Cost list

[FeenyFee]

Hi Y'all,

I plan on applying to vet school next cycle to be in the Class of 2021 and I'm just a TAD bit neurotic about the money situation going in and such. I lived with my mom during undergrad and have never had my own apartment so I just feel... unprepared. I just spent 30 minutes trying to make a cost sheet but I have ZERO clue if its even close to what I would be spending. So any input would be appreciated.

Going to UF, 1 bedroom/1 bath apartment 12 month lease, 2 dogs

Rent + Utilities - 800/ month 9,600/yr + $500 deposit and $200 for animals (?) = 38,400
Tuition - 16, 000 per semester (I made it more than it is now since I would be going in a few years and I'm guessing it will increase...) = 128, 000
Food - 200/ month 2,400/year (seems like it a lot to me but my mom said it is still on the low side..) = 9,600
Phone - 35/month 420 /yr = 1,680
Incidentals - 50/month 600/yr = 2,400
Dogs - $60 month = 2,880
Books/Supplies - 1200 /semester = 9,600
Car Payment - $250 month, 3,000/yr = 12,000
Car Insurance - $50 month (mom is paying rest) 1200/yr = 4,800
Gas - $60/month = 1400
Health Insurance - $150 month (NO CLUE) = 7,200
Dental Insurance - $100 month (NO CLUE) =4,800
Emergency Fund - 3000
New Computer - 1400

TOTAL = 227,160

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[jmo1012]

have you specifically looked at apartments in gainsville? you can fairly easily get an idea about what rent will cost based on that. same goes for cable/internet companies. you will also likely need renters insurance. no good way to predict power unfortunately (without asking people that use a specific company in gainsville)
i think food will likely be 200-300 per month depending on what you typically eat
$35 per month for a phone seems low (unless you have a pay as you go phone or already have your own plan that you've been paying for on your own and know for sure thats what it is)
what kind of dogs? $60 for 2 dogs seems low - though it obviously depends on size and what you can get for free or reduced cost from being in school [don't forget to factor flea, tick, and heartworm prevention in for 2 dogs per month; and in florida, you may end up on a rotating flea preventative schedule because they are so bad here] -->just read in your other post that you have a GSD and a smaller dog. i suspect $60 will cover feeding one of those dogs, and nothing else so i would definitely budget more for that. figure out how much food each dog eats per month and then calculate out bag costs. preventatives cost more for bigger animals too, and you will not be able to get away without them. also, you should budget an emergency pet fund if you want to be thorough, especially since you have an older GSD [not to be pessimistic or anything, but...]
unless you feel the need to buy every book they "recommend" i seriously doubt you will spend more than a couple hundred per semester on supplies. most people dont buy most of the books fyi
you really need an incidentals category that gives you a few hundred a month. great if you dont use it, but you will have school events, clothes, hanging out with friends, spending for birthdays, friends who visit, popping home for the weekend, etc that will happen.
i think you are way over on insurance at least at SGU, health and dental and vision and whatnot were covered under a $3k umbrella package each year. you could choose to have your own of course, but whatever the school offers is likely to be the best price and package for you

did you include "fees" for school in the tuition category? every school i've been to had a tuition charge and then fees charge (no clue what that money was used for, but supposedly maintenance of facilities, buses, etc...)

the good news is that unless you have something on the side that really needs extra funding (like a family or your own house elsewhere), you will be offered cost of attendence in student loans. it will probably be easier to have a rough idea of what you think you will spend the first year, and take out a little bit more than that or the whole offered amount, and then track it from there.

 

[FeenyFee]

Hi jmo1012, thank you for your feedback! I'm skipping cable because I'm hooked up on Netflix, Hulu and HBO My phone bill is based on what my mom told me I need to pay, I am on a family plan. As for my dogs, my mom is taking care of vet expenses, heart worm, flea + tick prevention, etc. I am doing food and treats and any emergency funding (I accounted 3000 for that... my mom said I need to go higher..)

I'm glad you mentioned that about the supplies. I remember I being in my first year of undergrad buying EVERYTHING on the syllabus and it was such a colossal waste of money.

I didn't even think about the student package for health insurance. I will look into that. I am covered under health insurance until 26 but thats smack dab in the middle of my 4 years.

FEES? Ay ya yii, how much would that be?

I will add more to my incidentals list. I didn't even think about professional wardrobe, dances, gifts, traveling expenses, etc. Luckily I will live 2 hours away from home so its not bad.

