Starting Winter Semester and Saving $$

Entering into my final winter semester in the fourth year of my Honors Political Science undergrad degree, I am well versed on the concept of the ‘starving student.’ However, any student 2nd year and higher can tell you the two main differences between the fall and winter semesters at university.

1. Making it to class requires much more dedication than in the fall – catching the bus in a blizzard and -20-degree temperatures significantly reduces class attendance. Readings subsequently become much more important.

2. Having absolutely no money – even less then you had when you had ‘no money’ at the beginning of the year.

This second difference is at the forefront of most students’ minds as the satisfaction of finishing exams and excitement of Christmas and New Years wears off. It’s time to go back to school. Now, if most of you are like me, you’ve spent way too much on Christmas presents and on New Years eve, and are beginning to panic as deadlines for tuition, books, rent and groceries become increasingly closer. Every student has their unique situation, whether working, on OSAP or having savings, money is usually much tighter during the winter. Here are a few tips, coming from a seasoned student ( I ate soup two meals a day, every day for about 2 months one year) which can help relieve some of the panic you might be feeling in the pit of your stomach.

First of all, remember that your house or rez room does NOT need to be warm enough to warrant shorts or t-shirts. There is nothing wrong with needing sweats or hoodies inside in order to save a few bucks on your heating bill. Also, try to scale back on the takeout and eating out this semester – making your own food and bringing your own lunches to campus are a great way to save money AND eat healthy. Also, if you have classes spread out throughout the day, plan to make one trip to campus, rather than paying to go to and from home and school multiple times. You will get more work done spending extra time at the library then you will wasting time going to and from with the risk of being distracted at home. Starbucks may be an addiction of yours like it is for me, but if you can try to sacrifice your $6 latte for a $1.30 tea, you will save a lot of money (and it has next to no calories).

Ways to make a little money this semester include selling used books, either back to your bookstore to be resold, or on a facebook type marketplace where students post needed or available books for your school. Make sure that your course requires a text, rather than recommends it, because I’m sure I’m not the only student to have bought texts that are used for one article throughout the entire course. Also, most universities have copies of your required texts on reserve in the school library, so you can check them out, photocopy, and read material there, which is a great way to save money on books. Always buy your books used if it’s an option. Not to sound ungrateful, but I’m sure everyone has gotten gifts over the holidays that they will never use/already have, and putting an ad up on eBay, facebook, your rez or apartment hallways and selling old ipods, unopened gifts etc. is an easy way to make some cash.

If you are really stretched for cash, pay a visit to your financial services office to check out any unclaimed bursaries and scholarships. As Studentaward.com often emphasizes, so much money is available for all types of situations that is simply not known about or advertised, and therefore sits unused. Make sure you check out what money might be available to you (simply for being in your program or having a certain average) before you take out any loans or waste valuable study time at a job. One of the most helpful things I’ve learned was one semester I had to spend $1500 on dental work, and couldn’t afford to pay my tuition on time. I went to financial services (panicking) and explained my situation. I was then informed that students could pay installments of tuition over a reasonable period of time if you are having trouble making the normal tuition deadline. I got to choose how much I paid in each installment, and how frequently I would make the payments, as long as I was all paid-up by the end of the semester. This has been the biggest help to me financially, someone who works full time throughout the school year, when unexpected expenses pop up as they often do with students. Not having to have all my savings ready for books and tuition right after the break, and being able to pay it off gradually as I work has allowed me to continue to stay in school without having to take a semester off just to work. I urge anyone who is struggling with money to look into this option further.

There is one benefit and natural money-saver of the winter semester however; going to the bar becomes much less frequent and appealing when ladies need to trek through the snow in their heels and it’s too cold to walk or wait for the bus (and taking a cab is too expensive to do as often). If you do decide it’s worth it to brave the cold and head to the bar, ONLY (and I cannot emphasize this enough) bring the money you want to have spent at the end of the night. DO NOT bring your wallet with credit, debit cards and lots of cash, because although you know that you can only afford to spend $30 all night you may likely lose this inhibition, and having full access to your bank account and credit card will only increase the chances of you breaking your budget.

Remember, summer is coming at the end of this semester, so if you can live without new clothes (you’re wearing a winter jacket most of the time anyway), deal with the slow laptop, and save the eating out and going out for just a couple months, then it will save you a lot of money and a lot of stress. Don’t panic, all students have to pay for their lack of budgeting and too many nights out from the fall semester, and little things like used books and home-cooking can allow you to focus on getting essays done early and proof read this time rather than picking up extra shifts and overtime even though it’s the night before a midterm (which, take it from me, never results in an A).

Contributor: Christi H
Student at University of Guelph

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angelajohn wrote:	The information is correct enough for me. <a href="http://www.sociaclubix.com">Facebook App Development</a> Posted on Apr 04, 2012 at 03:05
torina wrote:	I should better work (and earn money!!!) that write their unnecessary stuff, like essays or same! it takes tooo much time(( using something like that! http://buyessay.org aha) Posted on Mar 31, 2011 at 04:55
Mandyfuller wrote:	Great ideas that hopefully will be put into use before the starvation mode hits!Why do we all think we are smarter until we are suffering too. lol Posted on Jan 26, 2011 at 03:07
LHambling1 wrote:	Taking the bus to school saved me so much cash on gas and parking passes! Posted on Jan 05, 2011 at 03:40

 

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