Norway is known as one of the most expensive countries to live in, they also pay way better wages, but as a student coming from abroad, it is just crazy expensive! Without a grant or another form of support it became extremely important to keep a budget and find a job. I managed to make it work with 250 nok (25 euro) a week for groceries. I decided against a bus card since the city is relatively small and invested in a second hand bike instead. Shopping became a luxury and job hunting a priority. So here's how I did it.
Groceries
- Become aware of the prices of products in different stores and go to different stores to buy your products.
- adjust your eating habits to the cheapest products (I became a financial vegetarian (later a moral one) and I drastically cut down on cheese and chocolate, my favorite food!)
- Buy frozen products
- See if one of the grocery stores has a discount on products about to expire (in Trondheim the Meny sells these for 10 nok per kg).
- It is cheaper and more efficient to cook as if you're preparing a meal for 4. Freeze the rest and you have meals for 3 more days to come.
- eat with other people, that way you can divide the cost for groceries.
- Make comfort food a treat! That way you still get to eat it but also value it more.
- Cut down/out on alcohol.
Bus Card
I decided not to get a bus card during the first year. Norway is very walking friendly and during the snow-free month also bike friendly. Bikes are for sale for around 350 nok (second hand). I used this walking time to stay in touch with family and friends at home.
At the end of each semester students will sell their buscard (with usually still a few days on it). Especially during the snowy/wet december month this was a welcome and cheap alternative to me.
Shopping
- start seeing shopping as an (often unnecessary) luxury
- go to second hand stores (Fretex)
- use the facebook marketplace to get good secondhand deals (this is where I got all my camping gear).
- A lot of sports equipment you can rent for free. In Norway most kommunes provide free ski rental and many universities have a student organization from which you can rent all kinds of sport and camping materials for free.
Traveling
- You have to book train tickets far in advance to get the best prices
- SAS and Norwegian have youth discounts. At SAS you have to choose the youth tickets at Norwegain you use the code UNDER26
- long distance busses are relatively cheap.
Job
People often experience Norway as a difficult place to find a job, due to the fact that they prefer Norwegian as the office language. So a tip is to learn Norwegian if you're looking for a more serious job (the University offers courses for free). If you are, like me, more looking for a way to pay the bills then I recommend the following:
- find something practical that you're good at: cleaning, babysitting, translating, photographing, hairdressing
- find your market, who is interested? Students, expats, Norwegians?
- offer your services for cheap, it will still be a good hourly wage compared to home but cheap for Norway, making you an interesting candidate for the job. (I was working as a babysitter, asking 125 nok an hour where I used to ask 10 euros an hour in the Netherlands.
Fun
- Spend your free time outside. There are many places to go hiking and skiing, it is a great way to be active, to be with friends and not spend anything.
- Bring food from home. It is very common in Norway to bring your own lunch when being outdoors, instead of buying it.
- Make going out for dinner something special. (Me and my friends only went out when we had something to celebrate; birthdays, graduation etc).
- Instead of going out for dinner, buy a throw-away-bbq and go for a picnic!
- Another very popular hobby in Norway is knitting. You can find cheap ‘wool’ at the Søstrene Grene!
- Volunteer! There are many different volunteer opportunities in Trondheim. It is a great way to meet new people and have a good time without costing anything/much.
Yet, in Norway most people will ask around 150 nok an hour).
So that's basically how I survived with 1000 nok a month. Once I had a job I started permitting myself more luxuries and comfort. But it was a great way to start, cause in the end I didn't have to cut into my savings, I actually added to it throughout the year.
Hope this will help you as well!
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