Stretch Your Grad Student Budget to Make Ends
Meet in an Expensive City
As a graduate student, your No. 1
job is to succeed in school, but that doesn’t mean the cost of housing, food,
transportation, tuition and books falls to the wayside. Balancing school and
finances can be challenging for any grad student, but if you’re in New York,
San Francisco, Honolulu, Washington D.C., or Boston, you’re doing it in
one
of the most expensive cities
in the country.
But by sticking to a balanced budget,
you can attend graduate school and thrive. When you’re living on a fixed
income, a budget helps you allocate your money. To start, calculate the total
amount you have to work with each year. This could be a combination of federal,
state and private loans, plus savings and income you have from a part-time gig
or your spouse’s job.
Many loans don’t take into
account higher costs of living, so if you’re relying on them solely, you might
not have enough to cover your entire budget. If that’s the case, look for
additional income streams such as
graduate
school scholarships
. Once you know how much money you have, determine how
much you’ll need to spend in various categories. Exact amounts will vary based
on your lifestyle and location, but here’s a model to get started:
Check out this
cost of
living calculator
to see average expenses for housing, food, transportation
and more in your city.
The loans may seem to be piling
up now, but going to grad school is an investment in your future. If you study
hard and stick to your budget, you’ll be well prepared to graduate and find a
job making enough to pay it back and then some.
This article originally appeared
on NerdWallet.
