Receiving Aid in '08-'09
Basic Budgeting
Step 1
{Tip: The FinAid Student Budget Calculator is a helpful resource}
Calculate Your Projected Income. Begin by estimating the amount of money you will have to cover your expenses for the semester. Potential income sources may include:
- Your savings
- Earnings from a part-time job
- Financial aid awarded
- Parental contribution
- Benefits
Step 2
List Fixed Expenses. Fixed expenses are those which do not vary, such as tuition and fees. Ask yourself if you have any control over the cost of the item or service. List the item as a fixed expense only if the answer is no. The university develops standard budgets for categories of students within the school's population ( see Determining Need). You can use these sample budgets as a guide to estimate your costs, here and in Step 3.
Step 3
Variable expenses are subject to a certain amount of control. They can be obtained at varying costs, and in some cases you can do without them. Examples are:
- Housing and Meals
- Books and supplies
- Computer Costs
- Transportation
- Personal expenses
- Insurance
- Clothing maintenance
Step 4
Add your fixed expenses to your variable expenses to obtain your "total expenses."
Step 5
Balancing Your Budget. Subtract your total expenses (Step 4) from your projected income (Step 1). If your estimated expenses are higher than your projected income, see below for ways to reduce your spending.
Cutting Costs
If your costs are out of line with your income, the solution lies in your variable expenses (Step 3). Try the following cost-cutting suggestions:
- Housing & Meals
- Compare costs of living on campus with living off campus.
- Estimate the cost of utilities in each housing option.
- Consider living at home.
- Compare costs of cooking or restaurants with meal plan.
- Books & Supplies
- Consider buying used books, or checking out supplementary texts from the library.
- Transportation
- Don't bring a car to school.
- Invest in a bicycle.
- Ride the local city bus. It’s free with your Gator 1 Card!
- When traveling home, compare air fare with bus and train fare. Check the ride board at the Reitz Union.
- Clothing/Personal/Insurance
- Limit clothing purchases to basics.
- Patronize second-hand clothing stores.
- Compare prices and buy sale items.
- Take advantage of campus insurance.
Planning for the Semester
When planning for the semester, you need to keep in mind:
- the source of your money (savings, parents, financial aid, part-time work), and
- when it will arrive, or be available (lump sum, installments, or beginning of semester).
If money comes from home, it may be best to receive it in monthly installments. Students who have a lump sum of available cash to last throughout the semester (for instance, from a student loan), must learn to budget it over four months. On the other hand, part-time jobs provide continual income. A savings or checking account may be useful. Money from some financial aid programs is not available at the beginning of the term, and students should be prepared to pay immediate expenses from other sources. See “ Start-up Costs” .