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| Personal Finances? | |
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| Topic Started: Jun 9 2008, 07:20:12 PM (3,369 Views) | |
| AVR2012 | Jun 9 2008, 07:20:12 PM Post #1 |
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Hi, I was wondering how much students(freshmen) usually spend per semester at Hopkins. Some of the financial mailings have suggested $500 per semester, but I'm not sure if that would be enough, considering things like meals not covered by the meal plan, laundry, and other expenses. Any thoughts? Thanks |
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| JHU_Esther | Jun 9 2008, 10:45:26 PM Post #2 |
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I generally end up spending between $700 and $1000 per semester. I try to budget about $40 a week for eating out, going to movies, and other fun stuff. Some weeks I go over by a lot some weeks I'm under. You can definitely spend more but I think it might be hard to spend only $500. To me that says you're not taking advantage of all that Baltimore has to offer. There are ways to have cheap fun but most things still cost money. |
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Name Esther B. Class 2009 Adventures at Hopkins | |
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| Admissions_Daniel | Jun 10 2008, 09:31:06 AM Post #3 |
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I think this depends very much on the person. The $500 per semester is a number the Office of Student Financial Services uses based on a few-year old survey of students. The average of personal expenses per semester came out to $500. The survey is a few years old so that number might rise a bit -- maybe $600 - $650. But as I said it really depends. If you are the type of person that will not be eating out and using all your meals than your cost per semester will be lower. If you expect to do a lot of stuff off-campus than your cost will be higher. |
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The Infamous "Admissions_Daniel" Read my blog: http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com "Procrastinate now! Don't put it off." Thanks Ellen! Enjoy my profile: click here. | |
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| JHU_Mandy | Jun 10 2008, 09:55:37 PM Post #4 |
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It definitely depends on your lifestyle and that sort of thing. I'd just suggest kind of taking an inventory of your lifestyle as it was in highschool and setting a "bare bones" budget and making sure to leave as much wiggle room as possible since so much will change once you're living on your own in college. Just a few things to consider when planning a basic budget: -If you take any medications, that can add up very quickly. This can include regular prescriptions or over-the-counter medications you might want to get for a cold or injury. -Clothing; if you're from an area with weather similar to Baltimore's, you probably won't have this issue, but if not, you may need to buy a few things here and there for the winter. Or if you "need" something for a particular event, that sort of thing. -Like Esther mentioned, there's movies, meals out, etc. -You mentioned laundry. I lived in Wolman and it was $1.25 to run a washer or dryer and I did laundry weekly, using two of each, each time...so $5/week on average -Coffee/hot chocolate/misc. snacks during the day (everything adds up!) ...those are the major ones that ended up catching me off guard in terms of costing much more than I expected! As a side note, in some mailing I got last year about JCash (I'm sure you'll get it soon), it had recommended budgets for students and how they reached the amounts (in order to get students to put money onto their jcards). You don't really need to put much money on there, but the mailing was helpful to see a suggested budget. |
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mandy jhu class of 2011 public health studies read my blog! | |
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| JHU_Roxi | Jun 12 2008, 10:47:54 PM Post #5 |
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I can see $500 working your freshman year...i mean it's going to be tight, don't get me wrong. I think I'm with Esther, I spent about $1000 dollars a semester. The way my parents and I figured it out though is that my dad gives me $500 a semester (so what the financial aid people recomend) and anything outside of that that I want to spend I work for so my freshman year I worked at the bookstore a couple days a week to earn a little extra cash to go down to the inner harbor or other night time amusements... |
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Class of 2010!!! Public Health (Natural Sciences)/Latin American Studies Major P.S. More on the craziness on my blog: http://hopkins.typepad.com/roxi/!!! [/color] | |
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| JHU_Andrew | Jun 14 2008, 05:31:20 PM Post #6 |
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I spend way too much money at school, and I do a terrible job of keeping track of it. My advice is to set a budget for yourself... definitely between $500 and $1000, depending on what you like to do on weekends, how much you travel, how often you eat off campus, etc. |
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ANDREW JHU 2009 Click here to check out the Senior Blog. | |
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| JHU_Dominique | Jun 20 2008, 12:00:14 AM Post #7 |
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wow i had no idea students spent upwards from 500 bucks...i thought it would have been lower. but maybe i can cut down on that because i'm 15 minutes from home... laundry, food, clothing, etc. 
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Dominique D Class of 2012 Public Health Dominique D's Blog  AND ask me a question! "This thing called 'failure' is not falling down, but staying down." | |
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| JHU_Lauren | Jun 20 2008, 01:45:00 PM Post #8 |
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I think it really all depends on your spending habits at home and what budget you decide on with your parents. I, personally, cannot afford to spend over $500 each semester -- I wish I could, but I just don't have that option. But there are a lot of ways to cut back if you don't/can't spend that much as well! Remember that you're on a meal plan so, if money is running low, hit the cafeteria for meals! It's almost always open, and there's also the option of getting Meals in a Minute at other places on campus {which you don't buy with JCash or Dining Dollars, but which count as a meal block instead}. I also make a lot of my meals on my own {since I love cooking and lived in Wolman with a kitchenette -- dining dollars are great for that}, so I have leftovers and extra ingredients to last me for a while. I think eating out and ordering take out is where a lot of people spend a lot of money -- if you cut back on that, you'll have a lot of money left for other things. It's also fun to go shopping in Towson or downtown, but it's easy to watch and make sure you don't buy something every time! Also, laundry is kind of unavoidable .. but Hopkins keeps it relatively cheap for us and you can use your JCash to pay for it, so it's convenient. There are a lot of ways to have cheap fun too -- take the shuttle somewhere and explore {but be safe!}, see a movie that one of your friends owns instead of going to the theatre, hit the museum {which is free}, etc. You'll need money for a lot of things, but there are also a lot of ways to cut back. Like Mandy said, I would take a look at what you spend money on now and what sorts of things {movies, eating at a restaurant, etc.} are a regular part of your routine. Consider those things and add a little room to move around, because living on your own you will obviously have more expenses to cover yourself than you do at home. That's the best way to gauge how much you'll need next year.
