It is no secret that international travel can be expensive, let alone living abroad for an extended period. So, how do you study abroad without going broke? A budget. You need a budget. Scholarships, grants, and saving up can help fund your study abroad experience, but no matter how much money you have, you will quickly exhaust your resources without a proper budget.
In this post, I break down:
- Costs You’ll Encounter While Abroad
- How to Build Your Budget
- *Bonus* – Sample Budget
Costs You’ll Encounter While Abroad
- International Currency Expenses
- International Transaction Fees
- If you use a bank card on a purchase, your bank may charge a fee for the international transaction. This is essential to understanding how much an item will cost you vs. its advertised price.
- Currency Exchange Rates
- Bank notes
- A currency exchange rate is important to understand how much it will cost to exchange one currency’s banknotes for another currency’s banknotes. Typically, this is accompanied by a processing and shipment fee from your bank. However, these fees may be much higher at an airport or exchange counter.
- Understanding pricing
- The currency exchange rate is also important for understanding how much your dollar is worth in your study abroad location. For example, in London, the American dollar is worth less, so the prices displayed will not match the cost in dollars to me.
- *Example*
- Pair of sunglasses costs £15
- Conversion rate = 1.25
- International transaction fee = 3%
- 15 x (1.25+0.03) = 15 x 1.28 = $19.20.
- Therefore, the glasses that cost £15 will cost me $19.20.
- Bank notes
- International Transaction Fees
- Cost of Living. Check out the tables below for a breakdown of how to calculate your anticipated budget:
Cost of Groceries
| Create a menu | ♡ meal ingredients ♡ snacks ♡ beverages ♡ miscellaneous groceries |
| Find a market | ♡ locate a market or grocery store near your residence ♡ Shop online for the items on your list |
| Calculate | Cost of groceries (1 week) x # of weeks in your program = anticipated budget Example: $50 (1 week) x 15 weeks = $750 (total anticipated budget) |
Cost of Transportation
| Research Transport Options | Ask yourself: ♡ How many days will I go to classes? ♡ How far is each class from my residence? ♡ How much does one trip cost? ♡ Is there a student or visitor discount? ♡ Do rideshare services exist? |
| Plan anticipated travel | Use tools including: ♡ online maps* ♡ public transportation websites ♡ rideshare apps |
| Calculate | Cost of travel (1 week) x number of weeks in your program = anticipated budget. |
If your study abroad location has a long-term public transportation pass option, this will likely be more cost-effective
Cost of Bills
| List Your Bills | ♡ Phone Plan ♡ Streaming Services ♡ Subscriptions ♡ VPN* |
| Research Phone Services | ♡ How much does an international phone plan cost with my current carrier? ♡ Will I need to purchase a new SIM card while I am overseas? |
| Research Subscriptions | ♡ Is this product available for shipment in my study abroad location? ♡ Will I spend my time using it? ♡ What substitutes are available in my study abroad location? |
Cost of Travel
| Brainstorm | Ask yourself where you want to go and make a list of your desired destinations. Plan to travel solo. If you plan your budget with a solo trip in mind, your ability to travel to your desired destinations will not be contingent upon others. |
| Plan | Plan a mock trip using: ♡ desired dates ♡ travel planning sites ♡ rack rates ♡ solo trip Find: ♡ Round-trip transportation ♡ Hotel/Hostel/Home Rental Accommodations ♡ Things to Do ♡ Restaurants |
| Reflect & Revise | ♡ Will this trip cost less if I travel on a different week? ♡ Which destinations are most cost-effective? ♡ What are my top three destinations to visit? ♡ Am I comfortable traveling alone? |
How to Build Your Budget
50/30/20 – Many people use a 50/30/20 rule to create their budgets. This means 50% of their income is allocated to needs, 30% to wants, and 20% to savings. I recommend a similar method for a study abroad budget.
50% – Needs. Rent & Insurance – In most programs this is paid for before your arrive and may be included in your study abroad tuition so you would not need to include it in a post-arrival budget
- Groceries
- Phone Plan
- Transportation
- Clothes
- Household Items
- Medicine
- Beauty & Hygiene
- Educational Expenses
- 30% – Wants.
- Entertainment
- Clubs/Pubs/Bars/ Restaurants
- Tourist Attractions
- Concerts/Performances
- Cinemas/Arcades/Recreation
- Vacation/Holiday
- Transportation
- Accommodations
- Excursions
- Food
- Souvenirs
- 20% – Buffer. Leave 20% of your budget as money you don’t touch unless it is a true emergency. This could be an issue with your flight on a travel day where you’ll be stranded in another country if you do not get a new flight immediately. You miss your flight and you need to pay for a hotel stay. You lose your passport and have to pay for a new one.
Sample Budget
To give you an idea of what your budget could look like, here’s a snapshot of the budget I used in London, UK.
- Location: London, UK
- Duration: 15 weeks
- Season: Winter/Spring
- Total Budget: $5,000
- 50% – Needs – $2,500
- Groceries – $50 x 15 = $750
- Phone Plan – $40 x 4 = $160
- Transportation – $700
- Clothes – $300
- Medicine – $20
- Household items – $100
- Beauty & Hygiene – $70
- Educational Expenses – $500
- 30% – Wants – $1,500
- Entertainment – 535
- Clubs/Pubs/Bars/ Restaurants – $235
- Tourist Attractions – $0
- Concerts/Performances – 300
- Cinemas/Arcades/Recreation – $0
- Vacation/Holiday – 860
- Paris – 475
- Oxford – 250
- Cambridge – 35
- Canterbury – 100
- Souvenirs – 100
- Entertainment – 535
- 20% – Buffer – $1,000
- 50% – Needs – $2,500
In this post we covered how to create the perfect study abroad budget for your semester overseas.