Me and My Money

Student budget

Posted November 25, 2011
Originally Published September 2, 2010

Putting your post secondary student on a budget - painlessly ...

Q: My son starts his second year at university this fall and will be living in an apartment residence that has a full kitchen. He plans to make all his meals; he did not care for the food services provided in the meal plan last year. How much money should he expect to spend each week on food? S.V.


A: As with many things financial, the answer to your question is, it depends. Surfing through university and government student information sites I discovered that the recommended range per month for student food is $150 to $250.

The first requires heavy use of ramen noodles and other such fare while the latter likely assumes more takeout and less cooking.

It also depends on whether you factor in personal items such as shampoo and shave cream, which most people buy at the same time they grocery shop.

Another issue is accessibility. When my daughter attended university in Rochester, NY it was a good distance from the nearest grocery store and she had no car so she was forced to depend on the rather pricey convenience store on campus for milk, juice and bread.

On the other hand, a student at the University of Toronto, St. Mary’s in Halifax, or the University of Alberta in Edmonton might be walking distance to any number of markets.

The other factor is your son himself. He could save lots of money by taking advantage of sale items and through creative use of leftovers. If he does both he will eat better while sticking to a very lean budget.

Finally, what about roommates? Some cook together others live on separate culinary planets. If his bunk mates are willing to divide up cooking duty and shop together then he could save quite a bit as three can definitely eat more cheaply than one.

Simon Fraser University in Vancouver recommends allotting $800 for food per semester and $525 for personal sundries. That’s a little more than $331 a month. In my experience September will be more expensive than December.

In the first month many items are purchased that will last into the next month and some, like spices, will last all year. December is a cheaper month since most students head home by the third week.

If we take SFU’s budget of $1325 per semester for food and personal items I suggest your son plan on spending up to $400 the first month and split the remainder evenly among the other months.

I also recommend your son draw up a budget for the entire semester including clothing, entertainment, transportation. If he transfers just enough per month from savings to chequing to cover monthly expenses then he reduces the risk of having to make that early November phone call.

“Hi Mom, Dad, umm, I’m a little short this month ...”

I’d love to hear from students and parents about food budgets. What works for you?

Q: My daughter is going into first year university. She lives at home and has a full scholarship. We are trying to decide on an allowance for her. In high school she received $20 a week. She’ll be eating breakfast and lunch on campus.

A: You and she already know the kinds of things she regularly spends money on so that is the place to start. Add to that a breakfastlunch budget (do encourage her to take her meals with her as often as possible), transportation, entertainment and clothes and you will have the beginnings of that magic allowance number.

If she has been careful with money in the past she will take to budgeting easily. If not, one way to offer encouragement is by matching whatever is left over from her allowance every month to go into a savings account for something special.

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