Monthly Archives: May 2013

Living at Home After Graduation

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So you’ve graduated university or college and are about to start heading out into the real world or whatever that working world is called. One of the most important things you need to think about is where you’re going to live since you more than likely are now moving away from school. The most likely place is either head to a big city like Toronto or head back home into the reluctant arms of your parents. It’s not something that has to be painful, but in some cases it can be…

One of the biggest struggles students face is moving back and living at home after grad. It’s also a parents dilemma about whether or not they want to charge you rent, put you to work around the house or find some other way for you to make pay for showing back up on their doorstep. I recently read a blog post called Dear Parents Charge Your Kids Rent by Broke Millennial. The post was refreshing and had some excellent points as to why parents should charge their kids rent when they decide to start living at home after graduation. But here’s the question I asked myself, do you think that’s the best idea? And simply put, I think the answer is no..but of course I have provided some excellent alternatives.

Putting Your A** to Work

Just like my fellow blogger I’m not going to put this lightly, I completely believe that if you are going to head home after grad, you better work your butt off and help out around the house. If you lived at school it’s really likely that you were paying rent, if you aren’t paying rent while living at home you better be doing something to make up for those lost dollars your parents aren’t making off of your lack of rent payments. I’ve been living at home while I work in Toronto for a semester and even I’m helping out (I’m sure my mom would maybe say I help out a little less than I should) but hey I’m doing something. Make dinner every once in a while, mow the lawn, vacuum the house or clean the bathroom..hey you did it at school for yourself anyways.

Pay Your Parents Rent..Sort of

Okay so here’s the catch. I don’t agree with paying rent simply because it’s pretty likely that students heading home after graduating are pretty tied down with student loans and may not have a high paying job yet. But I have an alternate solution to this rental payment system. Giving your parents a set sum of money every month just like rent but instead this money goes into a saving vehicle of some sort. This could be a GIC, high interest savings account, or if you have more financial know-how a portfolio with ETFs and stocks. You become more disciplined, save money for the future (retirement here we come) and will end up with a nice bit of money once you leave home. And you may be thinking, how do my parents win here? Well let’s just say they will have the comfort in knowing you will actually have some money once you head out on your own and the sooner you save, the quicker you’re out of the house.

In all honesty, I think a hybrid of the 2 would work really well in my opinion.

Do you think recent grads should be charged rent once they start living at home after graduation?

Let the debate begin..

Summer Spending Tips

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It’s not even summer yet and I’m already trying to come up with ways to cut down costs. After spending way too much money over the last week by going out to a variety of pubs, restaurants and clubs/bars I have decided that I really need to cut back on both my nights out and/or my alcohol expenditure. Now I know most of you may be thinking you’re crazy, it’s not even summer yet and you’re already becoming less fun. The reason being is that I’ve done some rough estimates for what money I need saved for the remainder of my university of career, and it’s not a small number. So I’ve decided to compile some great summer spending tips. Some are simple, and some slightly less fun. But there definitely is some give and take when you need a certain amount of money come September and whether or not that 1 night our, or that extra outfit was really worth the money you spent.

summer saving tips

1. Don’t Go Out More Than Once a Week

Now this may sound super lame, or really just not fun in general. But think about it…your body and your wallet will thank you when you decide on 1 really fun night out with friends, set a spending goal for yourself and don’t whip out your credit card. Instead bring out a set amount of cash you want to spend for the night, try and take public transit whenever you can (I’m starting to realize just how expensive downtown Toronto is bar and drink wise, let alone the cost of a taxi home) and try to pre-drink with friends as much as possible.

2. Use Your Patio at Home

Especially when the weather gets warm, the first thing everyone wants to do is find a nice patio and drink with friends. As a student, I suggest your own patio and a case of beer from the beer store instead. Even a cheap pitcher of beer can run you around $10-15 each and your probably not just going to get one. Consider pre-drinking or patio drinking at home, and then heading out for a night. It will save you a lot more money, you will still get your tan on and save some serious $’s in the process.

3. Plan a Few Fun Weekends-Quality, not Quantity

Summer is the time for great long weekends that you can spend with friends and maybe head up north or to a cottage. It’s better to plan a few really fun weekends then going out 3 times a week all summer. It’s likely that you won’t enjoy yourself as much if you do the same thing every night of the week versus a unique cottage experience with a group of great friends. Think quality not quantity when it comes to summer fun, you definitely will enjoy those big weekends more.

Share your summer spending tips below!