{"id":65,"date":"2019-02-27T23:35:26","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T23:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/?p=65"},"modified":"2024-04-16T16:46:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T16:46:31","slug":"9-ways-to-save-money-as-a-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/2019\/02\/27\/9-ways-to-save-money-as-a-student\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Ways to Save Money as a Student"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since Canadian students owe over $28 billion in debt, I can see why people are hesitant to start their university career. Everything costs money – rent, food, textbooks, tuition, that <\/span>UFV Exp Learning & Wellness fee no one really knows exists (or what it\u2019s for). Luckily, UFV gives you a handy breakdown of what they expect your first year of full-time studies (September – April) will cost you, and the price tag currently sits at $7,099.20 if you live at home, and anywhere from <\/span>$10,939.20 – $12,699.20 if you live off campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

And yeah, that price tag <\/span>sucks<\/span><\/i>. Even if you get student loans, you\u2019ve got the repayment to worry about once you\u2019re out of university and working (hopefully) full time. So what can you do in the meantime? <\/span><\/p>\n

If you can live at home, do it. Currently, average rent of a one-bedroom in Abbotsford sits around $900-$1,100, depending on where you look. For eight months of school, that\u2019s $7,200-$8,800 you\u2019ll save during your first year of university (and now, reading these numbers, I think UFV\u2019s calculations are incorrect). If you can\u2019t live at home, live with roommates, budget carefully, buy only what you need, and, if possible, get a job on the side to earn some extra cash. <\/span><\/p>\n

The way the system works right now, it\u2019s highly unlikely you\u2019ll get out of university without <\/span>some<\/span><\/i> debt. But you can definitely use some tactics to lessen your end price tag.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a student, you likely know the pain that is student debt. Here are a few ways you can minimize the pain.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Live at home <\/b><\/p>\n

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This is likely one of the biggest money saving things you can do for yourself. If you have parents\/relatives who will let you live with them for free\/reduced rent, take the opportunity. And maybe offer to do the dishes once in a while, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Or rent with friends<\/b><\/p>\n

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If the above isn\u2019t an option (or you want to spread your wings a little), find a house to share with friends. The Fraser Valley\u2019s housing market is abysmal, but if you can manage to find a place and rope a few friends into it, your rent will be significantly less than if you rent a one bedroom by yourself.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Cut things from the budget you don\u2019t need<\/b><\/p>\n

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Those bi-weekly trips to Val<\/span>ue Village and purchasing your fav video games as soon as they\u2019re released aren\u2019t doing your bank account any favors. Do you really need that fourth pair of plaid pants or the special edition of Battlefield? No, you do not.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. And sell things you don\u2019t use anymore<\/b><\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re like me, you have a bunch of stuff (or at least several items) lying around your house you no longer have use for. That extra Playstation, your old video games, and clothes you don\u2019t wear can all be sold on Craigslist or in consignment shops (Plato\u2019s Closet is great for gently used, on-trend items).<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Track what you spend<\/b><\/p>\n

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Nothing says fun like making a budget! But that\u2019s part of being an adult – watching what you spend, recording it, rather than looking at your bank account at the end of the month and going \u201cyikes, where did it all go?\u201d With a budget tracker (Dollarbird and Fudget are good choices), you\u2019ll know <\/span>exactly<\/span><\/i> where you\u2019ve spent your money – like on your second cheese pizza of the week.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. Be smart with what you buy<\/b><\/p>\n

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This sort of fits with cutting things from the budget, but the key here is to ask yourself: \u201cDo I really need this?\u201d For example, when grocery shopping, you don\u2019t need three different types of ice cream, nor do you need two different types of bulk gummy candies. If you really want something sweet, pick one. Bonus: you\u2019ll save money on dentist bills in the future!<\/span><\/p>\n

7. Make your own coffee + food<\/b><\/p>\n

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Yeah, yeah, I know you\u2019d rather not, but this is a big one. Grab coffee every morning of the week? You\u2019re spending $15-20 (depending what you get). Going out for food three times a week? That\u2019s another $45 or so. Do\u00a0<\/span>this every week and it adds up. I know you don\u2019t always want to take the time to cook, but if you do you\u2019re saving yourself a lot of $$. And if you meal prep, you\u2019ll save time, too!<\/span><\/p>\n

8. Use that Upass<\/b><\/p>\n

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UFV\u2019s Upass has so many useful benefits! Free admission to ARC and MRC (swimming, skating, gym facilities, sauna), free transit on city and shuttle buses, discounts at select stores and restaurants (of which Hemingway\u2019s bookstore is one). Plus, you\u2019re paying $43.84 each semester regardless of whether you use it (so use it).<\/span><\/p>\n

9. Buy textbooks secondhand<\/b><\/p>\n

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I feel like this one is something every student needs to know. This semester, I signed up for a history course. The textbook at the UFV bookstore was $120. On Books2Go? Only $20. It may not be in mind condition, but that\u2019s $100 saved right there.<\/span><\/p>\n



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Since Canadian students owe over $28 billion in debt, I can see why people are hesitant to start their university career. Everything costs money – rent, food, textbooks, tuition, that UFV Exp Learning & Wellness fee no one really knows exists (or what it\u2019s for). Luckily, UFV gives you a handy breakdown of what they … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":206,"featured_media":68,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money","category-student-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65\/revisions\/88"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/students\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}