By Calli Gregg A s a student of Acadia University going into my second year of business, it was a shock when I realized what the costs were going to be for my education. Yes, my parent’s told me and yes, the university covered all the costs during my many trips to campus before registering at Acadia. However, it was not until the end of my first year did I totally understand the true cost of my education, when you include books, supplies, clothing and social spending. Social spending is my term for just about everything that is not directly related to school, but when you add it all up my university costs were just over $22, 000, which was about $2000 higher than that of the average student in Canada living on campus and more than twice what a student living at home and going to university will spend on education. As a second-year student I recommend a few things to help you save on the cost of your education because govern- ment loans, lines of credit, student credit cards and even the bank of Mom and Dad only go so far and will at some point have to be paid back. If the option is available to live with your parents while attending university this can go a long way to reducing your education cost. In saying that, I believe that every student should spend their first year on campus as it is an excellent opportunity to meet new people, experience campus life and get a full understanding of what the university offers its students. Then if the option is available you can save money by living at home, if home happens to be Wolfville, it would save you about $13,000 a year if you are staying in a single room with a meal plan.
If living at home is not an option, then opting for a shared room versus a single room can help you reduce costs or as many students do after meeting new friends in their first year look for off campus housing which can greatly reduce your education costs for the next three years and reduce your university-related debt when you graduate between $10,000 and $50,000. I also recommend that you set a budget for social spending and stick to it. Yes it is hard, but remember if you are not working during the school year it has to last from late August until mid April. So, track your spending and keep an eye on your money so that you make informed decisions about spending and make the necessary trade-offs to socialize and other spending to keep debt to a minimum. If possible, create an emergency fund and that is not a phone call to Mom and Dad. Set aside a small amount between $500 to $1,000 to pay for emergencies. Once you graduate start paying down your debt as soon as possible. Using many of the same skills that you used to control debt in school can carry over to your post-grad- uate life. Make a plan to pay off debt and stay with it and if possible living at home can help you achieve this goal quicker. Sure, once you graduate you want to get out into the big world, but as my Dad, who also went to Acadia Uni- versity, says live at home and pay off your university debt, then you can focus on your life and not carry your education debt around with you in your later adult years when you are looking to buy a house and start a family of your own.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • AUGUST 2018
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