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A Week In Los Angeles On A UCLA Student’s Budget

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Photo: Getty Images.
Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking millennials how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period — and we're tracking every last dollar. (Thanks, New York mag, for the inspiration.)

Today, a UCLA student going to vote for her first presidential election.
Industry: UCLA student
Age: 21
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Salary: $0
Paycheck Amount: $0, but I take up random house-sitting gigs here and there
# of roommates: One roommate, five other apartment-mates

Monthly Expenses
Rent:
$828/month plus utilities
Loan Payments: $0 haven’t graduated yet, but thanks to the government, I will graduate debt-free!
Transportation: I mostly walk, though I put about $30 towards gas monthly
Phone Bill: $0; I’m on my mother’s plan
Health Insurance: $0 via Medi-Cal
Gym membership: $0. I can use the gym in my apartment building, the ones on campus, or a class from a Pilates package I bought a while ago
Savings: Normally I work over the summers, and then use that income throughout the school year. However, I spent this summer as a full-time student and studied for grad school exams. I didn’t work, so stretching my savings has been a bit rough.

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