Try Free Before Paying

Very often when we want something, we go straight for what we think is best quality or the ‘best’ choice for us, without looking at the expense.  After all, why pay $25 for something that is mediocre when we can get something really good for $32? The other argument is that you may not want to spend $25 to later find out you need the extra that the $32 device offers.  However, if you could try something for free, you would not be out any money if you changed your mind about buying something.

Often what we want is available for free.  Maybe not exactly what we want, but a good substitute, and for no money!  Even though they may not be what you want, the savings are tremendous and if you later choose to buy something, your first trial would have cost you nothing.

Here are a few examples of what you should try for free before spending money.

- Apps for your phone.  Often there are less fancy equivalents to non-free apps; they the free one first and only when they do not do the job should you choose a paying one.  And remember that there are many free ones to try for each purpose!

- Information: there are so many sources for free information nowadays, that subscribing to a paper newspaper is almost obsolete (ALMOST).  You can get your news from the internet, the radio, TV, free newspapers, etc.  I still like some paper news once a while, but only when I need to look at something more in depth.  You can really keep track of what is happening in the world without paying a cent.

- Movies; if you want to see a movie that is not recent, why not try borrowing it from the library (the school’s or the city) or a friend or even see if you can get it online (Netflix?) before buying it.  And even though the large video rental stores have closed, there are a few smaller ones still open; renting is cheaper than buying.

- Books: books, including recent ones, are the main focus of city libraries; borrowing a book is no more complicated than going to the library and asking for it.  You can often reserve the book online first and get an email when it is available.  I have a friend who used to say that any book worth reading is worth owning; I disagree.  Many books are worth reading and a few are worth reading multiple times; only the latter are worth purchasing in my opinion.

- A night out: entertainment can often be had for free if you look hard enough.  Many cities offer movies in the park throughout the summer (yes you need to mind your money in the summer too as it affects your overall budget!). Universities often offer performances for free throughout the year – or check out the dress rehearsal! If you volunteer as an usher at the local theatre for the performance nights, you automatically get to see the show the nights you are working.  Libraries often have poetry readings.  A book club will keep you reading and discussing fun books.

- Food: yes, even food can be free, although not all the time (or not enough so you can survive).  Many events, especially in September when many clubs are eager to attract you to join, will offer free food in exchange for you going.  It is NOT dishonest to attend these functions mostly for the food – the clubs expect that, and are offering food to lure people to try a club, or at least consider it.  Unless there is a club you are morally opposed to joining before you visit, ‘club’ hopping for food is perfectly legit. Once you are a bit more advanced in your studies, you may notice that many seminars at your college or university offer free food.  In an engineering department I knew, weekly lunch-time seminars included pizza (1 slice per person) and soda.  At another university, the physiology seminars always had free donuts for the eating (and a few left after the seminar).  Unfortunately for first year students, these are typically of a level reserved for graduate students or at least upper-year students.  Grabbing food and not attending the seminar is not only rude, but professors attending will remember you and your relationship with people grading your assignments or from whom you will later want a reference letter is not good policy.

- Food at the supermarket or from other vendors: although more and more rare, some supermarkets have promotional product demonstrations where you can sample the food for free.  Although this does not constitute a full meal, it’s a great appetizer.  And yes, it is ethical to have some of the samples even if you have no intention to buy the product.  The same often happens at farmer’s market; you won’t get to make a meal from the food, but you’ll get a taste, which is always pleasant. Many products are available for a taste at cultural fairs where vendors present their products.  Check out the local paper for these.  This past weekend, at an art fair, I sampled some dip on crackers, 2 types of local cheddar, shortbread cookies and hot sauce (given to me on a cracker).  Although it was far from a meal, it was fun and it filled my 4 o’clock snack spot!  I also did not feel the need to buy a snack from a vendor since I could taste a few delicious items.

- Clothing: yes, this is a hard one (do you really want your cousin’s old undies?) but some items that will not be worn often can be borrowed for free.  Recently, my daughter lent her prom dress and shoes to a friend who was going this year as the date to someone graduating.  If you let family and friends that you will need a winter coat this season, you may well find one coming your way (used, but warm).  My mom and step-mom both have small feet like me so we often exchange shoes that are still good but that we don’t wear anymore.  As a graduate student, my husband inherited my dad’s old skies so our cost for skiing was considerably reduced.  We even do this now that we have good paying jobs and our own children; I receive many pieces of trendy clothes from my younger sister – and I send her way all my daughter’s clothes when she outgrows it (my nieces are younger).  It’s good all around!

