School’s Out for the Summer

Toronto ON -- School's out for the summer and for many students' it means working full-time for four months in order to earn enough for next year's tuition. According to Statistics Canada full-time students in undergraduate programs paid on average $5,138 in tuition fees in 2010/2011 compared with $4,942 or 4.0 per cent more than a year earlier. Ontario had the highest increase for the 2010/2011 school year at 5.4 per cent or $6,307. These figures do not take into account books, living expenses, transportation or food.

"Students need well-paying summer positions to afford a post-secondary education in Canada today," says Jeffrey Schwartz, executive director, Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada, Inc. "As important, they need to understand how to budget their earnings to last for their school year and not have to mortgage their education by taking out loans or using lines of credit."

Tracking fixed (tuition and rent), flexible (books, food and utilities) and fun spending during the current school year will help students determine how much they need for 2011/2012. It is important to take a hard look at the flexible and fun areas for opportunities to reduce or eliminate expenses. Students can rent rather than buy textbooks from BookMob.ca. There are even a number of online tools available to help students on a budget manage their money. Consolidated Credit has free resources available on their website including the booklet 'Budgeting101: Your Money Guide for Getting Through School,' an iPhone Budgeting App, and Income and Expense Worksheets to track expenses.

Living on or near campus students tend to frequent the fast food restaurants, local coffee shops or cafeteria in-between classes. These are the places students are likely to spend the most cash. Schwartz also recommends "changing free time habits to help students curb their appetite for spending and focus on having their money last the entire school year."

Students are also encouraged to research every possible avenue to acquire additional funding for their education. Consolidated Credit recommends visiting Studentawards.com, a free scholarship matching service devoted to helping Canadian high school, college and university students by providing information about scholarships, bursaries, grants, fellowships and other forms of financial assistance. Studentawards.com has posted excerpts from Consolidated Credit's free money management pamphlets and useful links from our website.

About Consolidated Credit Counseling of Canada, Inc.:

Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada is a national non-profit credit counselling organization that teaches consumers about personal finance. Consolidated Credit's unbiased debt-counselling service offers alternatives to help people get their debts under control. Alongside assisting with consolidating payments, Consolidated Credit experts focus on education and understanding. Strategies include teaching basic but vital concepts such as how to budget, understanding credit and how to manage money.

Consolidated Credit also offers a free web-based budget and debt analysis tool and a plethora of website resources for people interested in learning more about debt and credit on their own, including tips on smart spending, buying a car, taking out a student loan and a survival guide for holiday spending. Its online learning centre offers free personal finance education booklets, financial calculators, resources, tips and suggestions. Also offered is a free iPhone and iPod budgeting application, which can be used to manage expenses on-the-go.

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School’s Out for the Summer

Students must find well-paying summer jobs and learn budgeting techniques to afford their 2011/12 tuition