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