- Furniture and appliances: of course you can get quite a bit from family (see the post of June 19 2014) but even once set up in your dwelling away at school, you should ask friends who live close by if they happen to have the item you are looking for; an extra bookcase may have been left by a previous housemate and is taking too much space at a friend’s place.  I received a very sturdy wooden bookcase for free from a fellow student; I repainted it black to hide the pale pink it was originally.  April, during exams (if you are done yours or need a break) and just after exams, is a perfect time for scouring around the ‘student ghetto’ around your school for free items.  As well, many students bring a toaster or a coffee maker to their first shared house/apartment, so these dwellings often overflow with appliances.  Before buying a new blender, ask your friends if they have too many!  And only if the one you get for free is not adequate should you try to obtain one by a paying method!

Generally, try a free option before opting for a paying one.  You literally have NOTHING to lose!

The Cost of Being Sick

I recently needed some emergency surgery and the recovery gave me some time to ponder about the cost of being ill.  Thanks to the wonderful no-cost-per-use health care system that we enjoy in Canada, I did not have to pay for my stay in hospital, the surgery, and the pain medication I received while there (or the meals for that matter).  However, there were a few financial and personal costs to this unanticipated event.

First, I had to be transported from home to the hospital by ambulance.  If you have never taken an ambulance trip, beware: there is often a cost that is billed to the patient afterwards.  Mine is $45 (obviously that is not the entire cost of an ambulance trip; it’s just the portion charged to the patient).

Second, there were some costs to my family: once admitted for an overnight, I needed some basic supplies: toiletries, reading material for something to do during my recovery, some clean clothing (underwear, shoes) etc.  While these were found easily at my home, it required someone to come to the hospital to visit me (the visit was lovely).  Financial costs included transportation and parking (many hospitals are downtown and parking can be very expensive).  Even without the need for some personal effects, my family (and yours possibly) wanted to visit and make sure I was all right.

Third, once I got back home, I had some prescription medication to take for a few days (your medical insurance from college/university/your parents should cover most of the cost); I could not do anything physically taxing for a while, including cooking (yes, you need to stand to cook and I needed to sit or lie down mostly) which increased our food expenses.  I also had a special diet for a few days (increased food expenses).

Forth, I had to miss a few days of work because of the surgery (even though it was minor surgery, I was ‘lucky’ my time in the hospital was mostly over the weekend – it minimized my missed work time); now as an adult with a job and good work benefits, I did not lose any pay for my sick days.  However, with a job paid by the hour, an hour that you do not work is an hour you are not paid.  If you have to miss some hours at your part-time job, this will hurt you financially.

A close friend broke her leg in university.  Even though all her medical costs were covered (except for the ambulance cost), the cost of the crutches was $25, the plastic cover for the cast had to be purchased in order to bathe (another $25), and she needed a cab to get to classes every day because it was winter (the slippery sidewalks were too dangerous on crutches).

Finally, the time missed from classes will have to be made up in terms of time studying; this can eat up into your work time or your social time.  However, if you are homebound but not feeling too bad, you can study from home.  I was once sick with the flu over a long weekend and while getting better, I decided to avoid my long commute (it was winter too) and avoid other people’s germs.  I stayed home and called the prof of each of my lecture 20 min before the start of the lecture to ask what he was going to cover during class; the professor would tell me, and I would study the same content at the same time in order to stay current.  If I had a break between classes, I would nap.  I did this for an entire week and it really helped me with sleep AND not falling too much behind.

Illness and injuries may be treated for free in Canada, but there is a time and financial cost to having health problems.  Of course many health problems occur with no fault of our own; however, some can be prevented: eat healthy; exercise; get enough sleep – these habits will give your body the immunity it needs to fight viruses and bacteria.  Exercise well, not carelessly, and wear your protective gear, to avoid preventable injuries.  Of course, these precautions will not guarantee perfect health, but at least it will promote it.

