Video summary

How To Do a Budget In College #JustAskAO

Main summary

Key takeaways

Finance

Finance-Focused Summary (College Budgeting)

The speaker explains which categories a college student’s personal budget should include and provides practical, rule-of-thumb amounts focused on budgeting (not investing/markets).

Key Recommendations / Cautionary Notes

  • Use a budgeting app: Mentions EveryDollar to budget each dollar.
  • Plan ahead to avoid surprise expenses: Include items like books and recurring housing costs in advance.
  • Budget leisure spending explicitly: Still allows time and money for fun, but recommends setting a specific amount aside.
  • Emergency fund is non-negotiable: Prioritize at least a minimum emergency cash reserve.

Budget Categories & Figures Mentioned

Emergency Fund

  • $500 minimum
    • Examples: flight home, flat tire, car repairs, getting to safety.

Books (Average Student)

  • $1,200 average per student
  • Average book price: $85
  • Book range: $85 to $400
  • Recommendation: Track book costs each semester.
    • If it’s your first semester, save for next semester’s books too.

Room & Board / Housing

  • On-campus (Noah dorm mentioned): $9,000–$12,000 per year
  • Off-campus: Include rent monthly (or align it to the billing schedule).

Food

  • No specific dollar figure given
  • Caution: Don’t assume unlimited cafeteria food means you won’t spend elsewhere—students still buy extra meals off-campus (e.g., fast food).
  • Recommendation: Budget your food total, including going out places like McDonald’s and Burger King.

Transportation / Car Expenses

  • If you don’t have a car: budget for bus/train/local transportation.
  • If you do have a car: includes gas (no specific figure provided).

Leisure / Going Out

  • Budget “a couple hundred dollars” per month, or as low as $50/month depending on the student.

Clothes / Personal Care

  • Mentions budgeting for clothing, hair, nails, etc. (no numbers provided).

Methodology / Step-by-Step Framework

  • Start with a written list of all spending categories (using EveryDollar / “stack millions” budgeting guidance).
  • Budget each category explicitly, including:
    • Emergency fund
    • Books (track per semester; plan ahead)
    • Housing (match payment timing)
    • Food (including eating out beyond cafeteria)
    • Transportation
    • Leisure spending
    • Clothes/personal care
  • Use the budget tool to allocate “every dollar” you make.

Tickers / Assets / Markets / Investing Instruments

  • None mentioned. This content is about budgeting/personal finance—no stocks, bonds, ETFs, commodities, or crypto are referenced.

Disclosures / Disclaimers

  • No explicit “not financial advice” disclaimer is mentioned in the subtitles.

Presenter / Source

  • Anthony O’Neal (speaker), referencing his EveryDollar budgeting video and a prior video titled “How to Stack Millions.”

Original video