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lauren * HOPKINS, CLASS OF 2011 http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/lauren "Leave something good in every day." | |
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| JHU_Mandy | Jun 21 2008, 11:06:45 AM Post #9 |
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Like Lauren mentioned, the meal plan is a great way to save money. I'm planning on choosing a meal plan that has meals instead of just dining dollars as a sophomore (as freshmen, you're required to do that anyway, but for take this for future reference or something). If you think about it, as a freshman, you have two meal plan options: one that gives you 14 meals per week and $200 dining dollars per semester or one that has 19 meals per week and $100 dining dollars per semester. Even if you don't know for sure if you'd use all 19 every single week, it's probably more cost effective that way. On the 19 meals/week plan, you get five more meals per week multiplied by 13 weeks, so 65 extra meals per semester vs. $100 extra dining dollars, and I can assure you that you cannot get a meal on dining dollars for $0.65...they cost between 5-10 dining dollars at Einstein's or Levering. Also, I don't know if they'll allow it next year, but what I did sometimes was get a to-go box at the FFC even if I didn't want a meal and just get some fruit or raw veggies and have them as a snack for later on (use a meal and keep from spending money on food later!) If you're trying to save money, it's just something to think about.
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mandy jhu class of 2011 public health studies read my blog! | |
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| JHU_Siobhan | Jul 9 2008, 03:09:20 PM Post #10 |
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I would also keep in mind that buying stuff like shampoo, conditioner, and other personal hygiene also tend to add up (especially for girls!!). I bought a huge costco sized shampoo and conditioner...and that still didnt last too long!! |
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| JHU_Kate | Jul 9 2008, 08:40:46 PM Post #11 |
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I agree! Seriously, if possible, try to buy as much shampoo/conditioner/body wash/soap/et cetera as possible before you come to Hopkins and store them in a box under your bed or on top of your wardrobe or someplace like that in your room -- not that I did it, but looking back, because I've always gone to/from Hopkins and home via car, I realized I could've done that and saved some money. Anyway, it's just a suggestion if it's something you can do. |
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JHU_Kate Class of 2010 Neuroscience Major Classics Minor Senior Arts Certificate Candidate in Dance http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/kate | |
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| JHU_Dominique | Nov 16 2008, 03:58:01 PM Post #12 |
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Like Mandy said, it depends on your lifestyle. I kinda like the FFC a lot so I don't really eat anywhere else...the Boxes to Go are great and I store them in my fridge so I am never without food...I hardly spend dining dollars and if I do I use them in Charles Street Market on things like juice and organic milk and chips. I haven't even been to any of the other places that take dining dollars for food outside of the FFC. I have 3 yrs to buy from there, so I might as well keep it fresh for my coming years and stay with FFc primarily. This may sound pathetic but I don't go out much...and that's MY PREFERENCE [not because people here don't have lives, because they OBVIOUSLY do hehe] so I really don't spend much money. I don't like shopping much unless it's for toiletries and cleaning supplies, I buy all my clothes on discount, I don't buy coffee or hot chocolate or other drinks cuz I can make them in my dorm or someone else's dorm. I've always been this way tho. I think the fact that I can go home to grab clothes and shoes helps me save as well. I don't spend close to 500 dollars. But it all depends on you. I think i am just weird. |
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Dominique D Class of 2012 Public Health Dominique D's Blog AND ask me a question! "This thing called 'failure' is not falling down, but staying down." | |
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| JHU_Mandy | Nov 16 2008, 07:13:52 PM Post #13 |
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Just to add, my biggest expense during the semester is trips home. My parents are extremely generous and they pay for me to fly home for fall break, Thanksgiving, and winter break (and obviously the return flights), but you also have to factor in getting to/from the airport in Baltimore. Check out this thread and browse around for many others concerning getting to/from the airport/JHU. Another huge expense is books/other school supplies. I was able to save a lot of money this semester by buying most of my books online (be sure to take shipping into account though--make sure it's worth it!). I also tried to buy most of my paper/pens/pencils, etc. from office supply stores or wholesale stores before coming to Baltimore, since they really are more expensive at the bookstore. There have been times when I've needed another folder or notebook and for that I've had to just go to the bookstore, but in general, I think I've saved a lot by planning ahead (it's hard to do that as a freshman, but as a sophomore, I learned from last year especially). |
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mandy jhu class of 2011 public health studies read my blog! | |
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| JHU_Julia | Nov 17 2008, 12:07:42 AM Post #14 |
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Everyone is totally right, there are so many ways to save money on and around campus! And yes, you learn these things mostly after your freshman year. I would recommend that you actually over-budget for freshman year. There are so many little things that come up that you'll need and when you haven't really navigated the cheap ways to do things yet, you'll just need to go for the most convenient option which is sometimes the most expensive option  So yeah, I'd leave yourself a bit of breathing room in terms of money for your first term. |
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~Julia~ Hopkins Class of 2009 Check out my blog here! Julia's Journal | |
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| JHU_Kate | Nov 17 2008, 03:15:42 PM Post #15 |
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Sooooo true. <_< |
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JHU_Kate Class of 2010 Neuroscience Major Classics Minor Senior Arts Certificate Candidate in Dance http://blogs.hopkins-interactive.com/kate | |
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