Student Budgeting
Be analytical with any spending plan
Going to school should give you more than just a specific job skill, it should teach you how to gather, understand, and apply knowledge, which includes financial knowledge.
The first lesson involves funding your education. Financial aid offices at universities and colleges list scholarships, grants, and bursaries for students in their institutions, or check general websites like studentawards.com or scholarshipscanada.com. Good grades can be a source of income. Universities compete for the brightest students and offer entrances scholarships for stellar transcripts. Labour unions, professional associations, or your credit union may offer affiliation scholarships to members or their children.
However you raise the money for school, you need a spending plan to stretch it. The bulk of the education bill is in the cost of living the one-to-seven years necessary to graduate, so you have to control your living costs if you want to prevent having an entire life spent on a student’s budget.
One of the best financial strategies is to remember the rule of kindergarten: sharing. Having roommates can help keep housing costs down, but also consider car sharing through one of the growing number of car co-operatives. Then take advantage of the subsidized transit passes offered by many schools.
It’s common for textbooks to cost more than $100 and secondhand copies sellout fast. One trick for reducing costs is to get in touch with students a year ahead of you and arrange to buy their texts at the end of term. However, be sure the text book you purchase second hand is the issue being used by your prof and has not been updated. There is nothing worse than trying to find that quote and formula in a text book that does not have the same page numbering sequence.
Secondhand bookstores off-campus will also be happy to buy your recreational reading including mysteries, how-to books, and good literature.
A computer is essential, and most school bookstores offer discounts on equipment and software. Apple also offers deals to anyone in the education industry. But you can also save a few bucks by sharing peripherals such as printers and scanners with your roommates.
That computer can also help reduce costs by becoming all-purpose entertainment centre. Instead of running up phone bills, opt for a computer-based phone system such as Skype (skype.com), which allows you call anywhere, free. Skip the TV and cable costs by watching TV shows and films online. Add a good set of speakers, and your computer becomes a first class stereo with access to international radio stations too – and a great space-saver in a shared dorm room.
Learning to cook not only saves you money; it prevents the health problems that go with the steady diet of high-fat, high-starch meals that are standard cafeteria fare. Homemade curries, stir fries, chili, and soups, cooked in bulk once a month and frozen, will give you the power to resist that beckoning pizza flyer. Even if you’re on the school’s meal plan, give your health and your wallet a break by skipping overpriced convenience foods. Carry a thermos of home-brewed coffee and a supply of nuts and dried fruit for snacking.
For more ideas, many financial aid offices recommend The Debt-Free Graduate by Murray Baker, which offers a wealth of tips and strategies for Canadian students on how to cover the cost of school without going bankrupt.
Also, before you head off to school be sure to get in touch with a Nelson & District Credit Union Member Service Rep who can assist you in ensuring that all of your financial questions are answered, your contact info is current and you are set up in the appropriate account. Our Aspire-Scholar account is ideal for members in post-secondary studies.
