First Month Expense as International Student in Ireland

By now you must have estimated your overall cost of living for Ireland but the first month's expenses are exceptional from your whole year's expense since you are settling down in a new country.  

You'll have to pay for some initial setup costs and make sure you have enough to cover these initial unavoidable expenses. There will be a lot of one-time spending in your first month. With a bit of careful planning, you should be able to gauge exactly and save on your first month's spending.

Here, I am sharing my personal first-month expense experience and it can vary depending on which city in Ireland you are staying in, type of house (sharing, single), your spending and saving capacity. But I hope this gives an idea to plan your expenses.

If you find this video helpful and want to know more, please drop a comment in the comment section to appreciate the efforts. 

Download the budget form to plan your first month:

 

 1. Taxi: Usually colleges/universities provide a shuttle (or bus) service to your accommodation once you land here in Dublin and this cost can be waived off from your first-month expense if that's the case. But if you take a taxi to the city center it will cost around €45-€50

TIP: if you get the free sim available at the airport then activate that sim and book free now. You can avail first ride coupon to get a discount on your ride. Just Google FreeNow first ride coupon if it doesn't show in your app.

2. Temporary Accommodation:

3. House Rent + Deposit: This is the major part of your expense. Rent depend on what area you are staying in. if you are sharing the house with someone your rent would be around €450 and for the private room, it can be from anywhere from €600-€800 depending on your location.

4. Student leap card: The leap card costs you around €10 and then you can recharge based on your weekly usage. Sharing the leap card breakdown for the month.

 Day capping: For the Dublin bus, day capping is €5 and for Luas, dart it's €7. And this sums to 20€ per week. This concludes that where ever you travel around Dublin city your monthly expense will not exceed 20€. Also, check out the official website for capping details.

5. GNIB: You need to get the residency permit as the stamp on the passport is valid only for 3 months. Make this your priority to get the appointment once you land here and the GNIB fee is €300.

6. Clothing: Don't purchase any winter jackets from your home country as the weather is extremely different here. carry only the one you have already purchased otherwise buy within few days a puffer winter jacket, rain jacket and all the basic brands pricing are affordable here. Don't purchase anything new from your home country instead buy it here. The best time for shopping is November end, with tons of sales. 

7. SIM card: Average SIM card monthly plan costs around €10-€20.

8. Food: Since you will be new here and you won't be able to differentiate what price is good, take around €50-€60 for your initial days as you won't be cooking during your temporary stay.

9. Duvet+cover: Few accommodations provide duvet sets but if they don't then the duvet will cost around €20 and €15-€20 for its cover.

10. Other: Keep a budget of €50-€100 for any other miscellaneous expenses.