How to Budget & Stick to It
Download the "How to Budget" PDF
Why Budget?
- 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 Northwestern's Financial Wellness website.
How To Begin?
- 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 Cost of Attendance page and Living Off-Campus page. The Graduate School also has information about graduate funding here.
Ways to Save
- 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 NU Free and For Sale Facebook groups
- Take advantage of free campus entertainment.
- Check out the PlanItPurple calendar
Every Dollar Counts
- Identify your sources of money and how much you have 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
Ways to Earn
- Apply for a work-study jobs at the NU library, Norris Center, Northwestern Dining and many others
- Check out Job Search resources at Northwestern Career Advancement
- Volunteer for research studies that pay per hour