{"id":2067,"date":"2011-04-06T19:47:34","date_gmt":"2011-04-07T00:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/?p=2067"},"modified":"2017-11-19T18:58:26","modified_gmt":"2017-11-19T23:58:26","slug":"watching-your-debts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/?p=2067","title":{"rendered":"Watching your debts"},"content":{"rendered":"

MATTHEW DI NICOLANTONIO<\/span><\/p>\n

Teenagers headed off to university face challenges adapting to their new lifestyle in everything from finding new friends to learning a new city. <\/span><\/p>\n

One element of that change that can sometimes be overbearing is finances.\u00a0 If students move away from home, they may receive less financial support from their parents, as well as increased living and entertainment expenses.\u00a0 It\u2019s just one more thing to add to a growing list of stresses in a new life.<\/p>\n

John Stipetic, branch manager for Scotiabank on the Carleton University campus in Ottawa, says there is help for students easing into their new situation to ensure they make good decisions with their money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe offer full student bank accounts,\u201d says Stipetic \u201cwhich offers students the opportunity to have a full-service bank account, with a highly reduced rate to what a working individual would.\u201d<\/p>\n

BANKS ARE YOUR FRIENDS?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Stipetic says the presence of trained financial advisors in all bank branches is another way to help individuals who feel they need the guidance of a professional.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can meet with individuals and discuss one-on-one the availability of different investments and offer some advice and direction,\u201d he says. \u201cWe would have to speak to the individual and find out what their particular needs are.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the best ways for students to manage their finances, says Stipetic, is to avoid activating a credit card and incurring debt during their time at university.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best advice I can offer any student is, if you can graduate debt-free, you\u2019re in a much better situation than graduating with high debt load.\u201d<\/p>\n

While many students use the services available on campus (Stipetic says the branch\u2019s busiest month of the year for new accounts is September, the start of the school year), there are some who feel confident enough to figure things out on their own.<\/p>\n

Tyler Brooks, 22, a fourth-year history major at Carleton, says he maps out a plan at the beginning of each school year, deciding how much to allocate to each aspect of living and studying away from home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sit down and plan for the next eight months based on how much funding I\u2019m getting, and how much I plan to work,\u201d says Brooks, who earns about $260 per week at his part-time job at the university library. \u201cI usually aim low so it works out to more money, if I get more hours.\u201d<\/p>\n

STICKING TO YOUR BUDGET<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brooks says that he has never sought the advice of a financial planner, but agrees with Stipetic\u2019s idea of carrying as little debt as possible.\u00a0 He follows this practice very carefully, and claims to not put more than $200 per month on his credit card.\u00a0 Even then, he says he pays it off every couple of days after spending, weeks before the bill is due.<\/p>\n

He also sets aside about $360 a month for rent, $200 per month for food, and roughly $50 per month for entertainment. The latter is the section that is most difficult to follow, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sometimes difficult to stick to it, because certain variables come up,\u201d he says.\u00a0 \u201cWhen I grocery shop, I tend to aim for items that are on sale, but sometimes you have to stray away from packaged foods and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be difficult to not go over the budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most students might not be as comfortable with that type of project, however, and banks are prepared to help students along.\u00a0 Stipetic says that Scotiabank offers seminars on campus to educate students on such topics as directions for investments, such as RESPs, as well as things to consider before becoming a homeowner.\u00a0 This is also practical for students who have lived in residence for their first year of education, then plan to move off campus.<\/p>\n

Saving money, and learning how to spend it best, is not a black-and-white scenario.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no set amount we recommend you should save, especially as a student, who are on very tight, confined budgets,\u201d says Stipetic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really is a matter of what works best for the individual.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Next to time management, the most important thing that a student can learn is how to manage his or her finances. Everyone thinks they can do it until they get to the end of the month with an empty bank account.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,5],"tags":[240],"class_list":["post-2067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-personal-finance-2011","tag-matthew-dinicolantonio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/158"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2067"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3570,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067\/revisions\/3570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cusjc.ca\/ottawainsight\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}