I think a super important topic to discuss before studying abroad is budget. This can be a weekly, monthly or even a categorical budget. There are several initial costs to think of as well as everyday living costs you would normally have to consider at your home university.

After being accepted to the university you will be studying at, it will be important to look up transportation, phone companies and grocery stores. I didn’t do this before I came to Manchester but I think it would have helped in the long run. I did however still budget out costs I assumed there would be when I first arrived. This included buying a student bus pass for the semester; which was a couple hundred dollars, buying a new phone plan while I’m around, which was around $75 for the whole semester, and buying bedding, towels, and other “bigger” items that wouldn’t have made sense to bring from home. These costs can look different for everyone, though, so it is important to figure out where in the city you’ll be living. For instance, none of the exchange students I know in Manchester that live in the city center have a bus pass because it is so close to campus and the city; however, I live 2-3 miles from campus and the city so all of the exchange students where I live ended up getting the pass.

Going along with that, it is also a good idea to have a rough estimate of how much you want to spend either each week or month on regular living; such as going out to eat, groceries, laundry and going out. Several people I know didn’t keep track of their spending very much in the beginning and now are stressing about finances, but if you keep track in the beginning you won’t be as stressed the rest of the time. This might seem like common sense but when you first get here it is really easy to just keep saying yes to everything and not paying any attention to the conversion rate or the cost. I wouldn’t advise saying no to things, just keep prices in the back of your mind.

Another major thing to keep in mind when preparing a budget is how much you want to travel while you are abroad. My “spring break” was roughly 3 weeks long and I was gone for most of that time. This meant I needed to put a lot aside for travel during that time period.  Obviously, not everyone would want to travel that whole time, but if you know you’re the type of person who would enjoy that, just make sure to save up for it and set plenty of funds aside. One suggestion I would have after flying a lot over the last few months would be double check prices and airports you book. Sometimes a flight might be cheaper but the airport you will be dropped off at uses shuttle buses to take you to the city you actually are trying to get to and it ends up being more expensive to take those buses than fly with another airline.

The last piece of advice would be to definitely try to stick to your budget but to still say yes to things while you’re abroad. You can also get that money back when you get home but most of these experiences you will never have the opportunity to do again.

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: University of Manchester: Exchange