How to Save Money While at University

Budgeting and Cost-Saving Tips for Students

Every June it comes time for students to apply for student loans. The Canadian Federation of Students estimates that the average BC university student debt is approximately $27,000 after graduation. The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) lobbies to reduce tuition fees and student loan debt.

How many thousands of dollars are you going to owe to the government when your education is finished? How long will it take you to repay your student loan from years of tuition fees? Maybe you should ask yourself, "How and where can I save money to reduce my student loan?"

Make a Student Budget

The typical student budget will include the following:

• tuition + loan interest
• books and library fees
• residence fees or rent,
• utilities, laundry
• food, groceries
• car, bus
• entertainment

Once you've looked at a few months of bills in these areas and have a sense of the actual costs, enter these into a spreadsheet using online budgeting tools or those on your desktop or laptop for PC's Microsoft Office Excel or Mac's iWorks Numbers program. These can help you build a budget that positively reflects what you can spend and will make you more aware of where you can cut corners.

The more strict you are with your individual budget, the easier you will find it to finance your tuition fees and student loan or reduce how much you borrow from the government.

Stick to Your Student Budget

Shopping can be a guilty pleasure for many people between the ages of 17-25, especially when they have access to a credit card. Most students must that when you are going to university, shopping is your budget's worst nightmare.

The trick to shopping while saving money for school is to shop for groceries at grocery stores with sales and good prices and local markets, and remember to use the store's savings card and coupons to take advantage of sales. Go with other students in your house for bulk items you can share and stock up on. Make sure you buy fresh produce, not just items from the middle aisles that are cheaper but unfortunately less healthy. Eating heathy and affordably is key to a well-balanced student life.

Avoid Eating Out

Think about portable meals to take to campus to avoid the cafeterias, fast food restaurants or ordering in simply because you don't have a full fridge. Sandwiches, salads, leftovers from a previous meal, along with fruit, cheese and crackers are healthy snacks that help you avoid the "snacky" foods.

Having meals at restaurants and going out for coffee are two things in life that can quickly eat up your student budget. It can be tricky to avoid these places, especially if all of your friends are going out.

Instead of going out, suggest having a dinner party at someone's house. Making your own food is much cheaper and can be more fun. Save your trips out to dinner for special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries. Try buying a coffee maker and making your own coffee instead of going to the coffee shop everyday. You'll be shocked at the amount of money you save by cutting out frequent lattes and mochas.

Get a Part-time Job

If you want to have money for extras or pay down your student loans sooner, but remember to focus on studies over work. Holidays are a peak earning period for students to take advantage of. If you must shop, try finding deals on E-bay to satisfy the urge.

These are just a few tips that can help you save money for post-secondary education, and reduce your student loan when you graduate.