Cost of college: how to budget for the academic year

The cost of college can come as a shock, particularly when you’re not used to budgeting. We caught up with two experts and asked: how can students manage paying fees and living expenses?

Michelle O’Hara is the national spokesperson for the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (Mabs), while Ruth Killeen is student budgeting adviser at Maynooth University.

Have costs gone up for students?

Michelle O’Hara: Yes, across the board and especially in areas like food and groceries, personal hygiene, the costs of running a car, rent and utilities like gas and electricity. It is likely to cost more for day-to-day subsistence than a few years ago.

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Ruth Killeen: Yes, and this is putting pressure on them, as a lot may now need to contribute to household bills. But there has been an increase in income rates for the SUSI grant (see susi.ie), including the half-rate of fees income limit, which has gone up to €62,000

Is it expensive to live out of home?

Ruth Killeen: About 80 per cent of students commute and tend to bring in food. But they do end up buying on campus as well, and that can add up to €10 a day.

A single en-suite bedroom on campus is €6,607 this year, but it’s €5,177 for a single room with shared bathroom. But you also have to budget for a deposit. Renting a room in someone else’s house, however, means someone else is looking after the running of the household and the utility bills.

Off campus, you may be looking at perhaps €600-750, but it all depends on where you live.

Michelle O’Hara: And make sure to check how long the lease is: if it’s nine months instead of 12, where will you go?

What do students need to spend on?

Michelle O’Hara: How will you get to college? If you are taking public transport, make sure to get a discounted fare through a student card. If driving, how will you pay to tax, insure, maintain and fuel your car?

You need to budget for utilities, gas and broadband.

Plan as best you can for your meals and think about sharing food costs if you are in a house-share.

There may be ancillary costs, like paying a deposit for a locker, or going to the dentist. You may also need to think about the student contribution charge: will you pay it, or will someone else?

Do I need to buy books?

Ruth Killeen: Do not buy everything on the book list, because one book can be €300. See what is in the college library, or even the local library, which can get in books you need if they don’t have them already.

How can I manage all of this?

Michelle O’Hara: Budgeting is key. Without knowing how much your income and expenditure will be, you will run out of money halfway through your week or month. I advise people to take a day – a personal administration day – to think about costs. Outline what they will be and think about how you will pay for them on a regular basis.

Ruth Killeen: Budgeting means making a plan, but being flexible and adjusting it if a part isn’t working. Remember that there are free services on campuses, like counselling.

Make sure to avail of every student discount. Also, learn a few recipes. Batch cook if you can. Eating out and living on ready-meals means you will pay more.

Should students cut out socialising to save money?

Ruth Killeen: A social life is an important part of college. Just because you’re doing, for example, a law degree, it does not mean you will connect with your classmates; this often happens at clubs and societies, and you need to budget money for a social life.

Michelle O’Hara: No. A part of your budget should be set aside for entertainment and socialising, but you should know what it is, and be wary of tapping that bank card and losing track of spending. Set your budget for nights out and events and don’t go over it; using an online app where you can keep that money in a separate wallet – and when it’s gone, it’s gone – can be helpful.

What else should I look out for?

Ruth Killeen: A laptop can be essential. Many colleges, including Maynooth, offer laptop loan schemes. Ours has no cost, but there are income eligibility criteria.

What if I am prudent and responsible – and still can’t afford the costs?

Ruth Killeen: We have emergency funds and student assistance funds. They are not means-tested: instead, we look at how finances will impact a student’s ability to stay in college.

There are a lot of wraparound supports that colleges have in place to avoid students dropping out. Don’t be afraid to go to the student support services and ask for help: that is what we are here for.

The day-to-day

The cost of groceries has risen over the past year. Even at Aldi and Lidl – supermarkets that are much more affordable to students – the cost of a basket of goods has gone up.

Increases in the minimum wage have not kept up with inflation, hitting students in the pocket. To add insult to injury, students who are 19 or under can be paid less than workers over the age of 20.

All that said, it is still much cheaper to cook at home than shelling out for lunches and/or dinners every day.

Many students, however, don’t really know how to cook, or where to start.

It can be tempting, when money is tight, to buy a big bag of rice and eat it everyday – and you’ll find no shortage of wealthy boomers online advising you to do just that.

