Average College Student Spending 2023 [Monthly Allowance] (2023)

FAQs

What is a good monthly allowance for a college student? ›

Some families give their students a monthly allowance, ranging from $75–$225, to supplement the student's own savings. After the first year, especially for students making good money through summer employment, an allowance may no longer be necessary.

On average, college students spend $2,000 in spending money each year. Set your college student up for success by helping them create a budget early on. There are many different ways to set a budget, but remember that college student budgets aren't one-size-fits-all.

According to the USDA website, a typical college student will usually spend between $163 and $367 a month on food. This particular website avails different costs based on gender, as well as four distinct meal-plan estimate levels.

Cost of Living in London as a Student in 2022/2023. The cost of living for students in London averages around a monthly rate of £1,500 per month. This should cover expenses like student accommodation rent, food, transportation, personal expenses, and leisure.

When it comes to how much you should spend and save each month, NerdWallet advocates the 50/30/20 budget. With this formula, you aim to devote 50% of your take-home pay to needs like rent and insurance, 30% to wants like gym memberships and vacations, and 20% to debt repayment and savings.

Average allowance for kids and teens — in 2022

A rule of thumb to follow is to give your kid $1 per week for each year of their age. If you have a 7-year-old, their allowance would total $7 per week. A 16-year-old would receive more, at $16 per week.

The rule entails spending 50% of your monthly income on essential expenses such as rent, monthly bills, and groceries, spending 30% on non-essential purchases such as going out to eat, and putting 20% into your savings account.

But based on money trends, minimum wage, etc. – $3,000 is a good starting point. That amount gives you time to find a job and live until your first paycheck.

The costs to send your kids to college for the average middle income and high income family is $28,668 and $31,822, according to Sallie Mae based on 2020 data. Looking at middle income families, 25% of the costs of college is covered by grants and scholarships.

How much money does the average college student make a month? ›

As of Mar 5, 2023, the average monthly pay for a Student in the United States is $3,982 a month. While ZipRecruiter is seeing monthly salaries as high as $9,000 and as low as $1,208, the majority of Student salaries currently range between $2,500 (25th percentile) to $4,166 (75th percentile) across the United States.

Shop At Least Once a Week

Be prepared to go grocery shopping at least once a week and make that twice a week if you eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. Things like bell peppers, green onions, and berries seem to go bad within a few days, so plan to buy just a few at a time and eat these asap!

They are more expensive than buying your own food and cooking it yourself. The cost per meal can be especially high if you wind up selecting a plan that includes more meals than you eat in a semester as you typically pay for meals, even if you don't eat them.

Some students were given money when expenses arose rather than as a proscribed regular weekly amount. The consensus among the hundreds of parents who did send their college students spending money was that the range should be between $25-$75 a week for a student living on campus.

Tips for Boosting Your Income. Even under the best circumstances, $1,000 per month is not a huge amount of money. Try to live on $12,000 a year and your quality of life will be less than stellar in the best-case scenario.

How Much Money Does an Average 18-Year-Old Have In Their Bank Account? Now that assumes full-time work and little to no financial responsibility. In reality, the average teen likely has far less than 1,000 in their savings. For comparison, the average adult has around 5,300 in savings³.

The general rule of thumb is that you should save 20% of your salary for retirement, emergencies, and long-term goals. By age 21, assuming you have worked full time earning the median salary for the equivalent of a year, you should have saved a little more than $7,000.

How much do most 22 year olds have saved? Younger people are no exception. Of “young millennials” — which GOBankingRates defines as those between 18 and 24 years old — 67 percent have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts and 46 percent have $0.

The basic rule of thumb is to divide your monthly after-tax income into three spending categories: 50% for needs, 30% for wants and 20% for savings or paying off debt. By regularly keeping your expenses balanced across these main spending areas, you can put your money to work more efficiently.

Is $3000 a month good? ›

Is $3000 a month enough? If you're single and don't have a family to take care of, $3000 is enough to get you through the month comfortably. And, if you keep your expenses to a minimum, you can save a few hundred dollars from your paycheck.

With the exception of Manhattan and San Francisco, you can live — and live well — on $2,500 (or less) per month. Consider my situation.

For some students, getting a job and earning their own spending money is the only way they can make ends meet. But if you're willing and able to help your college-aged kids, a monthly allowance can often be the best way to go.

If the allowance is tied to chores, kids learn the relationship between work and pay. Using an allowance as an incentive motivates kids to get their chores done. Kids can earn extra money for extra tasks, beyond regular daily or weekly chores, just as they might when they are teens with summer jobs.

If you are single and have one job, or married and filing jointly then claiming one allowance makes the most sense. An individual can claim two allowances if they are single and have more than one job, or are married and are filing taxes separately.

The biggest chunk, 70%, goes towards living expenses while 20% goes towards repaying any debt, or to savings if all your debt is covered. The remaining 10% is your 'fun bucket', money set aside for the things you want after your essentials, debt and savings goals are taken care of.

By age 25, you should have saved about $20,000. Looking at data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the third quarter of 2022, the median salaries for full-time workers were as follows: $690 per week, or $35,880 each year for workers ages 20 to 24.

40% of your income goes towards your savings. 30% of your income goes towards necessary expenses (food, rent, bills, etc.). 20% of your income goes towards discretionary spending (entertainment, travel, etc.). 10% of your income goes towards contributory activities (donations, charity, tithe, etc.).

One of the most common percentage-based budgets is the 50/30/20 rule. The idea is to divide your income into three categories, spending 50% on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings.

How much does the average 19 year old have in their bank account? ›

Younger people are no exception. Of “young millennials” — which GOBankingRates defines as those between 18 and 24 years old — 67 percent have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts and 46 percent have $0.

One of the most common percentage-based budgets is the 50/30/20 rule. The idea is to divide your income into three categories, spending 50% on needs, 30% on wants, and 20% on savings.

The average expenses for a single consumer unit in one month in 2021 were $5,577. Meanwhile, average spending per year came out to $66,928. Keep in mind that the cost of living can vary by region -- some cities are cheaper to live in and others are more expensive.