How much money will I need?

This is the first part of our series of FAQs on studying in America.

We asked a selection of students, already in the US, to share the wisdom of their experiences with us. This is what some of them wrote back to say.

Our Topic: How much money should I take with me and in what denominations? How much will I need on a monthly basis?

If possible, a credit card is really handy – either Visa or MasterCard. It's best to carry money in small denominations of 10s and 20s. Higher denominations are fine, but may attract unnecessary attention. It is hard to answer the question of how much money one needs per month. It depends on the location, for one. Most undergraduate students have to sign up for a meal plan and live in dormitories on campus, so room and board is covered. The extra money is just for books (which can be expensive because textbooks can cost anywhere between $ 30 and $ 120), clothes, entertainment, travel, etc.

Reply 2 from Arindam Chakrabarti, University of California, Berkeley, California

This varies quite a bit depending on the part of the US you plan to live in. Places on the two coasts, especially places like the San Francisco Bay Area or New York City, are among the most expensive places on the planet. You might easily pay $ 1,500 a month in rent alone in these places, though student housing is usually a bit more affordable. As a student you probably would not pay more than $ 850 a month in rent in these areas. However, most other parts of USA are
significantly cheaper, by as much as a factor of two.

Most landlords would ask you to pay three months of rent in advance when you lease a place to stay. Be careful to read the lease before signing it. A lease is a legal document and when you sign it you make a binding contractual agreement.
You should know what you are agreeing to.

If you want to buy a car, you should be able to get a decent used car for about $ 3,000 to $ 7,000.

Apart from rent and car, the other major expenses would be on food. If you buy groceries and cook at home, it should not cost more than $ 200 a month. But usually you would likely have to eat out for lunch. You should be able to get a
decent lunch for $ 7 to $ 10. For cooking at home, you will get microwave ovens, utensils, etc quite easily from Target or other such chain stores. Your landlord is required by law to provide you with a refrigerator and an oven; you don't have to buy those.

If you eat out for dinner as well, that should cost about $ 7 to $ 30 depending on the kind of restaurant you go to.

When arriving you should have with you enough money to pay three months of rent, and about two months of living expenses. (Some universities take a couple of months to process paperwork before you get your first paycheck.)

So, if your rent is about $ 1,000 per month (including utilities like electricity, gas, water, garbage-collection, landline telephone and internet access etc) and your expenses on food, transport, cellphone and entertainment, etc add up to
about $ 500 per month, then you would expect to pay $ 1,500 per month.

In that case three months of rent + two months of expenses adds up to $ 3,000 + $ 1,000 = $ 4,000.

To cover incidental expenses (like furniture, any other unforeseen emergency expenses etc) throw in another $ 1,000.

Thus, in the scenario I have described above, with $ 5,000 you should be safe.

If your rent is going to be different, or if you have additional requirements (say, you need to buy a car immediately upon arrival because the city you'll stay has no public transport and you don't know anybody there) then you need to
recalculate the amount required as outlined above.

Bring most of the money in travelers checks denominated in US dollars. Keep a small part (say $1 00) in cash (say in $ 50, $ 20 and $ 10 bills) to pay for  expenses on the first couple of days after arrival. You can cash travelers
checks as required in US banks (like Bank of America, Washington Mutual, Citibank, Wells Fargo, Wachovia, etc). You should open a "checking account" (account with check-writing privileges; available with no fees at most banks) at
one of these banks. They will give you a set of starter checks immediately, and it will take about 10 business days for them to send you a debit card and personalized checks by mail. At that point deposit all your travelers checks
into the bank account; you can access your money as required using ATMs or by writing checks.

You can buy US dollar denominated travelers checks in India at American Express offices, apart from other such travel services providers.

If you have a Visa or Mastercard credit card issued in India, you can carry it with you. Credit cards are more convenient and safer than cash.

Additional notes: To open an US bank account you will very likely need a social security number (some banks do not ask for it, but most will). You should apply for an SSN at the Social Security Administration as soon as you can. Till you get your SSN your employer will not be able to pay you. Also without a SSN you will have no credit history and hence will not be able to get a cellphone from most mainstream cellphone operators, or a credit card from any US bank.

Be aware that all fellowship or other university employment income is taxable. Attend seminars that will be organized by your university's international student advising staff to find out legal requirements you need to fulfill to maintain your F-1 student status.

For instance, your I-20 must be endorsed by an international student advisor as soon as possible after you arrive in the US.

You can get furniture from Ikea at good prices. You can get books, electronics, music, movies, cellphone plans, etc from Amazon.com at good prices. Prices vary widely in different shops in the US; there is no price control. So be careful to shop around before you buy any big-ticket items. A pair of running shoes you buy for $ 100 in one shop can be available for $30 in another. A small mom-n-pop-type neighbourhood grocery store will typically sell you food items at 10 percent to 20 percent above the price you'd pay if you went to a bigger supermarket-type grocery store or pharmacy like Safeway, Andronico's, Trader Joe's, Albertson's, Kroger, Publix, Winn-Dixie, Longs Drugs, Walgreen's, etc. If you have a car you might want to buy non-food stuff in bulk from a whole-saler like Costco. Retailers like Target and Wal-Mart also have good prices, though Wal-Mart has a developed a reputation for exploiting poorly-paid workers which makes a lot of people unwilling to patronize it. Other stuff you need can be obtained at Home Depot, Office Depot, Staples, Sears, J C Penney, etc.

