Your student loan is a monthly salary, not pocket money
Asgeir Albretsen
Published
When the basic loan from Lånekassen (the Norwegian State Educational Loan Fund) lands in your account on 15 August, the figure looks big. The first thing that pops into your head might be a holiday, a new laptop or a nice evening out with friends. But that money has to last four months, and for the rest of the semester it is 11 377 kroner a month. That is not pocket money. It is a monthly salary, and you need to treat it that way.
Here is a realistic frame for a student in 2025/2026, based on Lånekassen's payment schedule and rough numbers from SIFO (the Consumer Research Institute) and the 2025 Studentbudsjettet (the official student reference budget). Use it as a starting point, and swap the numbers for your own as soon as you have a full month behind you.
What the basic loan actually is
For the academic year 2025/2026, a full-time student can receive up to 166 859 kroner as a basic loan. The payments are unevenly spread over the year:
- August 2025: 30 338 kr (double payment)
- September to December: 11 377 kr per month
- January 2026: 30 338 kr (double payment again)
- February to June: 11 377 kr per month
Across the whole academic year, the average works out to about 15 170 kroner per month. Up to 40 percent of the loan can be converted into a grant if you pass enough credits, complete the degree, and stay below the income limit. The rest has to be paid back.
A starter budget you can begin with
The table below is no-frills, but not stingy. It suits a student living in a shared flat or student housing, just outside the priciest central addresses. Round the numbers towards your own reality.
| Item | Amount (kr/month) |
|---|---|
| Income | |
| Basic loan (annual average) | 15 170 |
| Total income | 15 170 |
| Fixed expenses | |
| Rent (room in shared flat or student housing) | 6 000 |
| Electricity and internet | 500 |
| Mobile | 250 |
| Contents insurance | 120 |
| Subscriptions (Spotify, Netflix or similar) | 200 |
| Gym (student rate) | 250 |
| Semester fee (set aside monthly) | 130 |
| Total fixed | 7 450 |
| Variable expenses | |
| Food and groceries | 4 000 |
| Public transport | 500 |
| Clothes and toiletries | 500 |
| Social and leisure | 1 200 |
| Course books and study supplies | 250 |
| Total variable | 6 450 |
| Buffer / savings | 500 |
| Total out | 14 400 |
Left in the wallet: 770 kroner. That is not much, and that is the whole point. A student budget is rarely generous. It is about knowing where the money actually goes.
Three lines where most people lose track
Food. The 2025 SIFO-referansebudsjett (the SIFO reference budget) estimates around 4 700 kroner a month for a young adult. Many students manage on less, but it takes planning. Sketch out a rough weekly menu, shop with a list, and set a weekly cap. When you see the transactions side by side, the snack runs to the corner shop become very visible.
Subscriptions. Five at 100 kroner each adds up to 500 a month, or 6 000 a year. Set a monthly reminder: how many active subscriptions do you have, and do you actually use them? Cancel what you no longer watch, and share where it is allowed (family plans, or splitting with a partner or your flatmates).
Social. This is where the budget often cracks, and not because you are wasting money. It is just lots of small bills on different evenings. Set a monthly cap and log the spend straight away. If the cap is hit on the 20th, there are plenty of free alternatives (cinema Wednesday with the student discount, a house party, a walk in marka (the forest belt around Norwegian cities)).
When the numbers do not add up
With the current basic loan, it is normal for students to run a deficit if they have no other income. There are three realistic moves:
- A part-time job, six to ten hours a week. Eight hours at 200 kroner gives roughly 4 700 kroner net per month, and is often the difference between stress and breathing room.
- A supplementary loan from Lånekassen. You can apply for an extra loan, but remember that it is still a loan, not a grant. Check the terms and amounts on lanekassen.no before you take it.
- Cut your housing costs. Housing is almost half the budget. A room in a shared flat usually costs 1 500 to 3 000 kroner less per month than your own studio.
The most important part: write it down somewhere
You do not need a fancy app to put together a student budget, but you do need somewhere to see the numbers. A spreadsheet, a notes document or a budgeting app like Luma all work fine, as long as you actually open it once a week.
Take five minutes while the coffee is brewing on Monday morning. See where you stand, adjust one thing, and move on. It really is not more complicated than that.