Budgeting while abroad, especially for a month-long program, is hard. It’s a weird
amount of time that lets you kind of settle in and then you turn around and it’s time to leave. I
gave myself a spending limit but did not thoroughly plan out how I was going to stick to it as
well as I could have. If I were to do it all over again, I would do the following things:
First, if you have a hard limit on how much you can or want to spend, order cash from
your bank and only use that. Other people on my trip divided the amount they had budgeted for
the trip into a daily spending allowance, which is the amount of cash you would carry. I found
that almost everywhere I went accepted cash, which was not what I was told to expect. Bring
your card in case of emergencies and do not do this if you feel unsafe about carrying anything
valuable!
Second, say yes to everything within reason. This is cliche college advice that also turns
out to be cliche study abroad advice, but it’s true. I was unprepared prior to the trip to be leaving
the city of Florence at all, and I ended up taking weekend trips every week. FOMO is very
powerful, but don’t let it ruin your finances. To balance these extra costs, I went grocery
shopping to make lunch and dinner at home some days. Also, the only time I paid for a cab was
to the airport. Look into bus passes for the area (we got them for free!) and be prepared to walk. I
think it’s a great way to get accustomed to the area and you get to stop and see things you’d
probably miss if you were flying through the streets in a taxi.
Third, go thrifting and do free activities! Most of the souvenirs I brought home were from
a flea market or thrift store. Florence has a lot of street markets and cool consignment shops
where you can get something to bring home that literally no one else can say they have. I’ve
already annoyed many of my friends when they ask me where I got something and I say I thrifted
it in Italy :). There are also many free things to do if you look for them. Piazzale Michelangelo
offers a great view of the city, some museums are free on certain days or offer student discounts,
and the program you are with might offer free activities. We were able to go inside the Pantheon
for 3€ with a student discount and see Michelangelo’s David and many other sites for free.
Finally, try to give yourself grace if you do end up going over your budget. I’m the type
of person who will allow myself to spend a certain amount and then get upset when I do spend
that much. Another cliche but studying abroad is a once in a lifetime experience. My time in
Florence is probably the only time I’ll ever spend a month in another country without having to
worry about PTO or who’s going to pick up my mail. If this comes at the cost of a little extra
money, just remember that most people also go over budget and your memories will be worth it.
Swanson School of Engineering 