Job Hunting

I'm still not done my studies here. School isn't quite finished yet--three essays, a report, and three exams to write--all of which are due NEXT WEEK. I kid you not; I don't quite understand these Brits sometimes.

But I digress.

A week from now (eight days to be exact) I will (hopefully) be writing the last exam of my bachelor degree. Then I will spend two magnificent weeks traveling through London, Paris, Rome, and Madrid before I return to England and pack up my things to fly back home. To Canada. At which point I will be confronted with the fact that I AM UNEMPLOYED. Scary.

So I started the job hunt recently and found a short, summer contract for students. It's right up in my field and located close to my home. Even though the pay is dismal (it's half of what I made at my last job) it would be a good job to have since I could start right when I get back while I search for something long term. The problem is that they want the person to start right now, and I can't do that. I explained that in my cover letter and shot my resume at them anyway... To which I got a reply that I'd been selected for an interview. Scheduled for next week. I explained once again that I'm not able to come in for an interview so soon since I'm overseas. We'll see what comes of it.

Wise Financial Decisions in College

I was randomly surfing the internet when I came across a post on wise financial decisions in college by I've paid for this twice already. The two smart decisions she says she made included not using credit cards and only getting student loans to pay for tuition. I started to think about what smart moves I've done financially while in university.

1. Avoiding leases like the plague.
I only signed a lease once during my university stint, and that was on purpose in order to learn about the tenant/landlord minefield. Apart from that one time, I never signed a lease. Leases generally carry a minimum duration of 12 months, and I was never at school for the whole year. Instead, I scoured rent ads for people who wanted lease takeovers and subletters. That way, I negotiated the duration of the lease to only be for the length of time I needed, and sometimes I would also bargain to have internet included in the monthly rent. (I think a lot of people go about this unethically, but I tried to be as fair as possible and not a bully).

2. Working full-time jobs in between classes.
Whenever I wasn't a full time student I was employed full time (except for one summer where I went to a few developing countries to do volunteer work). The money that I made from each of these jobs went first to my tuition, then to paying off student loans. After that I used my money to pay for fun stuff.

3. Setting financial goals.
I never, ever would have been able to tackle my finances if I had never started university with the goal of paying for it myself and walking away without debt. Yes, I still have debt now, but it's my choice (because I opted not to use my money to pay off my loans just yet). That's incredible freedom that I have.

Maybe in a few years I will look back and add a few other things I think were smart decisions.

Cost of Safety

Most things I'm pretty cheap about. I don't like paying more than I have to for cotton pads to clean my face, which is saying something since I've already mentioned before how much my skin needs help.

However, I'd be willing to pay good money to catch the sick guys who sexually assaulted two girls at York University. Same for the guy at Carleton, because the kind of torment that he put that girl through? That's enough for him to deserve having his balls cut off. Slowly. And then having his balls fed to wild dogs.

I'm mentioning this on my blog because I am so, so angry at those guys. It isn't right, and I'm beyond outraged. To them I ask, was it really worth it?

Even though I move very often to save money on rent, I always pick places I think are safe and have my parents come and take a look around to see if they like it. They've often encouraged me to pay that extra $100 a month for their own peace of mind. I always griped about it, but after all, they were right.

I'm also still deciding about where I'm going to live while on my exchange. The school I am going to is bigger and nearly not as safe. My friend went there last year, and she told me it's not the kind of place where you can walk around at night. I was talking to another girl who came on exchange to my school from France, and she said she was astounded at how quiet things are here, and she used to take the opportunity to walk to the grocery store in the evening, astounded that she could.

A few of the residences I looked at for my term abroad are in a rather unsafe neighbourhood. I decided on another residence that is in a safer location. I might have to get a bus pass just from the stories I've heard about students getting mugged, walking on the way home, at the school I'm going to. But some things are more important than money.

I Sold Some Textbooks!

Like the title says, I sold some textbooks. I bought them for $96 + tax a year ago and sold them for $82. That's $14 depreciation in one year... Not too bad, I think. I don't think I could get better dollar on textbooks.

I'm hoping to sell some more but I have to figure out how to offload them. I just hate the fact that they come out with new editions all the time to make more money and screw us students over with obsolete editions that aren't used and can't be sold.

A Family Meeting, a Twist, Where Next?

The other day I sat down with my parents and talked about where we would like to be a year from now, financially and otherwise. I brought up the idea of graduate studies or the possibility of working full time. Of course, if I continue with school, I'll pay for it myself.

My parents have always told me ever since I was young that they would like to live with me through their retirement. So I kind of made plans for that. I assumed that we would keep the family home. I thought I would move back home after university and give my parents a monthly contribution to support them through their retirement. But I'd also get to live rent free... So you could consider it giving my parents rent, if you want to think of it that way.

Apparently, I was wrong. (?!)

My parents told me that they are thinking about selling the house (!) and moving (!) far away (!).

I had not anticipated this!

My parents told me I am welcome to move with them, but this is my home now. I don't want to move away from this place. So now, I don't know. A year from now I might not be living here. I might have to find a place to live around here. What I do know is that I still have to make monthly contributions to my parents though.

Now I'm really thinking--downpayment on a place of my own? Renting? What's next?

My parents said that if I wanted to pursue graduate studies, that they would rather I do it right away (they are firm believers that you should never take gaps in between studies) and that they would hang on to the house so I could live here until I was done. Still, I don't know.

If I get a place of my own, I have to figure out how much I need, what kind of place I want, what I can afford, how much I can save, and what's my timeline. And it'll be hard since I'll be giving my parents a monthly contribution too.

If I go to school, I won't be able to give my parents any money. They may feel obligated to keep the house so I can live here while going to school.

If I get a job... Oh wait! Is anybody even willing to hire me?

Man, life after graduation is going to be more complicated.

Wow, It's Been Awhile

A lot has happened! In the last week I have...

- finished my summer job
- moved out of my summer apartment (car rental + gas = $140)
- started my new job

I'm still waiting for backpay from my former employer (no direct deposits so I have to wait until they mail me the money). I also just started my new job so I have to wait a bit until I start getting paid. That means that right now, I'm in limbo and can't make any other move towards the student loans or exchange savings.

I actually don't need to take any classes this term because I took so many extra ones that I have enough credits. However, I'm thinking about taking some extra classes at night and working full time during the day. Everyone I've talked to about this say it may not be a good idea--I commute for two to three hours everyday to and from work, and going to school at night may wear me down a little bit too much. Also, if I take these classes, I may not be able to graduate debt free. BUT these classes may really help me because they are in my field and I can apply what I learn to my job during the day... I am leaning towards taking one or two classes so that's a maximum of two nights (six hours) a week. I think the return on this kind of debt will be good.

Average Debtload of Students

I just came across some statistics about student debt loads. Apparently, the average debt of a bachelor degree receipient is $19 500. For college graduates, the average debt load at graduation is $12 600.

My debt load right now is actually startlingly close to that figure. But I hope that when I graduate, that debt load will be much, much closer to $0. (You can't get much closer to 0 than 0! Just kidding.)

I also read that the average cost of tuition for a four year undergraduate program in Canada is $17 000. Now, I'm not sure I agree with this figure. None of my friends are paying that little for undergraduate programs--even the cheaper, regulated programs. Just looking at my friends, (yes, I ask them how much they pay in tuition), the figure that all of us are looking at for tuition for four years is between $24 000 to $40 000, depending on the program. This is for tuition alone, so not including textbooks, rent, transportation, and other stuff.

Just thought that was interesting to compare myself and my friends to what statistics say is the average across Canada right now. (I'm rather surprised that, unlike typical Canadian fashion, these debt statistics aren't aggregated according to geography or program. Like, for instance, we typically note that tuition is highest out east, so why calculate the average debt load for the whole country and not province by province?)

I Finished My Undergraduate Thesis!!

Oh, what a day this is!

I finally finished my undergraduate thesis! What a happy day!

Now, the reason why I'm posting this on my pf blog is because I want to reward myself for finishing my thesis. In fact, an hour after finishing it, I had the urge to go out and buy myself a pair of jeans and a top. In order to stop myself from spending that much money, I treated myself to a coffee (much cheaper) and went straight home to read pf blogs and mull it over.

On the one hand, I have been working so hard at my thesis, and I want to reward myself. But why must a reward involve spending money and buying things? I thought it wouldn't matter, but I have been sitting around, thinking about how much I want a pair of jeans and a shirt that I saw at the mall. You'd think I would've given up by now and dropped the subject. But my mind is trying to justify it, going, "you deserve it! You finished your thesis! And it has been eight long months of hard work and stress in order to finish it!" What's more is the fact that it was an optional course that I did not have to take. (Can you not hear the desperation in my voice?)

I've mentioned before that I pay attention to my emotions in order to curb my spending, but wow, I don't know. I didn't think that my spending habits were thisclose to my emotions.

/edit: An update on the whole thesis reward: I got myself a pair of Tommy Hilfiger jeans, regularly priced at $80 but reduced to $22.

How I Save Money as a Student

Other websites tend to have these top ten tips for students on how to save money, and I find that they all say practically the exact same thing: have potlucks instead of dining out! Make sure you buy used textbooks instead of new ones! Don’t sign up for those credit card deals at the student union!

