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Eating out is biggest expense

Ask any student about their spending habits at a university and you will most likely hear them complain about how expensive food is. University students usually depend on their pocket money to meet expenses, which can include food, travelling, shopping and mobile phone credit.

“Students are almost always depending on their parents unless their parents are financially incapable of taking care of them. Most students try to take the burden off of their parents’ shoulders by trying to fund themselves, at least when it comes to the allowance,” says Sara Kirat, a student at the American University in Dubai.

Eating-out seems to be the biggest concern for students as food outlets are expensive.

“This semester, as a resolution, I decided to keep a ledger of my expenses to try and balance out my spending as I felt it was getting out of hand. I’ve realised that my money goes mostly for food, since I’m a dorms student. I also end up spending a lot of money on conveyance and petrol,” she adds.

Like other students in Dubai, she finds it hard to keep up with the expenses as the month comes to an end.

“Although I try to spend wisely, cash-crunch is inevitable when the month is coming to an end. I always find myself broke by the end of the month and only then would I start spending very cautiously,” says Sara.

University freshers and under-grad students have to usually depend on their parents for a monthly pocket-money as balancing studies with work is not an option for them as they have full time classes leaving little time for work.

“It is really hard to juggle studies and work. I’ve tried it and had a crazy time trying to balance both. Eventually, one of the two would have more attention,” she says.

Most students like Sara attend classes throughout the day leaving little time to work outside and earn an extra buck to meet the expenses. Farah Nezam, a student at Murdoch University Dubai has similar thoughts. She says the option of working is not feasible for an undergrad student.

“I have classes throughout the day and even if I want to work outside, it would be practically impossible because there would be no time for it,” she says.

On average, she would spend Dh30 for her lunch at the food court in Dubai International Academic City (DIAC). She ends up spending Dh1,000 every month for her personal expenses.

“Most of my pocket money is spent on food and if I need more money I usually end up asking my parents,” adds Farah.

Saving is the least-priority for students as they are usually dependent on someone else for meeting their own expenses. Stepping outside the class during lunch-hour breaks with friends can be a difficult task for those on a limited budget.

Pratik Nihalani, a student at Heriot Watt University says, “Students mostly don’t plan their expenses. Expenditures just happen when there is a gathering of friends.”

He has to manage his expenses within his monthly allowance of Dh700, which can be a daunting task given the average student expenses in Dubai.

“Travelling costs are the biggest expense for students who drive their own car. It is important for a student to try and save because it can help control our spending habits,” adds Pratik.

Clearly, for students in Dubai, the experience of higher education comes at a price, one, which we can easily say, students find hard to cope up with. With plans to charge students for parking in educational zones like Dubai Knowledge Village, student expenses only seem to be on the rise. So next time you are look at getting an admission to any university in Dubai, watch out for your additional expenses and spend your pocket money cautiously.

muaz@khaleejtimes.com