That’s not just a nutritional dead end, however: it will leave you miserable and steal the joy from food, one of life’s great pleasures.

You’ll also find plenty of people advising you that it’s really cheap to eat well. This is not true: a frozen pizza will deliver more calories, at a lower cost, than fresh and healthy food like vegetables or pulses. And cooking also incurs additional gas or electricity costs that will add to the overall cost.

There are ways of eating well on a budget, but it does take some time and planning.

The best way to get started is to stock up on cupboard essentials, with the cost ideally shared between everyone in your house. If you have a well-stocked cupboard, you’ll only need to buy fresh fruit and veg, meat, fish and diary – but bear in mind that meat is expensive, whereas if you eat more pulses (peas, lentils, beans), eggs, nuts, cheese and, if you like it, tofu, you will save money.

Quorn or other meat alternatives can be cheaper, but if they’re not to your taste, replacing minced beef (in a cottage pie or a bolognaise) with green or puy lentils is a tasty and cheaper option.

When you have your cupboard essentials, the shopping will be less stressful and you’ll have the makings of a quality meal at home. Most importantly, you’ll save money on eating out, expensive ready-meals and takeaways.

It’s also a good idea for people in a house-share to take turns cooking, perhaps committing to one day a week each, so you’re not all scrabbling for a little bit of time in the kitchen.

You don’t have to be a master chef. But everyone can learn to cook at least one or two decent meals, whether that’s an omelette, a bolognaise or even a simple tuna salad with a baked potato.

Cupboard essentials

Lentils: green or puy, red or split

Tinned beans: chickpeas, butterbeans, kidney beans

Tinned fish: tuna, sardines, mackerel, salmon or anchovies

Vinegar: cider or balsamic vinegar, with a little olive oil, will add flavour to your salads

Oils: olive, sunflower or rapeseed – rapeseed oil is particularly good for cooking, whereas olive oil works well in salads

Pasta: go for brown pasta – it is more nutritious and high in fibre, and you won’t notice the difference in taste

Rice and noodles

Tinned tomatoes: a very basic and humble staple that will give you the makings of many dinners

Dried herbs: thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, mint

Dried chilli: add heat and depth to any dish

Soy sauce

Vegetable or chicken stock cubes

Condiments: mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, salt, pepper

Optional extras:

Spices: cayenne or chilli powder, paprika, turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander

Sesame oil

Coconut milk

Olives

Chutney

Treats: dark chocolate, nuts, dried fruit (eg dates)

Simple lunches to get you started

[ Four simple, quick and cost-effective recipes for student life ]

Whether you’re at home or work, making your own lunch is a great way to save money. Yesterday’s leftovers are often perfect. Simple dishes like spaghetti bolognaise, lasagne, stew, curry, or casserole can be heated in a microwave or an oven.

Don’t throw them out: leftover pasta and boiled rice can be reheated by pouring boiling water over them.

If you have a freezer, you can freeze some foods that are commonly wasted: pesto, hummus, milk, coconut milk or sour cream can all be put into ice cube trays so you will have individual portions when you want them, or use a spoon to place individual dollops into a freezer container, such as a Tupperware dish. If you are using ice-cube trays, try to put them into a freezer container so that they don’t pick up other flavours from the freezer.

And remember, if you use money to buy food, and you throw food out, you are effectively throwing money away.

[ Seven cheap, tasty meals to make it to payday ]

[ A healthy lunch in a bag that’s hot and tasty and contains only 149 calories ]

Home-made soup

Waste not, want not. A leftover chicken carcass (or joint of lamb, but that may not be typical fare) can be transformed into a delicious soup. Put the chicken in a pot of water, add a whole carrot, a stick of celery, half an onion (unchopped), parsley, thyme and a bay leaf (if you have one). Cook on the lowest possible heat for the longest possible time.

When the meat has fallen off the bones, remove the bones and the vegetables. Then chop and fry one onion, one stick of celery, two carrots and a parsnip (if you have one) for five minutes. Throw them into the soup, along with a lamb or chicken stock cube, and continue to cook on a low heat for another hour.

Voilà! A delicious lunch for four people at home or at work. Enough for two adults for two days.