One example to get you started

What could your first study year cost?

For one international undergraduate student taking Canterbury’s Bachelor of Commerce and living in a Christchurch shared flat for 52 weeks:

$65,097.40Budget so far in NZD · includes estimates and $800.00 refundable bond

Still to add: insurance, flights, books, clothing and your other costs. Add a partner’s or children’s costs separately if they will come too.

2027 tuition for 120 points + a 2026 university living-budget example. Checked 14 Oct 2026. Adjust the course, room rent and spending to your plans, then replace estimates with quotes.

If you expect to work, check INZ’s guidance on working while studying before including earnings. For a partner or children, check INZ’s guidance on bringing family. Build your first budget with confirmed funding and keep possible earnings separate.

Use this budget exampleEnter your own figures →
What is included in this subtotal?
  • Tuition and compulsory study fees: $40,875.40
  • 52 weeks of room rent and personal living costs: $22,672.00
  • Setup allowance: $750.00; refundable bond: $800.00

Programme details and sources · Housing assumptions and sources

Estimate your study costs

Start with one option. Use a dated example or enter the figures you know. You can compare a second option later.

Canterbury BCom + Christchurch shared-flat example. You can change every amount. For another course, enter your own tuition below.

Choose a programme or housing example

Review the example, then add it to your estimate. University living budgets use different food and lifestyle assumptions. Adjust them to your own spending before comparing.

See your budget in another currency

Keep your budget in NZD and show approximate equivalents for the main totals.

Choose a currency, then get a rate or enter your own.

Reference equivalents exclude provider charges. Rate lookup sends the currency pair to Frankfurter; your amounts stay in this browser. Your saved budget keeps its rate until you choose to update it.

Your study option

Amounts are NZD. Leave an unknown cost blank; enter 0 only when it does not apply.

Tuition and study fees
Accommodation and everyday spending

Other spending includes food beyond any meal package, bills, transport and personal costs. Cover the weeks outside your accommodation contract too.

Setup and refundable deposits

Include refundable bonds in the cash to arrange. Add flights, visa charges, bedding and initial equipment here. Keep recurring purchases or trips in your weekly spending. A bond stays in the cash required until it is returned.

Funding available

Enter available money after amounts already paid. Keep unconfirmed work or scholarships separate.

Later years (optional)

The projection repeats the same study load and living pattern. Setup and housing admin occur once; recurring costs increase by your chosen rate.

Payments made and upcoming dates

Record payments against the costs above. They are part of the budget, not extra charges. Mark amounts already paid.

Choose your departure date or another day to total known unpaid commitments due on or before that day. Show your estimate to see the check, even while other budget costs are blank.

Name and source notes (optional)

Keep the sources and assumptions you want to return to.

Enter any known costs to see your budget so far.

Only kept in this tab. Save an editable file to continue later.

What does the saved file include?

Both study options and the flatshare worksheet draft. Open it on this page to continue or share it privately with family. Moving budgets and preparation checklists have their own files. A PDF is a reading copy; the page link contains no personal figures.

Customise a shared-flat budget

Budget for a room in a shared flat

This worksheet is separate from your study estimate. Review and apply its figures when you are ready to update that estimate.

Enter one person's private-room rent, their share of household bills, and one-time setup costs. Rent is already for your room; the people count only divides costs you mark as household costs. All amounts are NZD.

This worksheet covers rent, bills, personal spending and moving into a flat. Add tuition, student medical insurance, flights, books and clothing to your study budget. The city examples use different food and lifestyle allowances; adjust them to your needs.

Room rent and your bond are personal amounts and are never divided. Household bill or setup amounts are divided by the people count you enter.

Edit individual bills and personal spending

Enter amounts per person or for the whole household and choose how often they are paid. Food, transport and phone are personal unless you deliberately mark them as household costs. Choose “Included” when the price already covers a bill.

Power and heating

Internet

Water

Food and groceries

Transport

Phone

Other personal spending

One-time setup costs

Enter your share of setup costs once. If an item is shared by the household, choose household and the worksheet divides its total once by the people count.

