Amount of Spending Money a College Student
Needs

Going to college is an expensive venture, and while tuition costs are clearly printed on schools' websites and in catalogs, the amount of spending money a college student needs is much more difficult to figure out. Pinning down an amount of money needed for college will depend on many factors, including: what one considers spending money, what kinds of activities the student does week to week, and the geographical region where the student attends college.

Morning coffee adds up

The largest reason behind the difficulty of knowing how much spending money college students need is that different people consider different things as paid for with "spending money". For example, some people have already factored the costs of textbooks and parking on campus into the cost of attending school; loans are based on this yearly amount of money needed to attend school. However, many parents consider things like books to be something that a student buys during their college career, requiring spending money.

The thing to remember is that textbooks are extremely expensive (costing anywhere from $200 to $700 per semester), and that they're required. While there may be a copy of each book at the library, they may not be reserved for in-library use, making them difficult to come by. Parking on campus is another hidden cost of college, which can be a small expense of $100 for the school year, or a much larger expense. While some may not see a car as a necessity, college students may think otherwise.

In order to make an accurate calculation of spending money, you first have to agree on what purchases fall into the category of spending money, and what is simply a cost of attending college.

The following items may be deemed spending money for college students:

• Clothing allowance
• Entertainment allowance
• Food allowance (eating out, ordering pizza, coffee to go, which may not be included in the food budget for the year)
• Gas money or public transportation money
• Cell phone
• Activity money for a soccer club, a dance class, or gym membership
• Money to buy gifts for friends and family
• Textbooks and school supplies
• Electronics (including a computer)
• Travel allowance (to come home for Thanksgiving, etc.)

As you can see from this list, some items will make a considerable difference in the calculation. For example, if a travel allowance is included and the student goes to school quite far from home, coming home could cost $500 to $1,000 per trip. Whether or not to include such expenses in deciding spending money totals is one question; once you decide which ones to include, making an estimation for how much each item will cost is another calculation.

While some college students need a sizable clothing allowance each month, other students do some shopping in the summer and head to school with their wardrobe ready for the year. Likewise, some students attend the ballet, eat in gourmet restaurants, and take voice lessons once a week; this student will need considerably more spending money than a student who goes to the movies, eats a pizza out with their friends, and has a reduced-rate student membership to the university gym. While both types of student will need a considerable amount of money to spend, calculating a total depends very much on the types of activities that are to be included.

Finally, the geographic region can heavily impact the amount of spending money a college student needs. Restaurants, as well as rent and groceries, are more expensive in big cities, but students on rural campuses will spend more on gas or public transportation than those living in the city.

While the amount differs per student, here is a sample calculation of yearly spending money costs for a college student:

• Clothing allowance: $500-$1000
• Entertainment allowance: $500
• Food allowance: $500-$1,000 (assuming regular meals are eaten on campus)
• Gas/Car insurance: $1,200-$3,000
• Cell phone: $350-$600
• Activities: $100-$1,000
• Gift buying: $100-$500
• Books and school supplies: $400-$1200
• Electronics: $200-$1200
• Travel: $0-$1,000

The more conservative numbers add up to a grand total of $3,850 while the more generous numbers add up to $11,000; most students will fall somewhere between these two amounts. Given that most college students work, and earn an average of $5,000 to $6,000 annually, most college students should not need any help with "spending money". Depending on which categories you consider in calculating spending money, and how much each one costs, summer and part-time jobs may well be able to cover these expenses.

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