Jennifer Simmons must watch her spending while she studies abroad in Paris this semester. The dollar is at a record low against the euro. The dollar was valued Wednesday at $1.48 to every euro. “I watch my spending like crazy,” Simmons said. “Paris is a capital of fashion, but even cheap things are now almost out of budget for me.” The dollar is the weakest in Europe, which has caused many study abroad programs’ prices to increase without expansion and forced many students to rethink their budgets. Simmons said she hates to go shopping because she has to automatically add 50 percent to the price. The fall of the dollar to the euro has forced many students to rethink their budgets. “A lot of students are concerned with money,” said Harald Leder, interim director of Academic Programs Abroad. “Some students do cut back, and some have to scratch up every penny to go.” Leder said he believes the dollar will continue to slide. “Every director is sweating over budget trying to keep it as low as possible,” Leder said. “I’m always amazed how directors find accommodations. They’re always trying to make it as comfortable as possible.” Leder said students are being charged more, but the programs cannot offer as much as they would like. “For example, an agent in London makes hotel reservations to find something in the budget,” Leder said. “We try to keep costs for students as low as possible, but if the exchange rate goes up, we have no choice but to raise the price or cut excursions.” In most programs students are responsible for food. Leder said the price of lunch could reach $14. “One of the worst is Starbucks,” Simmons said. “I’m a chai tea fanatic, and in the U.S it costs a little over $3. Here it costs about 5 euros, which is about $7.50” Simmons said shopping in Paris makes stores like Victoria’s Secret and Express seem like bargains. “I have to set aside a certain limit each month for what I can spend to go out to clubs, go out shopping or go out to eat,” Simmons said. Nancy Deville said the foreign exchange rate is affecting her budget while she studies this semester in France. “Quite simply, it’s killing me,” Deville said. “It’s as if everything is on reverse-sale.” Deville said she has to look at her account balance online and automatically take away 1/3 of it when thinking in terms of euros. “I have only gone out one night because I’m nervous to spend my money on things I don’t really need, which in turn is spoiling a lot of the fun I was hoping to have,” Deville said. Renee Boswell is studying a year in England and saved $3,000 before the trip. She can spend $300 a month, which is only about 150 pounds. “Luckily my parents gave me a debit card for groceries and necessities, and my college fund pays for housing,” Boswell said. “But I have to pay for clothes, nights out, cell phone and fast food.” Boswell said 150 pounds a month does not get her very far, so she had to dip into her savings account that her parents set aside for her to put a down payment on a house or a car. “I promised myself I would pay it all back before I finish college back in the states,” Boswell said. “I try not to let myself get worried about money.” Boswell said she hates to go to a store and spend $80 on a pair of shoes that would be $40 in the United States “But I know this will be the best year of my life where I will have the most opportunities to go out and drink and buy the best clothes,” Boswell said. “So I’m spoiling myself.”
—-Contact Leslie Presnall at [email protected]