Budgeting for Your First Apartment

Your Life This Fall

Fall quarter is in full gear! UC Davis students are getting accustomed to campus life while parents are at home adjusting to their empty (or more empty) nest.

While they may be loving their extra space at home, parents are no doubt counting down the days until their college student comes back for Thanksgiving break. As midterms pass and finals loom, don’t forget to take a breath somewhere in between to think about where you might build your own nest off-campus next fall–a perfect discussion to have when you go home for the holidays!

When you make the transition to off-campus living, life can get a bit more chaotic, and you’ll find yourself with many more responsibilities as post-dorm life tends to be less inclusive. You’ll be expected to cover many of your own expenses (meals, utilities, and parking, just to name a few) in addition to your rent for your Davis apartment.

The Tools You Need

The good news is Tandem has made your life easier by creating an itemized list of typical off-campus living expenses. Budgeting for living expenses can be hard at first…especially with those expenses you didn’t even think about.  No more DC swipes? Whoops, maybe one too many Chipotle trips last week! It is important to set and know your budget to make sure you can cover both your necessary expenses (rent) and your fun ones (Chipotle).

Download Our Budget Guide

To help you get started, click here to download Tandem’s Budget and Finance Guide and you’ll have your housing expenses outlined in no time!