As students begin planning for study abroad, the SAO encourages them to carefully select programs that fall within their budgets. Often, budgeting a study abroad program is a team effort, requiring communication between the student, their parent(s) or guardian(s), and the SAO. As students research programs, they are encouraged to select programs that suit their academic needs, but also consider facets such as housing, meals, and excursions. In some programs, some combination of housing, meals, and excursions are built into the program cost. In other programs, they are not and students pay particular attention to what a program includes prior to applying. Most programs will have a set program fee and will specifically state what that fee includes. If they do not, students are encouraged to contact the program and inquire so as to be perfectly clear on how much additional money they will need to budget.

Students are also strongly encouraged to plan for flights, any visas required for their program, personal expenses, additional fees, and other costs that are usually not included in the program fee. These costs will vary from student to student and location to location and should be an integral part in a student's budgeting for their program.

Prior to departure, students should plan to contact their banking and credit institutions to confirm that they will be overseas. Students should ask their banks credit card companies if they will be able to use ATM and credit cards overseas. Also, most banks and credit card companies will automatically freeze an account if there are any suspicious charges or if it appears that a card or account number has been stolen. Students should plan to provide the name of the country in which they are studying as well as the dates that they will be overseas. Additional tips on preparing to depart have been developed by IES, one of the largest providers of study abroad programs in the world. These tips can be found at: www.iesabroad.org/IES/Students/Financing/beforeYouGo.html.

Once students are abroad, they are encouraged to establish and maintain a personal budget that is in line with their available finances. Although credit cards may be used in many locations, the SAO recommends that students resort to them for emergencies. Students should maintain regular contact with their parents and financial institutions (many of which will be accessible online). IES has also developed a set of recommendations for students while they are overseas. These tips can be found at: www.iesabroad.org/IES/Students/Financing/afterYouArrive.html.