For many students, moving to university represents an exciting new level of freedom.
With freedom, however, comes responsibility,
and that often includes fending for yourself financially.
Obtaining a post-secondary education is a
rewarding but also expensive endeavor.
So here are six top tips that you don't want to miss out on if you
want to save money while you attend college or university.
Tuition is the most expensive aspect when attending college.
So be sure to exhaust all your options when it comes to financial assistance,
whether that's in the form of a scholarship, award,
or a simple student loan that could be partially forgiven down the road.
Be sure to see what options you have available to you.
Similarly, your university's financial aid office is a really
great place to start and visit. There's sometimes alumni that have
created awards that are geared towards outstanding students,
students with specific interests or students from a particular background.
So why not see if you qualify?
Learning to live within your means is a valuable skill that will serve
you long after you graduate.
So the best place to start when creating a budget is to determine
how much money you'll have coming in each month from loans,
a part time job or any savings you may have.
Next, you'll want to list out all the expenses associated
with attending that college or university.
What's left over is yours to spend or save.
It's best to track your spending over a period of a month or two and
then look back on the patterns.
Were you spending money on expensive nights out downtown or
were you able to actually save money from the deals you got on textbooks?
And if you need help with budgeting, make the most of
the technology and apps that we have available now.
There are a number of different apps that can help you track your
expenses and spending on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
We highly recommend downloading one of these apps if you still want
to be responsible with a budget while saving time on crunching a spreadsheet.
So once you have an idea of how much you can spend each month,
consider your largest expenditures.
Tuition and housing.
For most students, rent is the biggest monthly expense to incur.
So to save some money,
we highly recommend that you get in touch with the university's housing office
and ask about the options they have available and
give you an idea of some of the costs involved.
Usually you'll find it's cheaper to live off campus than on campus.
But remember, you'll want to weigh the money saving benefits
against the convenience of living on campus and
the ease of making friends in residence.
Sometimes living off campus comes with additional expenses like
transit, vehicle expenses, heating or AC, and other
small expenses that can really add up throughout the year.
Textbooks are also very expensive.
So before you rush off to the bookstore and spend hundreds of
dollars on books you may never use again, consider these alternatives.
First, you may be able to actually get a copy at the library,
share one with a classmate or download or purchase a used version.
You can also check with upper year students in your program to
see if they have any books they'd like to lend you.
There are many stores, restaurants and entertainment venues
that offer discounts of 10 to 15 percent or even more for students.
All you really have to do is ask the business if they
have a student program and then show them your student card.
Even outlets outside the surrounding area may be part of the discount plan,
so it's always worth asking.
So think about how much it would cost to replace all your laptops,
smartphones, speakers and whatever else you brought to college.
This could easily add up to thousands of dollars.
And if there was a major fire or water damage to your place,
these things could easily get ruined.
And having to replace all that out of pocket is not really what saving is about.
For a small monthly fee,
you can get contents insurance and that will save you the cost of
replacing this kind of property.
And if you're looking to insure your belongings, make sure you
check out this full guide and video on insurance for students living away from home.
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Thanks for watching, everyone.