I wish you a semester of healthy studying!

Thanksgiving is Coming – Be Thankful!

As Thanksgiving is looming this coming weekend (for us, Canadian, Thanksgiving is October 12 this year – to our American readers, if we waited until November, all our fields would be frozen by then!), some students will be able to go home for the long weekend, and some won’t.

If you go home this coming weekend, be thankful for the family you have and the time you have to enjoy them.  Enjoy a home-cooked meal, hugs from relatives perhaps, and a relatively clean bathroom.

If you cannot be with family this weekend, do not feel lonely.  Be thankful for what you have regardless, and why not enjoy a meal with friends? You are not alone in your situation because for many students, the trip is too expensive to take for 3 days, and the mid-October holiday often means mid-term time too.  Set aside two or three hours on Saturday or Sunday night for dinner (you have to eat, right?) and get together with friends for a shared meal.  You don’t even have to cook!  Prepared entrees can be found in the frozen section of the grocery store and if you organise a pot-luck event, nobody will be stripping their wallet down for the event. You may not be able to get Mom’s pumpkin pie, but you can certainly get a store-bought one or use the recipe at the back of a can of pureed pumpkin; add some real whipped cream (the type in a can that you shake and ‘spray’) or some ice cream, and it’ll feel like Thanksgiving.

There is one thing you can do for another: international students and students from the other side of our beautiful country will most likely not be able to go home.  While organizing your plans for Thanksgiving dinner, why not ensure that everyone you know also has fun plans: invite a student you don’t know so well, just because you suspect he or she won’t have a Thanksgiving dinner.  Invite someone who has not traditionally celebrated Thanksgiving because it was not in their culture to do so.  This person may have their first Thanksgiving dinner with you – and remember it for the rest of their lives.

Finally, if all your friends are going away for Thanksgiving but you are not; if you cannot find another person in your situation and the thought of having a weekend alone is depressing, volunteer.  Many places, such as woman’s shelters, soup kitchen, churches, and the likes need people to help cook and serve Thanksgiving dinner to others.  There, for certain, your presence and your work will be appreciated. 

Most of all, don't feel lonely; you are NOT alone!

The Dirt Cheap Clubs and Activities

Although I keep promoting free activities and not spending any money (or the least amount of it), there is something to be said for joining clubs at your college or university, even if they have a fee attached to them.  Why join a club that charges a fee? Here are a few reasons.

1. Clubs at college and universities in Canada are inexpensive.  VERY inexpensive.  Compared to similar clubs in the community, campus clubs are dirt cheap because they receive funding from the institutions and free use of the facilities.  For example, Queen’s dance club only charges between $55 and 80 for their one-hour dance classes; that’s one hour PER WEEK from September to March!  What a deal (if you are unfamiliar with dance lesson prices, the 45 minute class I signed up my daughter for cost over $300 per school year, and that’s a cheap one).

2. In order to fee happy in your surrounding on campus (whether you are there for the day or you live on or close to campus), you need to be able to enjoy yourself in an activity that does NOT bring a lot of stress (like classes – even if you LOVE math, math classes can bring stress) and where you meet people who share an interest outside of academics.

3. Trying new activities is important in discovering yourself, who you are and what you like.  Post-secondary institutions are typically much larger than high school so there are more choices of activities to try.  For example, you can play sports recreationally in universities, in a club or a league, not just as part of an official university team.  You can also try activities like ballroom dancing; Asian cuisine; and Quidditch.  

4. If you do not spend any time having fun, you will be more likely to go on a shopping spree, go drinking at bars, or join some other activities that will cost you much more money.  Therefore, joining a club is a smart investment into frugality.

5. Many clubs have a try-out period: early in September, you can often try a few classes for free or there may be a welcome session where you can meet club members and eat for free – not a bad deal for just checking out the club!

6. If you feel lost because you feel out of place or very different from everyone else on campus, don’t.  With thousands of people registers at your institution (most likely), there is at least one other person that understands you and can be your friend.  If may be hard to find a few of these people, but if you join a club that promotes your values or what you are interested in (no matter how unique or geeky these are), you will probably find someone you can spend time with.  On most campuses (or would that be ‘campi?’), there are religious associations, cultural associations (Chinese Associations; Indian Associations), and causes-based groups (animal-rights; children wishing foundations; Heart and Stroke raising fund club; etc.).

