What My First Month's Budget Looks Like
One of the aspects of study abroad that I was most unsure about was the budget. How much would I need to spend, and where could I save some money? In order to receive financial aid from my home school, I needed to research what I estimated spending in a variety of different categories, which ended up being very helpful. Over the course of the first month, I was able to compare my actual spending with those predictions, adjusting either my spending or my estimations accordingly, which has allowed me to feel on top of budgeting.
Here's a look at my spending one month in — and remember, this is just my experience, so it isn't meant to be taken as a definitive guide! Other students may very well spend more or less than I do.
Overall
Since I arrived on January 17th, this represents my spending between January 17th and February 17th (recorded in USD):
Groceries
The largest portion of my spending (32.4%) was on groceries. There are many grocery stores located close by to my kollegium, and I most often go to Netto, which is fairly cheap. I generally stop by several times a week. I make larger grocery runs about twice a week, usually spending about $25-30 on those stops. At least a couple times each week, I make additional trips on my way home to grab one or two items at a time, for instance if I want more fruit or ran out of peanut butter. I also get bread products from bakeries using the Too Good to Go app around once a week, which usually costs around $6 for a bag of miscellaneous rolls, pastries, and/or loaves of bread. I almost entirely cook my own meals at home, and usually make multiple servings of dinners at a time so that I have meal prepped food for two or three extra days. I've been making lots of pastas and soups to stay warm in the winter weather!
Eating Out & Coffee
So far, I have been cooking at home far more often than I eat out. I only had full meals out with friends three times in the first month, though I've stopped for bakery snacks several times as well. I've gotten coffee from cafes four times, usually while getting some work done. Coffee is pretty expensive in Copenhagen, usually around $7. Since the price is so high to eat out, this category still accounted for 15.6% of my total spending.
Home Goods
I definitely think that my spending on home goods will peak this month, as I purchased a couple of things for my room upon moving in. The main items I got were adhesive hooks (so that I could hang jackets and my towel in my room), a throw blanket, and a small rug.
Toiletries
Like in the home goods category, I think this will be the most I'll spend on toiletries in a month, as I got new items like full-size shampoo and conditioner upon moving in. I was able to find most things at local grocery stores, but Matas is another popular option for health and beauty products.
Recreation
So far, I have been doing lots of walking around and seeing sites for free from the outside, so I anticipate that my spending will increase in this category as I try out more activities. (I have a long bucket list of museums to visit!) Much of my spending for recreation so far has been from going out with friends.
Transportation
I actually had no spending on transportation during the first month. DIS provides me with a commuter card for public transit due to the distance of my kollegium from classes, and they also fund public transit for trips outside of those zones when related to DIS activities like class trips. So far, all of the places I've visited in my own time have been within the zones covered by my commuter card. As I get more comfortable finding my way around the city and as the weather warms up, I hope to eventually rent a bike for at least a few months.
School Supplies
I spent a decent amount of money on school supplies (7.3% of my total spending), and I definitely think this month will be the greatest costs for that area. As an architecture student, I use lots of materials in my studio class. Although I could have brought more materials with me from home, I wanted to pack light. So, I picked up some items like markers and trace paper from Tutein & Koch, a shop close to the studios.
Shopping
Shopping accounted for 10.1% of my spending the first month. While exploring Copenhagen's amazing vintage stores, I bought a couple of thrifted shirts. I also bought a gift for family.
Travel
The last category of spending (accounting for 16.0% of the total) was travel. I didn't actually travel outside of Copenhagen the first month, but I did book a couple of upcoming weekend trips. This money included lodging and activities that I wanted to reserve in advance (as I'd already booked two flights before arriving in Copenhagen).
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