#MakeItMakeSense is a series from the Star that breaks down personal finance questions to help young Canadians gain more confidence and understanding around financial literacy.
As post-secondary students return to virtual and in-person studies, they are also facing inflation that continues to impact everything from textbooks to groceries, making navigating their budgets for the school year even harder.
Money expert Jessica Moorhouse says when she entered university, she knew nothing about personal finance, yet had to figure out how to pay her tuition on her own and budget out expenses like transit and meals.
But developing these money saving habits as a student can benefit people postgrad, she said.
“If you figure out how to survive and stretch whatever money you have as a student and get those habits in, it’s so easy to transition them into the real world,” said Moorhouse.
So, how can students best budget and save during the school year? We brought in Moorhouse to give her best tips and advice for this week’s #MakeItMakeSense.
Getting your budget organized
If possible, Moorhouse encourages students to set up a few different bank accounts to help them budget.
For Moorhouse, she had a savings account that was only used to save up for tuition and she never touched that money. Then, she had another chequing account that she would designate as her allowance to spend every month. This, she said, helped her keep track of her spending habits.
Another way to organize can be through using resources such as smartphone apps that have budgeting templates. Some of these tools allow you to set up notifications to let you know when you’ve made a purchase, said Moorhouse.
“Setting up (notifications) can help you be more aware of what you’re spending because it’s so easy to spend money online or tap your debit or credit card and forget about it after until its time to pay your bill,” she said.
Having budgeting apps or even your bank’s app on your phone can also help you easily check your balances when you’re out and need to decide whether to save or not, she added.
Being wary of how you use credit
As post-secondary students, you may have just started using your first credit card or are looking to apply for one, if you’re newly 18 and meet the age requirement. As exciting as it can be to receive a fresh new card to make purchases, there are things to be cautious about. You don’t want to get carried away and spend more than you can afford.
“You don’t ever want to be in debt, it can be really dangerous, so you want to be careful with credit,” says Moorhouse.
As a university student, Moorhouse says she chose to only put big purchases or recurring payments like her cellphone bill on her credit card. Everything else, she says she stuck to her debit card.
“This is because I could easily monitor how much I could afford. It just kind of forced me to think, ‘Eat the food you actually bought for lunch, Jessica, you’re just being lazy,’” she said.
Moorhouse said limiting her credit card for specific purchases that she knew she could pay off also helped build her credit score. Another way students can work toward building their credit score is to see if their school allows for tuition costs to be put on a credit card.
This will depend on their credit limit and if the school offers it without any extra fees but Moorhouse says if you are able to put a big purchase like tuition on the card and pay it off right away using cash in the bank or loans, it can be beneficial in building up your score.
Finding student discounts and opportunities
Moorhouse advises students check what resources schools offer to help them save money or help them in a time of need. The University of British Columbia as an example, has previously offered a meal share program to combat food insecurity among students. Students could apply to receive funds for food or significant discounts.
Many post-secondary schools will also offer discounts across campus or promote deals you can receive by showing your student card. And some jobs may come with perks.
“In fourth year, I worked at the Simon Fraser University bookstore to make money temporarily for a few months but I also got a discount on books,” she said.
Moorhouse also suggested looking into the SPC card, a membership card for students where discounts are offered from a variety of stores and brands. The membership costs $12 a year and can be used in store or online.
“For example, Rexall offers 10 per cent off … If you pick up anything you need there, you can just show the physical card or scan it off your phone for a discount,” she said.
“If there is a way that you can get a discount at this point in your life as a student, do it, because once you’re an adult, you’re no longer a student and won’t be able to get some of these,” she said.
Additional words of advice
It’s OK to make mistakes because many students have never had to handle their own personal finances before entering post-secondary and you have a lot of time to make up for it, said Moorhouse.
“Learn from those mistakes and make sure not to do it in the future because it’ll be a more expensive mistake when you’re older,” she said.
Moorhouse also emphasizes the importance of including fun spends in your budget.
“Looking back, I didn’t really realize how lovely that time was… (Afterwards) you’re thrust into the adult world with taxes and responsibilities, having to do everything yourself. So enjoy your time,” she said.
And that enjoyment doesn’t always have to come at a cost, Moorhouse notes. Post-secondary schools and places around campus that often host free events. And you can scout around for affordable bars to grab a drink with a friend before a night out.
“Your student life is time to kind of enjoy the broke student life and embrace it. You have so many years in the future to buy that expensive meal or cocktail…when you’re in it you don’t appreciate it but when you’re older like me you do look back on it with fondness,” she said.
Got a question or scenario that you’d like to see tackled? Reach out to Madi via email madisonwong@thestar.ca and we’ll #MakeItMakeSense.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free)
Techyrack Website stock market day trading and youtube monetization and adsense Approval
Adsense Arbitrage website traffic Get Adsense Approval Google Adsense Earnings Traffic Arbitrage YouTube Monetization YouTube Monetization, Watchtime and Subscribers Ready Monetized Autoblog
from Make Money Online – My Blog https://ift.tt/suTOger
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment