What I Spend in a Month as a Student at University of Manitoba

I started nursing school in Nigeria but I became frustrated with policy changes affecting nursing education. I had always been intrigued by Canada, especially the beauty of fall. I came across a student on social media who said they were having a good experience at the University of Manitoba’s nursing school, so I decided to apply. I was able to transfer some credits from my two years of Nigerian nursing school, but I need to complete two more semesters of prerequisites before I can officially start nursing school in the fall of 2026. 

I work at a grocery store 15 to 20 hours a week earning about $1,100 a month, which covers my rent and living expenses. My family helps with my tuition, which is about $8,000 per semester. When I graduate in 2029, I plan to return to Nigeria to fill existing gaps in health-care delivery, particularly for chronically ill children. Here’s how much I spend in a typical month.

Rent and utilities: $727 
I share a three-bedroom apartment with two students from Tanzania. I found the room on Facebook Marketplace. It’s in an older apartment building about 30 minutes from campus by bus. I get along really well with my roommates; it feels like we’ve known each other for a lot longer than we have. The rent is $1,926, and we split it three ways. I also pay $50 a month for utilities and $35 a month for Wi-Fi. 

Groceries: $150
I shop for food about once a month. I wish I could cook African foods like egusi and ogbono soup, but the ingredients are too expensive to buy here so I’ve adapted my diet. I make pancakes with sausages and bacon for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and chicken and rice or ramen noodles for dinner. If I buy something fresh, like chicken, I cook it all at once then freeze it so I can eat it throughout the month. I shop at the store I work at to take advantage of the employee discount. It varies based on what I’m buying, but it averages out to around 8 to 10 per cent off. 

Eating out: $15
The only place I eat out at is an African restaurant on campus called AFV Kitchen. It’s the cheapest place I’ve found in Winnipeg that sells African meals. You can get  jollof rice and pepper chicken or fried rice and pepper chicken for $11 with tax. With a drink, the meal comes to $15. 

Related Posts

Getting the Most Out of RESP Savings

Financial planner Andrea Thompson breaks breaks down what a family needs to know about withdrawing RESP funds

I Got My Community a Greenhouse and Won a $70,000 Scholarship

How this student went from Newfoundland to engineering at Laurentian University

Ubers: $30
If I’m worried about getting to a test or exam on time, I take an Uber, since it only takes eight minutes, compared to 30 minutes on the bus. I had three exams last month so I took an Uber three times, which cost about $10 per trip. 

Phone bill: $120
I used to have an iPhone 11 Pro Max but it broke, so I got a new iPhone 16 Pro Max recently. That increased my phone bill from $40 to $120 a month. The new contract is for two years but I hope to pay it off sooner. 

Subscriptions: $28
I have an iCloud subscription to store my pictures and videos, which costs about $12 a month. I also like making TikToks, so I have a subscription to CapCut, a piece of editing software that costs about $15 a month. I still have a Spotify subscription from Nigeria; the student rate is roughly the equivalent of one Canadian dollar.

Textbook subscription: $15
I have a textbook subscription for a biology course I’m taking. It costs $15 every month, and I need it for six months. I could have paid more to access online quizzes and study tools but I use ChatGPT to quiz me instead. 

Makeup: $10
At the grocery store where I work, staff who get good customer reviews are entered into raffles to win vouchers for $10 or $20 off purchases at our store. I saved mine until I had about $80, which I used to buy makeup. I got concealer, foundation, powder, primer and a contour stick. The total was about $90, but I only paid $10 since I had the voucher. 

Forever 21 shoes: $10
I’ve always liked the look of platform shoes, but I’ve never had a pair before. When I saw some on sale, I seized the opportunity. I plan to wear them on special occasions. 

Total Monthly Spend: $1,105

This story appears in the 2026 edition of the Ultimate Guide to Canadian Universities. You can buy the issue for $19.99 here or on newsstands.