Managing Daily Expenses as a College Student

Aletsa Robles, University of Illinois Chicago, Sophomore, Summer 2024

Managing daily expenses as a college student can be tough, but it can be doable if students are ready to budget. College expenses are one of the many stresses added to students. Knowing how much they’re spending can help them decide how to make smarter decisions with their money. For example, buying coffee is a big thing for college students, it can help them through a long night of studying, or simply give them a happy reason to wake up in the morning. Education Data Initiative reports that “The cheapest way to save on coffee for a college student would be to make it at home. If a college student bought a cup of coffee daily, they would spend $63 a month on average” (Hanson, 2023). In this case, students should opt out of buying coffee every day and maybe choose to only buy coffee once or twice a month. 

Transportation is also something that really takes over students’ money. Anthony Hernandez, a student in the University of Illinois Chicago living off-campus says,“College does make me spend a lot of money. After my first year, I realized I had to make a change. I ride the bus or my bike more often now to save money on gas.” SoFi Learn reports that “students living off campus may require a car to get to class, which can significantly add to transportation costs. Filling up at the pump alone costs $164 a month for the average driver in the US’ (Brouillard, 2024). 

As students start seeing that it is possible for them to start cutting down some expenses they start building a plan which can later on help other people not make the same mistake they did. Emilia Ozan, a PhD Candidate in Economics in the University of Illinois Chicago, says,“Budgeting and planning my expenses for the year is something I took to really early on and has paid off for me in my post-undergrad years.” Once students have created an income/spending plan, it will become much easier for them to save their money. This is important because having financial stability can reduce stress, allowing them to focus more on their studies, and prepare them for future financial responsibilities. Use this website to help YOU create your own college budget: https://collegebudgetbuilder.org/

Sources:

https://www.sofi.com/learn/content/how-much-does-college-student-spend-month/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20College%20Board,%2C%20housing%2C%20and%20other%20expenses.

https://educationdata.org/average-monthly-food-spend-college-student

Interviewees:

Anthony Hernanadez, College Student at the University of Illinois Chicago

Emilia Ozan, PhD Candidate in Economics at the University of Illinois Chicago