| While a freshman with a meal plan, my cash burn rate was about $200-300/month. With an occasional-use mealplan sophomore and junior years, it was more like $300-400.
Included with that is:
- transportation (you won't use the subway often enough to justify an unlimited pass, but I usually fill it in $40 increments)
- maybe a movie
- two or three local dinners out (or one *nice* dinner out, say a date or something)
- snacks during the day or late at night
- supermarket runs for food i cook or eat myself
- the occasional book or household item purchase
- alcohol every now and then (moreso senior year, obviously)
- once in a blue moon, something special like theater tickets or amtrak/bus fare to another city (like going home to see my parents)
- fees for activities, like club sports dues, non-funded expenses for a musical group or cultural organization, etc.
- christmas presents
and so on. by and large I was frugal, except for things like my girlfriend's birthday, or amtrak going home for thanksgiving, etc.
hope that helps. |