$$ How to Plan and Manage Your Erasmus Exchange Budget $$

Erasmus exchange is always an exciting opportunity for you to explore a foreign country. From trying out new restaurants, buying groceries, paying the rent to going out with friends, you might not realise how much you are spending. However, by end of the month, you might be overwhelmed by the “numbers” when you read your monthly bank statement!

Therefore, setting a budget is very important for students to know their financial situation, making sure they won’t overspend! Yet, making a budget plan is tough and sometimes perplexing! With that, I’ve put together 5 tips for students to plan and manage their Erasmus exchange budget.

black calculator near ballpoint pen on white printed paper

Tip 1: Get to Know Your Budget Retrospectively

Before making any budget plans, it is always the best to have a look at your last three-month bank statements first. I know reading the bank statements is boring and awful (and sometimes scary if I overspend that month), but it is a very helpful trick as it could give you an overview of your spendings per month. Furthermore, by having a read of your bank statements, you could also identify what your spendings are. Common categories of a student’s spendings are rent, electricity/ gas/ water bills, daily expenses (groceries, eating at restaurants, hanging out with friends…) and transportation costs. By using those “categories” as references, you could anticipate what your expenses abroad are. You could also look into how much each type of spending contributes to the total monthly expenditure, which could allow you to allocate your Erasmus budget accordingly.

Tip 2: Decide Your Priorities

Once you have a rough idea of how much you will spend abroad from reading through your previous bank statements, you can start to dream! I believe what interests exchange students the most is to travel around. With a very tight budget, you might have to forgo other unnecessary expenditure. It might sound difficult, but with a bit of self-confidence and determination, you can do it! Every time when you see sales on online sites, ask yourself whether you really need it or you want to save the money to travel. If you are planning to travel domestically (within the country) once a month for a “wee”-kend trip, I would suggest you to expect 10% to 15% more on top of your monthly expenditure on necessities.

person wearing blue hoodie near body of water

Tip 3: Profit from Your Summer Holidays

If you are not fond of living on a tight budget when studying abroad, don’t worry, you can always find more sources to fund your exchange. If you are going on an Erasmus exchange, you are lucky! You will be given an Erasmus grant during your study abroad! Depending on the country you will be going, you will receive €300 to €350 of financial support per month. This could probably cover up most or all of your rent! Working or interning during summer holidays might also be a good idea for you! I have personally saved up my salaries from my two summer internships for this exchange, and from that, I have a greater flexibility in managing my budget when exploring France! Another option is to apply for scholarships. For Erasmus language exchange students, you can apply for the Stevenson Scholarship. While being the Scottish ambassador and promoting Scottish culture in other European countries, you could explore your exchange country with the extra financial support!

Tip 4: Be Resourceful!

Frankly, cutting costs is not difficult at all, but what you need is to be resourceful. Feel free to ask your friends, neighbours or flatmates where the cheapest groceries stores are, what the most cost-effective way to commute to university is or where the most reasonably-priced restaurants are. (These could be a good topics to make new friends!) I talked to my flatmates in the beginning of the semester and they recommended me to get a Tisseo Pastel travel card as I only need to pay €11 per month to use all means of transportation in Toulouse. I am now going to my university by metro every day and I am saving a lot of money! Of course, doing research online is also a good call! If you don’t know where to start, you can visit the Erasmus forum website for students’ comments on how to get to know a new city in a wallet-friendly way!

Moreover, joining Erasmus societies in your exchange university is also a good idea to save money as Erasmus societies often organise local trips! Those trips are all exchange students-oriented, so the prices are quite reasonable (around €50 to €100 euros). Also, if you are fond of travelling to places further away from your exchange city, you can also grab a few pals with you to share the accommodation cost!

Tip 5: Save Money for Emergency

Living abroad could be dangerous! It is always safer to save a bit of money (touch wood!) in case anything happens. It is very important to save a bit of money every month for the rainy day. I know it is tough as you are already tightening your belt every month, but this is absolutely a good practice, not only for this exchange programme, but also for the long run in your own budget management.

In conclusion, budgeting allows you to anticipate how much you will spend and what you will spend on. It is a good habit to review your budget every month with the bank statement, so that you can see whether you are sticking with your budget goals. I know what I have mentioned above sounds theoretical, so I have shared my monthly budget for your reference, hope it will help!