Students should prepare to budget monthly bills like rent when looking to move off-campus. Credit: Lantern File Photo
Fall semester is creeping to a close, and as spring semester inches near, students may be tasked with identifying and evaluating off-campus housing for the first time.
Pinpointing a place that checks all the boxes and transitioning from on-campus to off-campus living may be challenging for students new to the financial world, Ben Raines, program coordinator for financial education at the Student Life Student Wellness Center, said.
Raines said fixed expenses — which are consistently paid monthly, like rent — are a good place for students to start calculating a budget.
Raines said students can reduce unnecessary spending by being conscientious about what they spend on rent.
“Be strategic in realizing that you don’t have to live in necessarily the newest and shiniest apartment,” Raines said. “Columbus is a big place and there are plenty of places to live that are more affordable. Rent can cost a lot less.”
The Office of Student Life’s Off-Campus and Commuter Student Engagement department offers a housing search portal including properties in the University District and beyond, university spokesperson Dave Isaacs said.
Isaacs said the portal can keep students from feeling overwhelmed when finding a place and help narrow their search.
“If you know the price range you want to go with, you can use that as one of the search functions,” Isaacs said. “You can also use location or any number of other things that can help you with that search so that you know what’s available, where it’s available and a little bit more about each property.”
Living off campus introduces additional expenses that are separate from rent, unlike Ohio State’s residence hall housing costs that include both food and board, Raines said.
“When you live on campus, you write essentially two big checks to the university a year and that covers your living expenses,” Raines said. “[Living off campus] turns two large expenses into an ongoing expense that you might buy groceries weekly. You’re going to have to pay monthly bills like rent and cable and utilities.”
Isaacs said when considering expenses, students should bear in mind those costs previously covered by Ohio State’s lump-sum housing payment.
“A great example of that is Wi-Fi service,” Isaacs said. “When you move off campus, you’re going to have to arrange for your own provider and your own service. This is an expense you might not have thought about because you hadn’t had to pay that before, directly as a separate item.”
Variable expenses — things that students spend money on weekly — can fluctuate depending on personal choices, Raines said.
“Grocery shopping’s a perfect example. Instead of going to the dining hall, you’re going to either buy your food at a restaurant or cook it from a grocery store,” Raines said. “You can go to Aldi, which is a rather inexpensive grocery store, or you can go to Whole Foods, which costs a lot. You have individual decisions while you’re there that are going to raise or lower your overall bill.”
The range of potential student income sources, from financial aid to jobs to family support, may make establishing a budget tricky in college, Raines said. He said understanding fixed and variable expenses is an important step in financial planning.
“It’s important to have a conversation about what exactly am I going to be responsible for, what is a parent or guardian or friend going to be accountable for?” Raines said. “You have a really good sense across all these different options, what exactly is my income?”
Raines said cooking and meal choices play major roles in filling a student’s budget, and carefully planning can save money and develop lifelong skills.
“If you can do bulk meals with your roommates, very inexpensive way to feed yourself,” Raines said. “That’s a lifetime skill that will save you a lot of money, and you can impress other people with it too.”
Raines said while students may feel spending on anything outside of necessary expenses is overspending, recognizing the value and importance of any given purchase can help alleviate concerns.
“Being very clear about why you spend the money you do and what value it provides you is more helpful framing than, ‘You shouldn’t buy lattes,’ ” Raines said.