 

[deleted498041]

Holy crap, $200/month for food? I spend $100/month, if that, and I live in California where the cost of living is higher. I would recommend sites like Budget Bytes to trim that food cost down.
You should be able to get your rent much cheaper in Gainesville. As a Florida native with a boyfriend who lived in Gainesville for the last 4 years, I assure you that. My boyfriend used to pay his rent, his utilities, and add up all of his groceries for the month as well as gas and it was still cheaper than my rent in California.
Books and supplies I would expect to go lower as time went on. I have hundreds (maybe a thousand?) ebooks and my physical library was largely gifted to me.
For dogs, look into what you get for free at school. I haven't paid for flea or heartworm in two years and I spend about $40 every few months on dog food.

 

[WildZoo]

Holy crap, $200/month for food? I spend $100/month, if that, and I live in California where the cost of living is higher. I would recommend sites like Budget Bytes to trim that food cost down.
You should be able to get your rent much cheaper in Gainesville. As a Florida native with a boyfriend who lived in Gainesville for the last 4 years, I assure you that. My boyfriend used to pay his rent, his utilities, and add up all of his groceries for the month as well as gas and it was still cheaper than my rent in California.
Books and supplies I would expect to go lower as time went on. I have hundreds (maybe a thousand?) ebooks and my physical library was largely gifted to me.
For dogs, look into what you get for free at school. I haven't paid for flea or heartworm in two years and I spend about $40 every few months on dog food.

$200 a month for food seems pretty reasonable to me but I guess it depends on what you're eating. I can't imagine getting only $25 worth of groceries a week...

 

[DVMDream]

$200 a month for food seems pretty reasonable to me but I guess it depends on what you're eating. I can't imagine getting only $25 worth of groceries a week...

Also depends on who you are as a person. I LOVE food, so I budget more for food for me and less for things like "going out". It is just a matter of knowing who you are and what you like/enjoy and budgeting things to balance out what works for you. So while I know that I spend much more on food than many other vet students, I also spend $0 on coffee and maybe $20 every 6 months on alcohol. I really don't drink or do the going to bars thing. So I filter what other people budget in for that, into a food budget.

 

[deleted498041]

$200 a month for food seems pretty reasonable to me but I guess it depends on what you're eating. I can't imagine getting only $25 worth of groceries a week...

I've gone as high as $120/month but I don't think I've ever gone over that. I eat a lot of rice and beans, I only buy dry beans, I don't eat out more than once a week. It's definitely not for everyone, but food is probably the expense where I save the most money.

 

[deleted498041]

Also depends on who you are as a person. I LOVE food, so I budget more for food for me and less for things like "going out". It is just a matter of knowing who you are and what you like/enjoy and budgeting things to balance out what works for you. So while I know that I spend much more on food than many other vet students, I also spend $0 on coffee and maybe $20 every 6 months on alcohol. I really don't drink or do the going to bars thing. So I filter what other people budget in for that, into a food budget.

I think that's super important to note. I buy cheap, crappy coffee in bulk because I drink a lot of it and really don't notice the difference -- plus my apartment complex has a coffee machine we can use for free cups of coffee. I don't buy soda or alcohol to take home; I only buy drinks other than milk when I go out to eat with friends. I think that definitely saves me a good chunk of change compared to classmates.

 

[FeenyFee]

Speaking of food, do you vet students eat reasonably healthy? During undergrad I stress ate a lot and gained a lot of weight.

 

[FeenyFee]

Holy crap, $200/month for food? I spend $100/month, if that, and I live in California where the cost of living is higher. I would recommend sites like Budget Bytes to trim that food cost down.
You should be able to get your rent much cheaper in Gainesville. As a Florida native with a boyfriend who lived in Gainesville for the last 4 years, I assure you that. My boyfriend used to pay his rent, his utilities, and add up all of his groceries for the month as well as gas and it was still cheaper than my rent in California.
Books and supplies I would expect to go lower as time went on. I have hundreds (maybe a thousand?) ebooks and my physical library was largely gifted to me.
For dogs, look into what you get for free at school. I haven't paid for flea or heartworm in two years and I spend about $40 every few months on dog food.

Budget Bytes, I've never heard of that. Thanks!!

 

[WildZoo]

Also depends on who you are as a person. I LOVE food, so I budget more for food for me and less for things like "going out". It is just a matter of knowing who you are and what you like/enjoy and budgeting things to balance out what works for you. So while I know that I spend much more on food than many other vet students, I also spend $0 on coffee and maybe $20 every 6 months on alcohol. I really don't drink or do the going to bars thing. So I filter what other people budget in for that, into a food budget.

Yeah that's a good point, similarly I don't drink coffee or alcohol so that all goes to my food budget. And generally I don't go out because I'm an antisocial hermit who only talks to people on the internet Love my foods though.

I've gone as high as $120/month but I don't think I've ever gone over that. I eat a lot of rice and beans, I only buy dry beans, I don't eat out more than once a week. It's definitely not for everyone, but food is probably the expense where I save the most money.

