Yearly Income and Expenses of a 25 Year Old Working Student in Belgium [OC]

I’m a financially independent student living in Leuven, Belgium. I’m studying a Masters in music composition while working around 11 hours a week. Here’s some information about my budget of schoolyear 2023-2024. Feel free to ask me about anything or give me tips/feedback on my chart or on my spending habits!

* **Academy**: I teach piano 9 hours a week in a music-academy. Our academies are government funded. 
* **Private Students**: I teach piano privately to a few students a week. 
* **Church**: Every few weeks I accompany three masses on organ. 
* **Flemish Government**: The Flemish government gives everyone under 25 a monthly allowance (I turned 25 in June). The amount depends on your financial situation. 
* **Summer Job**: I worked in a kitchen for a week during summer. 

* **Rent + Utilities**: I share a 100m^2 (10750 sq feet) two-bedroom apartment with my partner. The rent with utilities is around 1050 euros a month. That’s reasonable, as Leuven is one of the most expensive places to live in Belgium. 
* **Groceries**: I eat vegetarian and relatively frugally. 
* **Transportation**: Mostly taking trains, but also some taxies. Public transport is relatively cheap in Belgium as a student. A large part of this was payed back to me by the academy I work at (counted together with my salary).
* **University**: Tuition + materials for university.
* **Therapy**: I go to therapy every few weeks. 
* **Insurance**: Health care insurance (108 euro a year)+ insurance for scooter accidents (140 euro a year).
* **Unexpected**: Things like bike repair, buying medicine etc. 

* **Scooter**: I bought a secondhand electric moped (Niu NQi) so I don’t have to rely on the bus anymore.
* **Dining Out**: Dining out is my favourite way to splurge, and hang out with my friends. Dining out in Leuven is pretty inexpensive as it is a student town. 
* **Spending Money**: Money I spend freely during the month. Things like books, games, furniture, stationary. 
* **Gifts & Donations**: Mostly donations, but I included some gifts I gave this year. 
* **Activities**: Going to bars, cinema or museums. 
* **Coffee Bars**: I love going to coffee bars, but I try to not go overboard with it. 
* **Subscriptions**: I have a subscription for: iCloud, Apple Music, YNAB, YouTube Premium. All family plans shared with friends.
* **Clothes**: I only buy second-hand clothes. 
* **Investing**: I try to invest as much as I can in ETFs.

**More details**:

* 1 euro = 1,11 USD 
* This is from September 2023 till August 2024. 
* Percentages are rounded. 
* I use YNAB to plan my budget and track my expenses. 
* I made this graph with [https://sankeymatic.com](https://sankeymatic.com/) 
* Tuition cost in Belgium is between 125 euro and 1.100 euro depending on your financial situation.