Student Spending Plan (aka Budgeting!)

Student Spending Plan has such a better connotation than "Budgeting!"  Creating a plan does not mean you have to go without!  It makes you better prepared for what life hands you and it's a tool that you can utilize throughout your life.  

Reasons for creating a Spending Plan

• It provides you with opportunities
• It puts YOU in charge of your financial future
• Helps achieve your life goals
• Prepares you for emergencies
• Reduces your stress

Steps to creating a Spending Plan

• Know your costs
  • Go to your university website and look at the costs for tuition, student fees, residence and meal plans
  • Don’t forget:
    • Books
    • Equipment/laptop
    • Spending money
    • Cell phone costs
    • Rent & groceries (if living off campus)
    • Commuting costs (gas, winter tires)
    • Rental insurance
    • Utilities
• Know your resources
• Student loans
• Scholarships & bursaries
• Student line of credit
• RESPs
• Sponsorship payments
• Job earnings
• Help from family
• Savings
• Map a timeline
  • Know when your fees are due
  • Know when to expect payments from your student loans, sponsors, line of credits, RESPs
  • Know when other payments are due such as car payments, cell phone plans or utilities (if living off campus)
• Build a plan
  • Prioritize your spending
  • Is it a need or a want?
  • Start small…keep receipts for 2 weeks and record ALL your expenses
• Maintain your plan
  • Record, review and revise
  • Be honest in your spending tracking
  • Make it fun! Create a vision board, keep a journal, get organized with inexpensive boxes and file folders from the dollar store
  • Meet with our Financial Aid counsellor