Reply 3 from Abhijit Bhandari, Thunderbird, Garvin School of International Management, Glendale, Arizona

To begin with, take around $ 500 cash and $ 1,000 as Travellers Cheques. An international credit card (that can be easily obtained in India) is a must. Opening a bank account is easy in America. Once that is done, you can deposit your cheques and cash there.

Reply 4 from Shikha Prashad, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (with help from Njuhi J Karianjahi)

Travelling with a lot of cash is risky. Travellers checks are safer and easier to travel with. You must carry some cash to cover taxi rides, or other means of transportation once you get there. Denominations of $ 50 and $ 100 are a good choice to carry. Textbooks and other materials (notebooks, etc) cost about $ 400 or more (this varies from college to college) per semester. Initial costs may be more as you will need bedding, toiletries, and other personal items. In addition, you may need an extra $ 500 to $ 2,000 if you wish to purchase a personal computer (laptop or desktop). On a monthly basis, you will probably need at least $ 200. This may be higher if you wish to own a cell phone (which will have a monthly payment if you opt for a monthly plan) and other such items.

Reply 5 from Jophy Jose, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York

You should, preferably, have the money for your first semester fees in a cheque format. You should also have some money to help you for the first few months until you get a good job on campus (this may sometimes take 2-3 months). The amount of money required varies, depending on the place you are going to. For instance, you need a lot less in places like Texas and Florida, compared to New York or California. Try carrying around $ 500 to 1,000$ in cash to ensure you have enough to begin with.

Reply 6 from Priyanka Gupta, a student in Connecticut

The rent varies between $ 500 and $ 1,500 a month. Living and food expenses are, on average, $125 a week. You should get an American bank account as soon as you get to the US and use the debit card more than cash. Also, you should apply for a credit card and start building your credit history. This always helps when it comes to things like getting a cell phone plan, renting an apartment, etc.

Reply 7 from Kavita Thomas, formerly at Boston Univeristy, Boston, Massachusetts

Assuming you need to set up a bank account, take $ 500 to begin with. This is essentially for emergencies, until you can set up a proper debit account. This money will be used mainly to buy things for your dormitory room that the college doesn't provide, and will vary depending on the city and college. Denominations of $ 10s and $ 20s are okay, because some $ 50 notes are difficult to get change for in cabs. Shops will be happy to get you change though. Assuming all food is included in your college fees, $ 300 a month should suffice, not including phone bills, etc.

Reply 8 from Rammesh Navaneethakrishnan, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan

It really depends on your situation, but initially I will suggest having around  $ 1,000 with you  for the first month. Get everything in $ 20 bills, (You will never see any bigger denominations except in casinos!!), since no one uses cash here for paying rent etc. Almost everything is done my cheque (check) or credit card. Living costs can vary from a bare minimum of $ 250 to $ 600 a month depending upon place where you live and whether you are willing to share your bedroom. Initially you may have high costs because of security deposits that have to be put down for an apartment, electricity etc.

Reply 9 from Aniket Malvankar, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York

I would suggest carrying around $ 100 in cash and rest in travelers' checks around $ 800 to $ 1000, which you could cash at  a local bank at your school. Exactly how much money you would need totally depends on where you are going. If you are going to a small town then anything from $ 400 to 500 should be enough. But if you will live in a city close to the downtown then the cost would be $ 1,000 to $ 1,200. Research on the college website for costs should give you a good indication.

Reply 10 from Tora Mitra, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts

If a student is guaranteed full tuition waiver and assistantship then $ 500-$ 800 (some places are more expensive than others) a month should be enough for food and shared accomodation. Usually, it takes at least a month to receive your first pay check hence it is a good idea to bring along traveller's checks worth approximately $ 800 to $ 1,000. Also, if possible bring some cash in $1.00  denominations in case you have to pay to use luggage carts after collecting your baggage. I would suggest bringing not more than $100 in cash.

Reply 11 from Sridhar Vedachalam, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio  

You are allowed to carry a total of $ 10, 000 in all forms. Take the first semester fee in the form of a check or a DD in the name of the university (it might be usually around 7K to 8K). Have about $ 2,000 dollars in travellers Checks in different denominations, and about $ 250 as cash. Lot of cash is not required during travel, and in most campuses, it is easy to open an account within the first few days, so all the TCs and cash can be deposited. Banks provide instant ATM cards, so you can start using them immediately.
 
Your monthly expenses vary based on the location. A spartan living can cost you anywhere between $ 350 to $ 450. This amount will take care of your rent, grocery expenses (provided you cook mostly at home) and other utilities like electricity and gas.

Reply 12 from Nishi Mishra University of Minnesota,Twin Cities, Minnesota

The right amount of money to be taken with you varies from state to state here. It totally depends on where you stay, for eg $ 500 per month might be enough in Dallas but not in Minneapolis.Rents vary and the price of commodities too vary from one place to other.

But, in general you must find out from the seniors (ask three to four people) who are living in the city you are going to and carry at least three to four times the amount they say is required for a month. In general people carry between $ 2,000 to $ 3,000 in travelers checks. Please do check the maximum amount of cash that you can enter USA with. Carry most of your money in travelers checks. Do not carry cash of more than $ 200 to $ 300.  Also, note the numbers of all the travelers checks and keep them with you at some place separately from the travelers checks but keep them handy.
At a time do not keep more than $ 50 dollars in your wallet or any visible place, keep the rest of your money in your hand baggage. Keep the most of this ($ 50) money in small denomination of  ones mainly and some fives & tens. Do keep quarters (25 cents) worth five to ten dollars with you. They'll be handy at most places.