Monthly expenses estimation while doing Masters at University of Cape Town

Hi there

It depends on your lifestyle, and what you call "living economically" - take a look at Cost of Living in South Africa for a list of daily expenses. You can add up what you would normally spend on these items and see how much it would cost compared to home.

In terms of accommodation, assuming you live in the area around UCT, housing can cost you anything from R1,500 a month to R,6000 a month depending on whether you live in one of the university's self-catering residences (and share a small room with another person), or get your own 2-bedroomed house. A one-bedroomed student flat in Rondebosch/Rosebank area will cost you R3,000-R4000 including utilities. It's cheaper if you share with other students, but as you are a post-grad you might prefer to be alone.

If you live further away and drive to campus or catch public transport every day, you'll need to factor that in as well - between R200 and R1,000 a month depending on how far away you live.

If you buy fresh fruit/veg and staples and cook at home, maybe getting a R50 take-out meal once every couple weeks, you can get away with about R300 a week for groceries but you will need to budget.

So lets say you had a room in a furnished 4-person house share in Rondebosh for R2,500-R3,000, ate cheap meals at home and didn't go out much, I'd say R5,000 a month would be enough to survive. R7,000 a month you'd be comfortable if you watched your spending, and anything upwards of that you'd be able to enjoy yourself.

However, as I said - it very much depends on whether you're prepared to slum it student-style and what your lifestyle in like!