Tips for student survival

All groups of students are affected by debt: full-timers, part-timers, mature agers, school leavers. Probably the only group that is exempt is made up of those are working full-time, but they have a big problem with time management rather than money.

While the picture looks bleak, there are four rules to survival.

Rule 1 — Face facts

Rule 2 — Adjust the facts to suit you

Rule 3 — Work out where the money will come from

Rule 4 — How to cope with fiscal flame-out

What graduates say about saving money

Rule 1 — Face facts

There are more things that demand money than you might think. The main ones are as follows:

• Housing
• Transport
• Food
• Clothes
• Fun
• CSP or full fees
• TAFE and Registered Training Organisation tuition fees
• Amenities and service fees
• Course expenses
• Childcare.

One thing that catches many people out is the expenditure at the beginning of the year or semester when you're buying books, paying student union fees (these are now voluntary though), setting up in a new house or flat, and so on.

Rule 2 — Adjust the facts to suit you

Although there are some costs you can't get away from, many of these expenses — or at least the magnitude of the loss and cost involved — depend on you. You can decide:

• Where to live. The thing that makes the biggest difference is whether you need to pay rent. While many school leavers can choose to live in their parents' homes, there is probably no such option for many mature age students. However, if you have to rent there are also significant differences between cities (Sydney is the most expensive; Hobart is cheapest) and between cities and country towns (most, but not all, country towns are cheaper than cities). Living on or near campus cuts transport costs.
• The type of place you choose. Whether you study at uni or TAFE in a government subsidised place or at uni or a private institution paying full fees.
• The course you do. Course fees vary, not just between different types of institutions, but also different fields of study.
• To live cheap and shop smart. Preparing your own food is cheaper than eating out. Op shops are cheaper than Target and Target is cheaper than most other shops. Libraries are the cheapest place for books, then second-hand stalls, then book shops. And so on.
• What you can put up with. This does depend a lot on who you are and what you are used to. Adults who have been earning for a few years find it particularly hard to do without.

Rule 3 — Work out where the money will come from

Check out Student income.

Rule 4 — Know how to cope with fiscal flame-out

If it all gets too much you can:

• Borrow some (more) money.
• Change living arrangements (move back home?).
• Go part-time (and earn some money).
• Pull out for a while (and earn some money).

Note that the third and fourth of these options require permission from the institution you're studying at.
Many students find that a discussion with the campus counsellor helps. It can help you get clear about the problem and the options, and often things just feel better because they have been talked about.

What graduates say about saving money

See if the uni library has a copy of your required textbook because sometimes other students don't even bother to check and you end up being able to have it for the whole year/semester for free. – Emily, bachelor of media studies

Get a bike – it's cheaper to live closer to the city and ride everywhere than live further out and pay the costs of running and registering a car. – Jane, bachelor of arts

Bring your lunch from home as often as possible: make it the night before or bring leftovers. You might not think that a sandwich is that pricey, but it all adds up, especially if you're buying your lunch every day. – Sonia, bachelor of arts

If you have to sit on the phone to Centrelink for half an hour sorting out your student entitlements, use a payphone or a landline not your mobile. – David, bachelor of science

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