Budgeting for Student Life
What’s your motto? Live like a pauper and graduate a princess or prince? You may think the goal of graduating without student debt is lofty to say the least. It’s not easy but a challenge worth accepting. Just like any other budget, if it doesn’t balance (that is to say that expenses are greater than income), you can take one or both of these tactics:
- Earn more money
- Reduce expenses
Earn more money through summer jobs and part time work. Part time work during the school year can do double duty by putting some dollars in your pocket and paving your career path. There are many grants, bursaries and scholarships available and not all of them depend on top marks and coordination!
Reduce expenses by sharing costs such as housing, food and transportation. Use the school or community centers for their gyms and programs. There are many free or low cost events available on campus or in town, a little research can dig up gold. Good quality clothes and sporting equipment are readily available second hand. Take a hiatus from extravagant gifts during the holidays or for birthdays and think of some unique alternatives…it’s not forever.
You’ve made it to post secondary, you’ve got the tools and resources to go the whole way.
The next post will be a case study and the one after that…The Realities of Student Debt.
Posted: August 29th, 2012 under CEO of the House, Money & Lifestyle, Money Savvy Tips, Tips & Tricks.
Tags: Budget, Education, Financial Planning, Money & Stress
Comment from Zoro
Time September 19, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Not a parent yet, but I liked what my partnes did for me, and would probably continue it:We had a fixed allowance, which was that each week, we got however many dollars old we were (i.e. when I was 10, I got $10 a week). We had an expected chore each week (my siblings and I rotated through trash, dishes, vacuuming, and everyone spent about two hours on yard work on weekends), and allowance was docked if we did not do them. Behavior did not influence our allowance, nor did performance in school.Almost as important as deciding how much allowance to give, is to decide what your child will be responsible for purchasing themselves with the money they earn (through allowance or jobs).Any entertainment (including going out with friends, going to prom, etc), was always on our own money. Most clothes was on our own money too, though my partnes would occasionally take us shopping for basic school clothes.