A student budget for Vilnius

Why no figure

"You need €X a month in Lithuania" doesn't help, because the gap between students can be twofold. A student in a dormitory who cooks and takes public transport has a completely different budget from one renting alone and eating out — in the same city.

Exchange rates and inflation also make last year's number misleading. So here are the categories; we work out the figure together from a current source.

Four decisions that set the budget

1. Housing type. The gap between a dormitory, a shared flat and a studio is the single largest variable, and usually the biggest line in the total.

2. City. Vilnius, as the capital, is generally the most expensive; Kaunas and Klaipėda sit below it. Choosing a school is also a budget decision.

3. The heating season. Winter is long and heating costs rise noticeably. If rent excludes heating, don't build your winter budget from summer bills.

4. Eating habits. The difference between cooking from groceries and eating out is the second largest line after housing.

The lines people forget

Most commonly missed: the deposit for the first month (usually one month's rent), health insurance, the residence permit fee, a student transport card, course materials, a mobile plan and winter clothing.

Most are one-off, but they all land in the first month. That first month needs roughly twice the cash of the ones after it — plan it as its own line.

Where to get current figures

Universities' own "international students" pages usually carry a current cost-of-living estimate; that's the most reliable source, because the school knows its own city.

Second, the minimum means-of-subsistence figure required for the residence permit application — an official number that indicates the floor. Third, talking to students already there, which we can arrange during the consultation.

How to build the table

Open a spreadsheet and write these rows: rent, heating and utilities, groceries, transport, phone and internet, insurance, course materials, personal spending. Put a low and a high estimate against each.

The high column's total is the monthly figure you'll feel safe with. Add a separate row for the deposit and one-off first-month costs. We fill this in together during the consultation.