7. If you cannot afford the low cost of these clubs, do not despair – the ones that charge (even a small amount) do so because they have running costs, such as hiring teachers (for lessons), buying and maintaining equipment (canoes in the outdoors club) or renting out space outside campus (a gymnastics club).  However, most clubs in which members work at raising funds for a charity do not have entry fee – you are a volunteer in the club – so you can join for free.  Clubs like these would be a Cancer-awareness club, a blood drive organisations, etc.  Find a cause that is dear to you and join!

Colleges and universities offer an almost endless variety of clubs and organisations.  They are a fun and inexpensive way to meet similar-minded people and make friends, as well as enjoying an inexpensive hobby.  Go join!

Fixed vs. Variable Expenses and the Wisdom of Gail Vaz-Oxlade

If you are a fan of Gail Vaz-Oxlade and her shows, Money Moron, She’s a Princess, and ‘Till Debt Do Us Part, three TV shows about people who spend foolishly, you already know about the difference between fixed and variable expenses.  A fixed expense is one that does not change from month to month, and therefore over which you do not have much control.  Tuition fees, rent, utilities are pretty much fixed expenses.  However, most of the rest is variable expenses: food; clothing; transportation; entertainment, etc.  Not that these do not exist, but they can be trimmed; usually, there is lots of wiggle room between what we spend in each of these categories and what we need to spend.

Assuming you cannot change the budget of your fixed expenses, you need to look at your variable expenses to bring them down.  First step: write down everything you spend for a week.  Whenever you get home, pull out your receipts and write down what you spent since the last time you were home (home refers to wherever you are staying while at university).  An easy way to do so is to have a pad of paper at the corner of your desk or dresser where you’d typically ‘unload’ your purchases and wallet.  You’ll probably trim your expenses that first week as the week develops and you see on paper how much you are spending and on what – this is the affect I get anyway!

After a week of spending, put items into categories: food; clothes and gifts; entertainment (bars, movies, etc.).  Look at your spending and see if there is an area that is outrageous: do you spend money on restaurants many times a week? Do you use shopping as a hobby instead of when you need something? Is your entertainment spending larger than your share of the rent? If any part of your spending seems unless you have a category which is extremely low on spending (like $5 on gifts), trim it by 20 % and use that as a budget for the following week.  Twenty percent is normally do-able unless you are already very frugal.  Twenty percent is only reducing your food spending from $50 to $40.  For most people, it means reducing some restaurant expenses or fancy coffees.

Many people in Ms. Vaz-Oxlade’s show find that it is not difficult to live on less when they try.  Yes, they miss the shopping and the going out at first, but these are quickly replaced by much cheaper or free activities: you like clothes? Try designing your own on paper, or learn to sew; you like a night of drinking and music? Try it at home and make it BYOB.  Stop eating out; only buy what you can use and need.

And if you have not seen the show (available on Slice cable TV and http://www.slice.ca/til-debt-do-us-part/ ), you may want to watch a couple of episodes.  A few things that Ms. Vaz-Oxlade says in most of her shows:

- There are fixed and variable expenses: you can reduce the variable ones

- If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it

- You should not have consumer debt: the only debt to have is a mortgage (and maybe student loans)

- Shopping is not a hobby

- Make a budget that balances

- If you can’t handle credit and debit cards, learn to live on cash.

Sure, it may be easy to laugh at the mistakes people on her show make, but often we find that we make at least some of the same mistakes.  It’s worth a look at!

The 'Dollar' Store

Dollar stores are popping up everywhere in Canada – there are even chains of them: Dollarama, the Dollar Tree, etc.  They offer very inexpensive stuff and can be very tempting, or off-putting for some.

I have found some very good deal on some things at dollar stores, and yet there are some things I refuse to buy there.  Dollar stores operate, it seems, on getting the cheapest stuff from China and offering it to you at a low price.  Sounds too good to be true? For many items, it’s great.  For others, I tend to be a cynic and would rather pay a bit more in order to ensure I’m getting a higher quality, and perhaps safer, item.