That makes sense. I probably could spend less but I like trying a variety of recipes and such. To be honest sometimes I'll buy stuff and not use it up for a while (being one person and all) so that is something I could work on.

Speaking of food, do you vet students eat reasonably healthy? During undergrad I stress ate a lot and gained a lot of weight.

Disclaimer: Haven't started vet school yet

I think if you want to eat healthy you can, just like you can find time to exercise and stuff. One way you can save yourself some time during the week and make it easier to eat healthy would be to prepare a lot of your food for the upcoming week on the weekend, or just make sure you have a lot of leftovers when you cook. My plan is to make enough mason jar salads on Sunday to last me through to the next weekend for lunch, and then cook and freeze whatever I would be having for dinner during the week on Sunday as well. Crock pots/slow cookers can be helpful too.

 

[CalliopeDVM]

Here's a handy dandy map of vet school costs in the US and Caribbean, including average increases per year (based on school data) and including cost of living (based on school and student estimates): http://www.vinfoundation.org/apputil/project/defaultadv1.aspx?id=5327182&said=-1

Also, in-state vs out of state (you didn't say which you are).

 

[jmo1012]

Holy crap, $200/month for food? I spend $100/month, if that, and I live in California where the cost of living is higher. I would recommend sites like Budget Bytes to trim that food cost down.
You should be able to get your rent much cheaper in Gainesville. As a Florida native with a boyfriend who lived in Gainesville for the last 4 years, I assure you that. My boyfriend used to pay his rent, his utilities, and add up all of his groceries for the month as well as gas and it was still cheaper than my rent in California.
Books and supplies I would expect to go lower as time went on. I have hundreds (maybe a thousand?) ebooks and my physical library was largely gifted to me.
For dogs, look into what you get for free at school. I haven't paid for flea or heartworm in two years and I spend about $40 every few months on dog food.

someone from UF (currently) would have to comment on whether or not UF participates in that sort of stuff. i know some vet schools have done away or cut way back :-/ [but i also didnt pay for preventatives as a student, but my clinics school was cutting way back]

 

[deleted498041]

That makes sense. I probably could spend less but I like trying a variety of recipes and such. To be honest sometimes I'll buy stuff and not use it up for a while (being one person and all) so that is something I could work on.
.

I think that's definitely where being frugal vs. enjoying your life comes into play. There are definitely some things that I spend more money on than I should but that's because I would hate my life without them. If food and cooking is your thing, then definitely don't feel bad to spend a little extra!

someone from UF (currently) would have to comment on whether or not UF participates in that sort of stuff. i know some vet schools have done away or cut way back :-/ [but i also didnt pay for preventatives as a student, but my clinics school was cutting way back]

Yeah, that's why I said to make sure to check with the school. I got free dog food throughout my first year but that was done away with

Speaking of food, do you vet students eat reasonably healthy? During undergrad I stress ate a lot and gained a lot of weight.

Nope. Let's see, yesterday I didn't have breakfast but I had a cup of coffee. For lunch I had beans and lil smokies on toast with a diet Dr. Pepper I'd nicked from a lunch talk awhile ago. For dinner I had a slice of chocolate cake with homemade animal style fries and a cup of coffee. That's actually kind of a "healthy" day for me. I wouldn't say that I stress eat but I've never maintained the healthiest diet. I'm working on it and stuff like MyFitnessPal definitely helps but it's hard to eat cheap and healthy at the same time, all the time.

 

[jmo1012]

Speaking of food, do you vet students eat reasonably healthy? During undergrad I stress ate a lot and gained a lot of weight.

vet school will not prevent you from eating healthy, but you can certainly prevent you from eating healthy. there are lots of ways to eat well - cook ahead, buy simple meals, pack your lunch ahead of time, dont buy unhealthy snacks, etc.

 

[dyachei]

You can eat healthy in vet school. Just be aware that may not hold true for finals season...basically when you're time crunched your best intentions many not happen

 

[chickenlittle]

Agreed with the above statement that you should be able to get your rent down from that point. I lived here for my first 2 years of vet school (then moved into a house with my significant other) and really liked it - https://hiddenvillageapt.com/floorplans/ I was in the $649/mo floorplan, but had several friends in the $549/mo units and in hindsight that would have been fine for me. Also, this complex is within biking distance of the school so you can save on the cost of a parking permit!

 

[FeenyFee]

Agreed with the above statement that you should be able to get your rent down from that point. I lived here for my first 2 years of vet school (then moved into a house with my significant other) and really liked it - https://hiddenvillageapt.com/floorplans/ I was in the $649/mo floorplan, but had several friends in the $549/mo units and in hindsight that would have been fine for me. Also, this complex is within biking distance of the school so you can save on the cost of a parking permit!

I was looking a that specific apartment because it allowed pets and was super close to the school! Awesome