The financial decisions students make leading up to starting post-secondary education might involve a few to even thousands of dollars. They’re taking the first steps toward financial independence and the choices are not always clear cut.

When it comes to evaluating your finances for school, you need all of the help and guidance you can get from family members, friends who have gone through the process and other experts in the field.

A leading provider of RESPs in Canada, Children’s Education Funds Inc. has helped many families find the right RESP for their unique financial needs. To help young people learn how to take control of their finances and save funds for education, Children’s Education Funds reviews savings tips every student should know.

Getting Started

The important thing about saving for education after high school is getting started and then sticking with it. After all, the journey always begins with a single step. Families can set up some type of education savings investment as early as possible to help offset the costs of post-secondary education down the road. The hardest part of saving is often knowing where to begin.

Managing Your RESP

Speaking of education savings tools, it’s helpful for Canadians to understand registered education savings plans or RESPs and how they work. Some of the benefits of starting an RESP include the fact that your savings will grow tax-deferred and will benefit from government grants.

Combat the Cost of Living on Campus

Even before orientation, you will make financial decisions that will affect your future life on campus. For instance, will you live in the dorms with a meal plan or live at home? At some point in your university career, you will have to learn how to split living costs and household duties with roommates. Additionally, you will need to think about transportation and weigh the costs of having a car or using public transit if necessary.

Budgeting Basics

While you may adopt money management techniques from the adults in your life, you will eventually want to develop your own money style. To do so you need to learn the basics, like how to plan for emergencies, pay bills and how to create a budget. First, determine the amount of money you expect to have for the semester. Then, look at the past couple of months and see where you spend your money. Finally, make a needs and wants list. Things like food, school supplies and transportation can go in the needs column. Expenditures like concert tickets, pizza deliveries or cable would fall into the wants column.

Make sure to take care of the things you need to be a successful post-secondary student first and then you can move on to enjoy the extra activities Once you have a budget in place and stick to it you will become a better money manager and on your way to financial freedom after graduation.

Published: 2020-03-03 22:04:25