STORY BY CHELSEA HOGG
While attending school, students will often be faced with the reality that money really doesn’t grow on trees.
With the extra costs that school comes with, it can be hard for students to know how much money they need to spend.
All the hard earned summer work goes to textbooks, food, gas and other necessities but students have come up with their own money-saving hacks.
Nineteen-year-old Lauren Passmore of Burlington says she spends about $50 on food per week but would like to cut that in half.
“I would rather spend maybe around $25 a week, but when you’re hungry, money is usually ignored,” said Passmore.
Passmore advises students to really think about whether the price of what they want is necessary to spend.
Textbooks, varying on program, can range between $200-$1,200 a year, according to www.fcac.ca.
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Textbooks are an expensive part of post-secondary education, but there are ways to save money and still be prepared.
Daniel Taddeo, 19, of Burlington says that he has tricks to avoid unnecessary spending on textbooks and food.
Since food is an expense students literally cannot live without, meal prep can come in handy for students living at home or at school.
“Make a set of meals for a couple days with food that is on sale, then refrigerate,” said Taddeo.
And textbooks can be shared so that not everyone needs to pay for them.
“Borrow from friends if you can,” said Taddeo.
Online PDFs of books can be found online by students and professors as well.
“You can find them just by typing in the name of the book or the name of the author or chapter,” said Taddeo.
Buying textbooks used or renting them can also help with cutting costs.
“Usually, the school library has the option of renting or buying both new and used textbooks and this can save you the difference,” said Taddeo.
Sam Bailie, 19, of Waterdown says that he has a saying he keeps in mind when making any kind of purchase.
“If you can live without it without struggle, don’t buy it,” said Bailie.
Organizing paychecks into categories for employed students can be a benefit down the road.
“I split my paycheck for different expenses and map out how much money needs to go where,” said Bailie.
Without realizing it, students can spend on things that seem pretty important or tempting at the time but then quickly regret the purchase such as clothes, jewllery, video, games etc.
“Some retailers have a policy of cancelling an order and refunding the money if the cancellation is made in time,” said Passmore.
“This has saved me in some situations.”
If self control or lack of willpower is the problem, putting your money you need for school in a jar or a locked area can help avoid unnecessary shopping sprees.
“It keeps it out of sight and hopefully out of mind while you work and pay for what is really important in the long run,” said Taddeo.
Early saving and pre-planning can help keep priorities in check while you aren’t in school.
“Over any break or week off, take time to plan what needs to be paid for and how much you will need to make to be comfortable once it has been paid off,” said Bailie.
School can be expensive but when time is made, students can save more than they imagine.