Before you start learning about how to pay for college make sure you don’t get ahead of yourself. Do you honestly know exactly how much college costs you per year? How about per month? I’m not just talking about tuition, but all of college. If you don’t fully understand the costs how will you be able to create an effective plan to pay for everything?
The most important part of paying for college is to know exactly how much everything costs. You need to do the research. Here are the questions you need to be asking yourself:
- How much is tuition? Are there any fees for classes or school?
- Will I be living at home? On campus? Off campus (alone or with roommates)? How much are each of those options.
- How much will it cost me to eat? Will you be getting a meal plan or purchasing groceries?
- How much will your utilities (power, water, internet, TV, phone) cost?
- How much will I need to spend on transportation? Will you be driving (consider gas, insurance, vehicle registration, maintenance, car payments, parking permits)? Will you be taking public transportation (monthly bus passes vs. paying per ride)? Can you walk or ride a bike (consider cost of lock, maintenance, possible stolen bike)?
- How much is your renter’s insurance?
- How much are your books?
- How much will your school supplies be (i.e. paper, backpack, pens, paper, etc.)? Do any of your classes require special equipment?
- Will you have to travel a large distance to attend school? How much will plane tickets, bus tickets, train tickets, or driving cost? How often will you go home?
- Does your program require travel that you have to pay for? Will you be studying abroad? What are the costs associated with this program?
- Will you be going on Spring Break? How much do you plan on spending?
- How much do you want to spend on having fun (going out with friends, movies, etc.)?
- How much do you need to spend on personal grooming, toiletries, other personal items, and clothing?
- How much money do you need to spend on gifts?
- How much is health insurance going to cost you? Do you have prescriptions you have to buy on a regular basis? How many times a year do you see a doctor and how much does that cost?
- Will you own a pet? How much does it cost to take care of your pet (food, vet bills, pet insurance, toys, grooming)?
- How much should you put aside for emergencies?
- How much money should you save?
- Are there clubs or sports that you are going to join that charge a membership fee?
Here is a link with a helpful worksheet you can download so that you can answer these questions yourself. Expenses Worksheet
Don’t forget the worksheet may not cover all possible costs. Perhaps you have some special needs or circumstances that I didn’t cover. Download the form and make the necessary adjustments.
Now don’t get freaked out by the initial numbers because we haven’t started going over the ways to pay for all of these expenses yet! I know the initial numbers can be shocking, just remember this is the before picture…the cost is manageable you just haven’t learned how to manage it yet.
Keep reading the posts and you will learn!
