Meet Nina, a student who went abroad with API in Florence, Italy. Like many students preparing to go abroad, she was excited for new adventures, but also determined to be smart about her finances. Through careful planning and a few key strategies, Nina found a balance between budgeting and fully enjoying her time overseas. Read on to hear how she managed her finances!
Advice from Nina
You’ll often hear study abroad alumni say, “studying abroad is the experience of a lifetime.” While it’s most definitely true, you don’t often hear alumni talk about the costs of studying abroad. As a study abroad alum, here are three practical budgeting tips for study abroad students so you can afford delicious local cuisine and a cute souvenir for a loved one!
Tip #1: Track Your Spending
Whether you are savvy with Excel or prefer a nice notebook and pen, having a system of tracking your spending is an effective way to stay aware of where you’re putting your money. While your bank does give you monthly statements, sometimes it’s wise to even track as you go.
I personally used Google Sheets (it’s free!), where I separated each column into amount spent, reason, and day of spending. I also color-coded the rows by month to make it easier to see each month’s totals.
Tip #2: Budget Your Time Abroad
Tip #3: Research Costs in Your Host City
What exactly should you research? Look into the average cost of living in your future host city (things like the cost of groceries and restaurants). You can also look into the cost of clothing and traveling. Keep in mind that both tend to fluctuate depending on where you shop or travel.
For example, in my research, I discovered that in Florence, it isn’t expensive to buy groceries. Plus, the cost of eating at restaurants was slightly lower if I ordered pasta dishes rather than main courses! Now this doesn’t mean that I didn’t order main courses from time to time; it just means that I knew what to expect going in.
Final Thoughts
By tracking your spending, budgeting your time, and researching costs, you’ll feel more prepared for your study abroad semester. Being prepared helps you visualize what you will and won’t spend money on, saving you the stress once you arrive at your destination. Good luck abroad!
Now It’s Your Turn to Go Abroad!
Thank you, Nina, for sharing your insights on budgeting a semester abroad. We hope this helps future students better understand the realities of budgeting abroad and proves that you can make it work! If you’re interested in going abroad, just like Nina, explore API’s programs in Florence and around the world.
