Students: Thanksgiving's coming up and it's a good time to talk turkey about money
Feel confident about your finances so you can focus on your post-secondary dreams.
Are you feeling financial pressure while studying in Canada? Well, you've got company.
According to a recent survey by TD, 65% of Canadian post-secondary students surveyed define themselves as financially unstable, and nearly half (45%) are straight-up unable to cover basic needs like housing and groceries.
If this sounds like you, consider Thanksgiving break as a good time to take a close look at your financial situation, and see how some free tools available can help you to figure out your budget and finances. So, what can you do?
TD’s survey also found that 64% of students polled have some form of a budget to track their monthly expenses but less than half (41%) are able to actually stick to it. There's no need to be afraid of the "b" word. Budgets may seem overwhelming, but they can also help. You can try the TD Student Budget Calculator to help you add up your expenses for the school year.
When you enter your tuition, textbook costs, rent, savings, loans and more, the tool can provide you with insight into how much money you'll spend living and studying, and knowledge is power (but you knew that, or you wouldn't be at post-secondary school, smarty pants).
If your parents are like the 94% in TD's survey who help their children cover the associated costs of studying, they'll love this tool too. During Thanksgiving break, you can sit down together and figure out strategies to better manage your money through uni.
The 50/30/20 rule, suggests allocating 50% of your budget to essential expenses, 30% to wants and fun things, and 20% to savings. You can even do this through a pre-authorized transfer or Simply Save, so you can set it and forget it. You can customize these percentages and categories to your situation, but it's a great place to start.
Another budgeting method that can be helpful is "cash envelopes". While you don't have to use literal envelopes and cash (unless you want to), the idea is that you allocate a certain amount of money to each category (groceries, rent, phone bills, etc.) per month. When the money is spent, you have to wait until more comes in before you can spend again.
Whatever you do, this Thanksgiving can be a great opportunity to indulge in more than just a delicious turkey dinner. Use this break to take what you've learned about the cost of university to consider making smarter choices about money for next semester and beyond.
And of course, make use of free, easy tools like TD’s Student Advice Hub and the TD Student Budget Calculator.