Bed or mattress

Bedding and towels

Kitchen items

Delivery or transport

Utility or internet connection

Other setup costs

The examples include NZI's $750 one-time furnishing allowance in “Other setup costs”. It is a planning assumption, not a local quote. If you itemise purchases, reduce or replace the $750 allowance to avoid counting the same furnishings twice.

Notes and source records

Keep the basis for your own estimates and the source wording or links you want to retain.

Enter your figures, then calculate to review the weekly cost and cash needed.

More options

The fictional example demonstrates payments and comparison. It uses invented prices and is separate from the dated programme and housing references.

Start with the fee for your enrolment

Enter international tuition for the first year of your proposed enrolment. Check the fee year, number of points, study load and any compulsory charges. A price per point, per semester or per year needs converting to the same period before you compare it with another option.

The built-in course examples are undergraduate Bachelor of Commerce degrees. For another course or level, enter your provider’s fees. If a partner or children will come too, include their housing, everyday spending, travel and other costs; the one-student example does not cover them.

The programme examples are dated references. Your provider’s fee statement gives the charge for your actual enrolment. Replace a reference with that figure when you have it, keeping a note of the source and date.

Cover the weeks outside your accommodation contract

Enter the number of weeks you need to live in New Zealand during the budget year. Then enter the accommodation contract weeks and price. If the contract is shorter, add a weekly accommodation estimate for the remaining weeks. Use the accommodation comparison to check meals, bills, furniture and contract dates.

“Other weekly spending” covers costs beyond your accommodation package: groceries or extra meals, transport, phone, electricity or internet not included, personal spending and a buffer. Make a small list before entering the total. Catered accommodation can reduce grocery spending during the contract, while holiday weeks may need a larger food allowance. Average that spending over the weeks in your budget, and explain the assumption in your notes.

Separate spending from money already paid

The first-year total includes the costs entered above. A payment commitment records part of one of those costs; it is not added again. Assign each payment to tuition, compulsory fees, insurance, housing, everyday living or setup. Record its date and mark it paid only when payment has been made.

Use the setup total for one-time costs such as flights, visa charges, bedding and initial course equipment, as well as refundable deposits or bonds. Keep a short breakdown in your notes. Put recurring costs, such as later trips home or replacement course materials, in your weekly allowance instead. Leave any expected refund out of available funds until you know the repayment amount and timing.

Confirmed funding means money still available to meet the remaining costs, including confirmed support that will arrive in time. Exclude amounts already spent. An offer of a scholarship that is still conditional, an unapproved loan and hoped-for earnings belong in a separate scenario until they are confirmed.

Use the payment list to prepare, then check timing

The dated list shows your unpaid commitments and the remaining budget that has not yet been allocated to payment dates. It helps you find the next bills to confirm. A yearly funding total does not establish that the money is accessible on each due date: compare those dates with your loan drawdown, sponsor transfers and account access.

For a departure date or another deadline, choose Payments due by a date in your payment list, then show your estimate. The check totals recorded unpaid commitments with a known amount and a due date on or before that day. You can use it while the rest of the budget is unfinished. Payments missing a date or amount remain visible for you to complete; check for bills you have not recorded too. Confirm separately when the money for those payments will be accessible.

For the weeks around arrival, use the moving budget calculator. Copy only the relevant bills and check for expenses already present there. The moving budget calculator covers arrival and the first eight weeks; this budget covers the longer study period.

Treat later years as a projection

The whole-course estimate repeats first-year recurring costs, increases them by the annual percentage you choose and adds setup once. It assumes the same study load, housing pattern and living period each year. Later fees, exchange rates, placement costs and changes of accommodation may differ. Keep a provider quote when available and replace the projection as you make decisions.

Keep visa financial evidence alongside the budget

Immigration New Zealand sets requirements for evidence of tuition, living costs and outward travel. Keep those requirements alongside your spending plan: the same living expenses may already be included in your budget. INZ also checks the source and evidence of funds, so use its guidance when preparing your documents.

Read the current student fund requirements and keep your supporting documents privately. The budget stores amounts and notes, not bank statements or application evidence.