought a dress for my trip to Europe as well, a toner and makeup remover that doesn’t irritate my skin (skincare is #1!) and decided to buy tools to do my own nails as a little after-finals treat for myself, considering nursing doesn’t allow nail polish or acrylics.
At Walmart I bought Polaroid film for my trip and at Dairy Queen I got ice cream with my sister. We then went to Starbucks for coffee. I also chipped in $10 for a gift card for my clinical instructor because of how well the semester went. At Ulta, I bought more skincare, including lash serum because I needed to stock up.
Amazon – Skincare, Clothes, & Nails – $78.99
Walmart – $22.37
Dairy Queen – $10.22
Giftcard -$10
Starbucks – $10.65
Ulta – $28.56
Tuesday April 25th
I needed to fill up my gas tank because it started reaching low levels that stressed me out, so I decided to get gas. Later on, Spotify charged me for my monthly listening expense. I have a student account so it’s relatively cheaper than the other rates Spotify offers, not to mention that I also get Hulu. I love watching The Good Doctor on Hulu and I need to listen to ad-free music when driving.
Gas – $73.10
Spotify – $10.77
Wednesday April 26th
I spent most of Wednesday studying for finals, which were coincidentally this week. When I study, I do not like to waste or lose time doing other things when I could be studying, which includes driving to get food or simply cooking my own meal. So, as a result, I decided to get Postmates. However, later, I decided to take a break and drive to the local Freddy’s to get some cheese curds.
Postmates – $25.04
Freddy’s – $5.81
Thursday April 27th
I decided that I needed some new clothes for my trip to Europe this summer. I am visiting my family in Serbia. We’re also taking trips to France, Switzerland and maybe Greece or Montenegro. I ended up buying some shorts from American Eagle, which are way too expensive, but the quality is good and the shorts fit me the best out of other brands.
American Eagle – $49.81
Friday April 28th
I have about a million or something photos on my camera roll on my phone, and I need them to all be backed up. I don’t have a lot of time to go through my camera roll and delete pictures I don’t need anymore. As a result, I ran out of iPhone storage. I ended up paying for extra Apple iCloud storage, which is another monthly fee that I pay for.
Apple iCloud Storage – $3.22
Saturday April 29th
I went to the airport to pick up a friend who had just flown in from California. I then took her to Walmart so she could grab some stuff before taking her to her hotel in Phoenix. On my way home, I stopped at ASU’s Tempe campus to study at Hayden Library for my exams the following week. Later, I went home and ended up chilling with my parents.
Spending Breakdowns:
Food: $51.72
Gas: $73.10
School Supplies: $0
Personal care: $157.36
Rent: $0
Other: $46.36
Week Total: $328.54
How do these breakdowns influence your spending habits?
This week was much more chill since finals week happens soon, but I definitely should try and not spend so much on food and drinks when I have a coffee maker at home and, of course, food at home. I love my skincare products, but I rarely spend so much money on them monthly because they last a long time. This week just ended up turning into a stock-up time as well as a study week that involved a lot of errands due to my upcoming summer vacation. Out of everything, I think I need to try not to spend so much money on ordering food and food delivery when I have all of it at home.
A Week on a (Unique) College Student Budget: Life as an Online Grad Student and Stay-at-Home Mom