Michaela Bradshaw has prepared for this coming May since she entered TCU in 2008.
Bradshaw said she came to the university knowing that she would not be receiving financial support from her parents when it came to monthly expenses, except for the small portion of the family cell phone plan they paid each month.
To support herself, Bradshaw, like a host of other college-aged people in the United States, has had to budget and save, sometimes working multiple jobs along the way.
According to a study conducted by O’Donnell and Associates, 49 percent of college students said they have a part-time job with a monthly earning of about $450.
While Bradshaw said she decided not to work this semester, she has held jobs ranging from residence hall desk worker to after-school tutor to intern at Cash America during her previous three years at TCU. Her hourly wage at those jobs ranged from $7.50 an hour to $15 an hour.
When it comes to budgeting, “take out the money to use and save the rest instead of saving and then using whatever is left over to cover your costs,” she said.
By living this way throughout college, Bradshaw said she is on track to have $10,000 saved by the time she graduated in May. Her savings account, which she said totals about $2,000, serves as an emergency fund.
Among her monthly expenses, Bradshaw said she paid about $60 for electricity and Internet. Her water bill was included in her $340 monthly rent.
“A good monthly budget for the average college would be $700 a month on rent, bills, food and whatever else,” she said. “If you don’t live rich, a decent rate for [rent] should be $400 a month.”
And just because she was not working this semester did not mean she had help from home.
According to the study by O’Donnell and Associates, 66 percent of college students in the 2011-2012 school year received an average of $312 in monthly financial support from home. Most of those students either did not work or received that extra financial support on top of their small monthly income.
Bradshaw said she was an exception to the rule at the university because most TCU students — even those who work — have access to financial support, whether it be from their parents or another source.
Billy Bacon, a first-year economics major, said he did not live the typical lifestyle of a TCU freshman because he lived in a house near campus with his brother and two other roommates.
Furthermore, Bacon’s parents prefer that he not work during the school year and give him a $250 monthly allowance. Since his parents bought the house, he said his only monthly expenses were food and the occasional leisure purchase, which he said totaled about $100 a month.
Bacon said he did not think much about budgeting yet but knew he would in the future.
TCU’s financial aid website, unlike other area colleges and universities, does not provide a suggested amount for personal expenses each semester.
According to SMU’s page on the College Board website, students should spend about $1,600 a year in personal and miscellaneous expenses, not including rent, whether living on campus or off campus. On the same website, University of Texas at Arlington’s page suggests a similar amount at $1,528 a year.
On the College Board website, Texas Wesleyan University suggested their students, only 19 percent of whom live on campus, allot $2,088 a year to personal expenses.
Junior religion major Teri Henderson said most TCU students did not necessarily have to take a budget into account.
Henderson lives on campus and has a meal plan, both of which are paid for by financial aid.
Even though she works two part-time jobs, Henderson said she has to keep a close eye on her expenses with Mint, a personal finance app for her iPhone, which sets limits on what she spends on certain things.
After her freshman year, she said she decided to keep herself to a $200 monthly budget, which included leisure and food. She said her dad usually added $50 a month.
When it came to who does get an allowance at TCU, Henderson said she perceived a relationship between allowances and socioeconomic backgrounds.
