Louise Holden calculates the cost of being a student, living both at home and away, and looks at how to budget properly.
How much money will I need living at home?
The average monthly cost of studying and living at home is roughly €516. This includes the cost to the family of your share of food and utilities expenditure (€123). It also includes food on campus (€103.50), travel (€76), books and photocopying (€50), clothes/ laundry/medical(€48) and socialising (€120). As a recent survey by the Department of Health and Children has found, students are spending an average of €110 on alcohol per month.
How much money will I need away from home?
Rent rates have stayed stable since last year and have even dropped in some places. UCD Student Services puts the rent rates for students at an average of €310 per month. Outside Dublin expect to do better - the Union of Students in Ireland national rental average stands at €284.35. The price for digs is higher but you don't have to pay for food and utilities.
Factor in the following average monthly costs for living away from home: utilities - €55, food - €205, travel - €75, books and so on - €46, clothes/ laundry/ medical - €47, social/miscellaneous - €120.
Don't forget to add individual costs such as cigarettes and contraception.
How can I cut costs?
Budget. Do it now before college starts. Poor financial management in the first few weeks of college can leave you penniless later in the year. Fix a weekly budget based on outgoings and incomings and stick to it. Review it regularly, especially if you're starting to feel the pinch. Use cash where possible and avoid credit cards.
Campus food and drink is getting more commercial and more expensive. It's easy to put away a tenner a day on coffee and lunch and that will push your campus food bill from an average €100 to an unfeasible €250 a month. Packed lunches, lunches at home and student meal deals can all help cuts costs. Avoid coffee and sandwich chains on campus - the college restaurant is usually cheaper.
Don't hang out in places where you are likely to spend money such as bars and cafes. Join a society with rooms or find the campus TV room or common room.
If you're having real problems keeping to a budget talk to your Students' Union. Not knowing how to budget is no shame - few people get training in this at school or at home. A well structured budget can really take the pressure off.
Should I take a job?
According to the recent Department of Health CLAN Lifestyles survey, students are working harder and longer hours in part time work than ever before. Many work well beyond the recommended 10 hours a week, despite warnings that more hours than this can lead to stress and reduced academic performance.
Do a cost/benefit analysis of your part time job. Are you being paid the minimum wage? Apart from wages, what else does your part time job offer - free food, discounts, valuable experience for your future career? How much does your job cost you - travel to and from work, drinks after work, work clothes, skipped lectures, exhaustion? Your job may be taking more than it gives. If so, look around for something else.
Will a job damage my academic prospects?
Certainly, if you start to miss lectures or skimp on study because of it.
Many students learn a lot about waiting tables in the college years, but is that really why you came to college? If you are mainly working to fund your social (drinking) life, are you missing the point?