Budget question for folks with kids in college

[disneysteve]

As we enter the final year of high school, I find myself focusing a lot on college costs. Not only the cost of college itself but also how it will affect our spending overall. I'm trying to estimate how our household budget will change once DD goes off to college. With one less person living in the house most of the year, there will naturally be some savings that result. So I'm curious if any of you who currently have kids in college, or have in the somewhat recent past, can comment on any change you saw in things like your grocery bill, your utility bills, etc.

I'm taking a wild guess that our utilities (gas, electric, water) may drop around 10%. Less laundry, fewer showers, less toilet flushing, less cooking, fewer lights on, less TV time and computer time, fewer electronic devices plugged in for charging, able to turn down the AC or heat when we're out, etc. Does that sound reasonable?

As for food, I'm figuring at least $50/month saved there between groceries and dining out.

Of course, any "savings" is just going to go to pay college costs but I'm trying to factor that in to how much we'll be able to contribute.

[moneybags]

As we enter the final year of high school, I find myself focusing a lot on college costs. Not only the cost of college itself but also how it will affect our spending overall. I'm trying to estimate how our household budget will change once DD goes off to college. With one less person living in the house most of the year, there will naturally be some savings that result. So I'm curious if any of you who currently have kids in college, or have in the somewhat recent past, can comment on any change you saw in things like your grocery bill, your utility bills, etc.

I'm taking a wild guess that our utilities (gas, electric, water) may drop around 10%. Less laundry, fewer showers, less toilet flushing, less cooking, fewer lights on, less TV time and computer time, fewer electronic devices plugged in for charging, able to turn down the AC or heat when we're out, etc. Does that sound reasonable?

As for food, I'm figuring at least $50/month saved there between groceries and dining out.

Of course, any "savings" is just going to go to pay college costs but I'm trying to factor that in to how much we'll be able to contribute.

I didn't really track the expenses, but in addition to what you mentioned:

* Our car insurance went down. I don't know the amount, but DD goes to school out of state so she only drives when on break.

* We also paid for all her gas, and she drove to high school everyday, so we saved on that (until DS got his license).

* We quit paying her an allowance after high school.

* No more fees for sports or high school fees (just paid $850 for DS's high school fees)