How to Budget & Stick to It: Off-Campus Life

How to Budget & Stick to It

When you first move off-campus, learning how to manage your money is one of the most important life lessons anyone learns in college and is vital to having a great off-campus student experience. Find out more at ��Ƶ's Financial Wellness website.

Develop your own system or download a Monthly Budget Spreadsheet from our website
Keep the following items in mind when planning your overall budget each month:
- Tuition/fees, books, and supplies
- Rent and renter's insurance
- Utilities, cable, internet, water, garbage, and recycling (some of these may be included in your monthly rent payment)
- Lease fees (i.e. application fees, processing fees, security deposits, move-in)
- Phone bills
- Groceries or meal plan
- Transportation costs – gas, car maintenance, insurance, parking or bus/train passes
- Personal expenses (clothing, fun)
- Savings for unexpected emergencies
Consider using highly-rated, free budgeting apps like Wally, BillGuard, and Dollarbird
If you need additional assistance with keeping up your financial health, you may find some useful information on the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid's and . The Graduate School also has information about graduate funding .

Visit the WildCARD Advantage page to find businesses in Evanston and Chicago with student discounts (the NUHelp app also has WildCARD discounts built into its map feature)
Rent or buy used textbooks or e-books using sites like Packback, Chegg, and Amazon
Visit Norris Bookstore and Beck’s Book Store
Check SustainNU, Brown Elephant, Salvation Army and other secondhand stores in the area
Repair, don’t replace. Request maintenance from your landlord, depending on your lease
Purchase tools and follow YouTube/general tutorials, or ask handy friends
Purchase or sell items from cookware to furniture to clothes using the
Take advantage of free campus entertainment.
Check out the

Identify your sources of money and how much you ��Ƶ to spend monthly
Track exactly where your money is going each month. Remember celebration seasons, special occasions, personal purchases
List essential needs like food costs, rent, transportation, and textbooks
Set a minimum amount of savings, and how much you will add to it monthly
Do not buy on impulse, but do allot money for nonessential wants