1. Grocery - $20/week
2. Laundry - $3/wash which will be once in 2weeks.
3. Other Utilities like:
- Comforter - $20
- Laundry Bag - $8
- Burlington Coat Factory Jackets - in the range of $60-$90
- Casual T-shirts (Ladies) - $5-$10
- Casual T-shirts(Men) - $10-$15
- Pants - $20
4. Indian Store Groceries :
- Rice - $11/10pounds
- Dals - $5/kg
- Roti Packets - $2/10rotis
- Parathas - $2/5parathas
- Milk - $3/gallon
- Ready-to-eat packets - $1/packet.
5. Cellular Costs
To own a postpaid cellphone account in your name, you need SSN or deposit $500. Procedure is as follows:
a. Choose Service provider among ATnT, Verizon and T-mobile. All have comparable plans, but being on the same network as friends and colleagues saves a lot of money.
- Visit service provider's wireless accounts page, and create new account.
- Choose plan - Base plan - 450 Nation rollover with Night and weekend minutes - $39.99 + taxes. This plan permits data usage.
- Select from among the available handsets. All handsets will be locked for the 2 yr service contract period. During this period, your handset is locked with service provider software, and plan. You cannot use this phone with another sim.
- Activation cost - $36(typically)
- First month bill will be a sum of - 1st month plan cost + 2nd month plan cost + activation fee
- Postpaid accounts contribute towards credit history.
| Plans | Cost per month | SMS Cost | |
| 450 Nation w/ Rollover, Night and weekend minutes | $39.99 + taxes | 20 cents (incoming/outgoing) | Can be blocked Data can be used, and is charged separately. Can be blocked to minimize cost. |
| 450 Nation w/ Rollover minutes, Night and weekend + Data plan | $39.99+$29.99+taxes | 20 cents (incoming/ outgoing) $5.99 messaging bundle for 200 text messages 1 GB data limit(variable as per provider) | Only useful for smart phones. |
| Unlimited Data and Voice | $100+taxes | No additional cost | Unlimited data and voice. |
Prepaid Phones - No SSN required, no deposit required.
No contract on device. Plans range from $39.99 without rollover minutes but 600 anytime minutes, to $100 plan with unlimited voice and data.
Prepaid phone accounts do not contribute towards credit history.
Some free handsets are available which vary with service providers. Better handsets are also available but at additional cost ranging from $50 to $300 extra. All handsets come locked with Postpaid plans.
Iphone is available with ATnT service for $99 and data plan is mandatory.
Good deals are available on letstalk.com, cellhut.com, dealsofamerica.com. Some more could be found by searching online.
6. Laptop
The cost of a laptop depends on the configuration and the make that you choose to buy. They usually start at $600 and go higher depending on the make and the configuration. Refurbished laptops are available for as low as $250.
Good laptop deals can be found on target.com, deals2buy.com, bestbuy.com, buy.com, etc. Many a times better deals are available on the manufacturers site, so it is advisable to check there as well.
1. GRE - $150 (Subject to change without prior notification)
2. GMAT - $250 (Subject to change without prior notification)
3. Toefl - $130 (Subject to change without prior notification)
4. Flight Tickets - $600-$700
5. Counsellor fees - $100
6. Extra printouts and files cost - $20
7. Visa consulate fees - $131
8. Visa Service Charge(at HDFC Bank) - $7.5
9. Books Fees for study in USA - $25
10. Books for GRE,Toefl preparation - $12.