While these tips aren’t bad, per se, I find them practically useless. If you are a student and you really want to make a dent in your debt, then you have to take care of the big ticket items. I find that if you focus your efforts on the big things, then the little things will sort themselves out.

Instead of having tips for other people on how to save money, (I have no authority on this issue, I’m just a pf blogger and a student), I’m just going to write down ways that I save money while in school.

#1: Sublet instead of rent
This is the main way I save money. Rather than signing one year leases, I only sign sublets instead. Yes, that’s right, I move every four months of the year, for a total of three addresses per year. But I get great, affordable rates on housing all the time. I have bargaining power since people usually want to get sublets off their hands as fast as possible (I don't exploit it though). Even better yet is the knowledge that I won’t be forced to pay rent for time I won’t be living there. (I have a friend who moved after school was done, but he still had a lease. He couldn’t find a subletter and ended up paying a couple thousand dollars for a place he wasn’t living in.) Yeah, it’s a pain in the butt to keep moving houses, but that’s how I keep my costs down and I’ve gotten used to it. I’m now an Olympic speed packer.

#2: Take extra classes, save on tuition
At my school, I get a discount for courses I take over the maximum courseload. That means I pay a set amount for five classes, and then a discounted sixth. I’ve done this consistently and now I can actually graduate after 3.5 years instead of 4, all done at a discounted price! (I won’t be graduating early though because I’m going to take my time anyway). This one is a little tricky because it is harder to keep grades up. But it’s doable.

#3: Prolong those tuition payments—pay by installments
Some schools are ok with students paying in installments, or waiting until after they get their student loans. I find that colleges aren’t ok with this, but universities are. Note that these extensions on payments don’t have any late fees or interest attached to them; they’re just for students who need some time for their student loans to come in. Why pay the school on time when you can let it accrue interest? It’s not for everybody, though. It takes discipline to keep those thousands of dollars in a bank account and not touch it since it’s earmarked for tuition.

#4: Find the cheapest possible transportation home
Greyhound has lots of great student fare deals available. There’s the companion fare, for those times when there's a buddy to split costs with. Booking two weeks in advance gets another discount. Buying ten of them at the start of the year gets a lower price overall instead of buying them individually on the day of the trip. VIA Rail also has a similar option. I also carpool sometimes, which is the BEST way to go. Nothing like a car ride with some of your best friends for a good time. (I give them some money for gas and/or treat them to a burger).

#5: Stay in the same program/school
I have a few friends who have transferred to other programs or schools. The problem is that credits don’t usually transfer that well, and so my friends have to retake classes or take extra terms. That means extra costs to graduate.

#6: Get a job
There are so many ways to do this—summer jobs, working part time in school, co-op programs, internships, and apprenticeships. There are so many jobs looking for students. It’s a great way to develop a work ethic and enter the work force while saving some money to pay for school. This is good as long as the work hours don’t exceed 20 hrs per week for a full-time student, since it could decrease academic performance. I didn't work in the beginning, but I certainly made up for it from second year onwards. It's the only way I can keep up with my debt.

#7: Wait until the 2nd or 3rd week of class to buy textbooks
I don’t know about other students, but not all of my professors necessarily teach out of the textbooks they list as required reading. Usually it’s hard to tell whether the textbook is necessary or not until a few classes in when I listen for the prof to refer to the textbook. Better than getting a used textbook is not getting a textbook at all! Another variation of this is going to the library and only reading the chapters I need.

These are just some of the things that I focus on to keep my costs down... There are probably more but I don't remember them now. Please leave a comment if you have any other ideas!

The Cost of a Nap is $12.23/hr

A lot of students in school (myself included) like to sleep in and miss their morning classes. Heck, a lot of students like to sleep through their afternoon classes. And let’s not forget evening classes either…

My friend used to do this a lot, and I always yelled at him. What is the point of studying in university if you are going to be napping through your classes? In order to threaten him into going to classes, I asked him to calculate the ‘cost’ of his naps.

I calculated it today, and it’s actually $12.23 per hour. So a three hour class that meets each week would be $12.23 x 3 hrs for $36.69 per week.

Even worse than that cost, I think, is the amount of invaluable information that I would miss if I missed my classes. I try not to miss any classes because I learn best by listening to someone speak for a few hours rather than reading the information. It inevitably shows up on the final exam anyways. Even worse yet is the possibility of spending so much money on school and then flunking out—then what do you have to show for your debt? Not to say that napping through one or two classes will flunk you out, but the missing class adds up financially and takes a hit on you academically.