Living With Money

I’m starting school again in ten days. This is my eighth year of post-secondary education, and as I get my ducks in a row, making lists of what still needs to be done and fretting about my student loan, I’ve been thinking about the stuff I didn’t know when I started. Stuff that would’ve saved me time & money. Stuff no one told me, and that I didn’t read anywhere before I was dropped off in front of a pink granite jelly-mold of a building, and suddenly had to be an adult.

This pink granite jelly-mold, to be exact.

If I could go back in time and hand my 18-year-old self a booklet of tips on living a better financial life while at school, these would be in it:

1. Move out of residence after first year

Okay, people told me this. But their reasons were about my social life, not about cold hard cash. No one told me that a) colleges and universities frequently charge more for a dorm room than you’ll pay for a bedroom in a shared flat and b) at least in Ontario, Canada, where I live, you can’t declare your dorm room residence fee as rent on your taxes.

(For comparison’s sake, about the last item: my total annual rent costs for off-campus housing in Toronto are 7K; on my last tax return, this got me $400 in tax credits. If I had lived in residence, no matter how much I’d paid in residence fees, I would’ve received $25 in tax credits per semester.)

Like most pieces of advice, this isn’t one-size-fits-all. If you plan to move home to your parents’ house every summer, you should stay in residence, because the school plans on you moving out in May or June, and no one will yell at you about breaking leases.

Also, if you’re taking a really intense program and it’ll reduce stress to be near the library, labs, offices, or whatever, then you should stay in residence.

Last, if you get offered an RA job, stay in residence. Free rent is the best kind of rent.

For most of us, though, living off-campus saves money on rent and food (it’s hard to cook in a dorm; plus many universities have rules about mandatory meal plans, which end up being more expensive than making your own meals), means you move far less than you do if you live in residence, and gives you a headstart on figuring out all kinds of housing stuff which you had no idea you didn’t know about.

2. Forget used: you might not have to buy your books at all

I discovered last year – only last year! After seven years of uni! — that all my textbooks had been placed in the short-term loan library. It turned out there were also copies in the department offices, which I could sign out for a three-hour window.

Also, on top of the university holdings, Toronto, where I live, has one of the largest public library systems in the world, with 99 branches and an incredible transfer service. I can order the books I want online, specify what branch I’d like them transferred to, and they’re usually there within three business days. The system automatically sends me an email notification once the books are ready for pick-up.

Granted, I still buy a lot of my books, and I’ve got a whole slew of tricks to find used copies. But I’m buying because I want to – I could not bother and still have access to the material I need.

3. You don’t need to wash all your clothes every time you wear them

I realized this the year that I was editing a campus newspaper. It was a 60 hour a week job (yes, I was being paid; no, I wasn’t trying to carry a full class load), the nearest laundromat was a 30 minute walk from my apartment, and I had no time to get anything done. I bought three weeks worth of underwear, started spot-cleaning my pants when necessary, and left my t-shirts to soak overnight in soapy water. And every three weeks, I’d call a taxi, cram the backseat full of duffel bags, and spend four hours doing laundry.

From this experience I learned a) never again to live in an apartment without on-site washers & dryers and b) jeans don’t get dirty for a long time.

4. Be ruthless about not collecting stuff

For most people, being in school means moving a lot. If you’re living in residence, you’re moving twice a year. If you’re living off-campus, you’re probably sharing housing, and households break up. Take me, for example: I’m 29, I’ve lived in Toronto eleven years, and in that time I’ve lived in ten apartments and had 25 roommates.

When you have to move, the only thing that makes it better — apart from enthusiastic help from family and friends — is having a limited number of boxes to carry.

Learn to let stuff go. If you’re not using something, sell it, freecycle it, or donate it to Goodwill. And try not to pick up crap you won’t use.

5. Always, always ask for a student discount

I shopped at my favourite knitting store for years before I realized they offered a ten percent student discount. Both yoga studios I use give student discounts. My hairdresser charges students 50% less. I book flights through a student travel agency that often gets up to half off regular plane prices. All the second-run theatres in town offer deals if you’re in school, as the museums and galleries, do several of the sports supply stores. And “I’d like to get both of these, but I’m a student and can’t really afford them,” is a good haggling tactic.

Put aside your shyness on this front. No one with twelve thousand dollars in student loans (or more) can afford to not take advantage of every deal their student card gets them.

6. Network. And don’t be a snob about it.

You know who knows stuff you don’t about potential moneymakers and moneysavers?

Everyone.

Your profs know about scholarships that you should apply for. There’s someone on the groundskeeping staff who has a friend in need of an occasional babysitter. The guy in your bio class hosts a study group that gets complimentary meals from someone’s mom. One of your TAs is recruiting subjects for a psychological study that will pay $50 for three hours of your time.

And you might have information that they could use, too.

In sum, knowing people and being of value to them will uncover surprising opportunities. Don’t be a hermit during school. Make friends and meet people of all stripes. It will pay both now and later – maybe not in a cashy money way, but who knows?