Budgeting & Offsetting Expenses

If you’ve never prepared or lived by a budget before, now would be a good time to begin. Part-time work helps you offset some college expenses.

Student Budgeting

Offset Expenses with Part-Time Work

Offset Expenses with Work Study

Student Budgeting

The importance of budgeting for college students

Preparing for college means preparing for living a more independent life than you've had thus far. And near the top of that list of independence is learning to handle your own finances.

You may not have learned money management in high school, but now is the time to begin taking budgeting seriously.

Student budget example

Here is a student budget example with some items that would typically appear on a college student's expenses and income list:

Expenses:

Tuition
Room & board
School books & supplies
Food (groceries & restaurants)
Entertainment (movie tickets & rental fees, concert tickets, books, magazines, etc.)
Car payments/transportation costs
Cell phone bill
Car insurance
Spending money
Other miscellaneous costs

Income:

Job earnings
Student aid
Savings
Gifts from family

You should consider tracking each of these items both by the month and by the semester (or possibly by the school year). And make sure to compare what you thought you would spend on each item with the actual expenses for each.

Savings from Part-time Work

Part-time jobs can help pay your way

You'd be surprised by how much you can earn by working a part-time college job—either as part of a formal work-study program or not—and perhaps even longer hours during the summer and other school breaks.

Even if your parents are helping you, it’s important to contribute yourself. Not only will it give you a sense of satisfaction, it’s also valuable work experience that can carry over to your studies.

However, while you're attending college, vocational school or some other post-secondary program, your primary responsibility—meaning your real job—is to pay full attention to your studies and practice good time management. Remember to schedule yourself accordingly for any part-time jobs in college, especially while school is in session.

Work-Study

Offset some education costs through work-study

Federal work-study, an integral part of the federal financial aid system, provides part-time jobs for undergraduate and graduate students with financial need (meaning not all students are eligible). The program allows these students to earn money to help defray their educational expenses. Along with loans, grants, scholarships and family savings, work-study jobs form the basis of most student support.

The program encourages community service work and jobs that may be related to the recipient's major course of study. Off-campus work-study positions generally are for nonprofit organizations or public agencies. Under federal law, all such work must be in the public interest.

Under the program, undergraduates are paid by the hour (at least minimum wage, but often higher, depending on the type of work and skills involved). Here are several other work-study requirements:

No federal work-study student may be paid by commission or fee
Your school must pay you directly (unless you ask otherwise) and at least monthly
Work-study eligibility requires undergraduates to be enrolled for at least six hours per semester, and graduate students must be enrolled at least three hours
Student may not log any more than 39 hours a week in work-study jobs, although 20 hours a week is the recommended workload

Jobs under the federal work-study program are usually quite school-friendly. Work hours are assigned with an eye to the student's class schedule, and the school's financial aid office generally tracks that the amount you earn is consistent with the terms of your financial aid award. But the ultimate responsibility is still yours.

Check with the financial aid office at your school for details about getting federal work-study, which would be in your financial aid package if you are eligible.

Helpful Tools & Information
MoneyHelp Budget Planner	Use our budget calculator to manage your money.	Learn more
Student Saving Tips	Check out these money saving tips for college students.	Learn more
Creating & Using a Budget	Nine tips for making a budget and sticking to it.	Learn more

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