Tag Archives: budgeting

Starting the School Year Off Right

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It’s easy for spending to get really out of control within the first weeks of school. You need to buy a gym membership, stock up your house with groceries, want a new desk and several other purchases to get you off and running. Make sure to think about these points and keep thinking about them throughout the semester.
Make a Budget
  • The most important thing that you can do right now is plan and make a budget for your month by month spending. It’s also very important for this budget to be realistic, so you can stick to it. If you are an avid spender don’t set completely unrealistic spending goals for yourself.
  • Based on the money you made during the summer or the money you still have left make sure you have enough for the essentials; food, rent, and utilities. After you have figured out that you have enough funds to cover these expenses that’s when you can figure out the rest; clothing, alcohol, money for going out, trips, additional food that you don’t actually need etc.
Some Tips
Make sure to take into account increased utility bills in the winter months when the weather is colder and heating will increase.
Stick & Follow Through with the Budget
  • Making the budget itself may seem challenging, but the most difficult part is actually following through with the budget. Throughout the first month especially, it is crucial that you write down and record your spending in order to be able to tally it all up at the end of the month.
  • At the very least make sure to do a bi-weekly (half way through the month) check of your budget and see if you are on track. Are you spending too much on groceries? Scope out better sales and make better use of your grocery dollars and even try finding some coupons online.
  • At month’s end, tally up all of your purchases and check to see if you met your goals. Were they realistic? Do some numbers need to be decreased? Do some numbers need to increased? Don’t do this every month, but the first month is your trial run make changes after this month that make the most sense financially and based on your spending habits, then the budget for later months should be more concrete.
Keep Up to Date on Your OSAP Loans & Other Student Loans
  • Since you probably just received more loans or additional student loans to pay for tuition this semester, make sure to check the amounts owing to either OSAP, banks, your parents etc. Keeping that in mind may also keep spending in perspective, if you owe $15,000 in OSAP does that extra pair of heels make sense if you don’t really need them?
  • Additionally make sure to check if you qualify for the tuition rebate of $800 a semester through OSAP. I remember seeing somewhere that over 80% of students that could qualify for the rebate didn’t even apply. You don’t have to pay this money back unlike OSAP, it’s a bursary that requires no repayment, it’s free money that can help take a load off tuition or rent. Make sure to take advantage of this.
  • If you are no longer receiving OSAP loans, make sure you go an fill out a form to keep interest free status (and avoid paying interest until after you graduate). This can probably be done at Student Financial services at your university.
Hopefully this gets you thinking about your finances and how you can better keep track of them over the Fall semester and beyond. Remember, you’re a student, it’s very unlikely you have a ton of money so please don’t spend like you do.
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Financial Tips for Students

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This blog post is short and sweet, but consists of a list of financial tips for students that I choose to follow and hope you will think about as well. As usual this isn’t an exhaustive list, and it’s not something that you need to swear by. But it’s a list that is meant to make you think. Am I making the right choices with my money? Am I prepared for all the expenses of the school year?

If there’s anything you feel is missing or off the mark feel free to leave a comment on this post. If it’s an awesome tip I will definitely add it to the list.

1. Be conscious of the debt you have. Keep track of your student loans, lines of credit and credit card bills.
2. Always save, keep money stockpiled in case of emergency.
3. Coffee and food purchases at the cafeteria at school pile up.
4. Keep track of what you’re spending-the more conscious you are of your spending habits, the more likely you are to fix them and try and spend less.
5. Make expenses aside from tuition as low as possible. That includes rent, cable/internet, food, “entertainment”
6. Spend cash when you can. Take out what you need and don’t bring your debit card along. Debit cards make spending much easier, only when you check your statements do you actually realize how much you spent. It tends to pile up pretty quickly. aka try to avoid starting a bar tab when you go out.

7. Find ways to get rewards for purchases. Ie. Air Miles Mastercards, PC point Debit Cards (for groceries) etc. These can add up to extra benefits and save you some cash. Why not get benefits from the purchases you already make?

8. Always pay off your credit card balance in full! Not just the minimum payment. You probably already have student debt, try not to add any further debt on top of that.
9. Come up with a student loan repayment plan. How much do you already owe? What do you estimate you will owe by the end of school?
10. Set your educational and career goals. Do you want to travel? Can you afford going to grad school right away?
11.Never buy if you don’t have to. Borrow from friends. Sharing is caring. This is always good when it comes to textbooks an unfortunately very large investment unless you put the effort in.

Additional Reader Tips

  • Try to get as much free entertainment as possible. Have a BYOB board game night or poker tourney using snacks as betting chips. Look into free concerts at the school; often in the faculty of music but also young artists starting out nearby. Try karaoke, or a trivia night at a local pub (with a strict drinks/food budget). Look for film screenings in the area or at the library.
  • Many schools have course books on short-term loan at the library. If you are diligent enough to not leave a semester of reading to the last week you can avoid buying the book all together. Especially for books that are only needed for homework questions (ie math, physics etc). I photocopied the pages I needed. Also think about sharing a book with a roommate or trusted friend.
Tips via Twitter
@NewGradeLife Start Saving as soon as you can and let the nest egg grow!  
@lyss090 Load up a store gift card card and set a time frame to reloading it. Eg, #Starbucks - $10/month on the 1st of every month. 

  • @CheapStudents additional notes for @lyssa090′s tip-Make sure to only put that amount on, use it as a way to limit your purchases to that certain amount per month at that establishment and not use any other form of payment to make purchases at that store.
What are rules that you live by when it comes to your finances?