For one thing, I don’t ‘trust’ food containers at dollar stores.  They all come from China, I don’t know the content of the glassware or the plastic that is used and in a word, I’d rather not use it every day.  For containers from which I drink every day, put my lips around, I’d like to ensure, as much as I can, that it does not contain lead and other potentially dangerous chemicals.  So I do not buy lunch containers, glasses, cutlery or other food-container items at the dollar store.  But that’s just me.   For the same reason, I also stay away from most skin care products (soaps, lotions, lipsticks, even nail polish) from the dollar store unless I recognize the brand name (and I usually don’t).  I will also avoid food from the dollar store if I do not recognize the brand name.  After the scare in China with baby formula being contaminated, I don’t trust the Chinese government to have safety checks for my food if it’s not a brand name I recognize (and yes, maybe I should not trust these either – but I’m assuming the large food companies, based in Canada and the USA, have good oversight of what happens in their factories – time will tell if I should or not).

I am, however, very fond of the dollar store for inexpensive paper products like notebooks and index cards, decorations like Halloween décor, craft materials like scrapbooking supplies and embroidery threads, and plastic items that do not touch food directly: plastic baskets to organize ‘stuff’, shower curtains, toilet brushes, etc.  I also find them great for buying hair accessories: metal hair clips are much cheaper than anywhere else and seem to be the same quality as the more expensive ones and hair elastics are great too (and they will be lost before they break in our house!).  I was at one today and found fun stickers that would look great on a laptop computer cover for $1.25, artist’s canvases for less than $4 (probably not the quality required for a fine art major, but fine for a hobbyist), funky patterned Duck Tape (brand name) for $3 (instead of the usual $7) and a shower curtain for $2 (the choice there ranged from $1 to $3 for shower curtains).

My last dislike for dollar stores is that they make me spend more!  What happens is that I typically find all kinds of neat little things at such low price that I pick up a few things that I didn’t really NEED.  Oh, oh, I better stick to my list!

Opt-Out of Extras (and their Fees)

In September, you are expected to pay for many college and university fees.  To ensure that most students will pay most fees and therefore bring their financial support to different organisations o campus, these are ‘bundled’ in one large fee.  In order to not pay all of these, you need to opt-out AFTER you have already paid, and then you get a reimbursement.  If students were asked to opt-in and pay extra fees, most would not do it.

So what fees are mandatory and which ones are optional? Not all the fees you disagree or won’t use the service of are optional.  This is mostly because to get some of the deals the university obtains for students are only valid if the entire student population pays the reduce fee.  This is the case with public transportation: if your university has a public transportation fee, whether you use public transportation or not, you have the pay the fee.  However, many are optional, and you can get a list of optional fees from your university website in most cases.  For example, here is a list of opt-out-able McGill fees: http://www.mcgill.ca/student-accounts/tuition-fees/fee-descriptions . The opt-out period is typically ONLY during a week or two in September and the same in January (for students who were not present in the Fall term); this makes sense as you should make up your mind and not use a service and then change your mind and opt-out.  The organisations or departments your fees support also need to be able to work with a budget!  At McMaster’s, for the 2014-2015 school year, the additional fees (not all of them opt-outable) add up to slightly more than $1000!  That includes many mandatory and expensive fees, such as bus ($138.65), student services fee ($132.60), as well as optional ones such as dental insurance.

What are typical fees you can opt-out of? A series of low fees that support different causes and projects around campus – for example, expect a few $2 to $5 fees for a green energy engineering project, the student food bank, a mature student support group, an on-campus daycare, etc.  These are small fees that add up though – but they are also a nice way to contribute.  Your $2 may not seem like much, but when it adds up with all the student body’s $2, it’s a large part of that group’s funding.  Other fees are much more personal, such as the dental insurance coverage, as well as the medical (read : medication; your medical services are free in Canada) coverage.  At the university of Regina, these two combined (dental and medical) add up to $192.74 for 12 month coverage (Sept 1^st to Aug. 31^st) (http://ursu.ca/services/ursu_health_plan).  Many students, however, are covered by their parents’ insurance until they are 18 as children, and until 25 if they are full-time students.  So, please spend 10-15 minutes reviewing your parents’ policy to see if you really need to pay almost two hundred dollars to get something you already have.

So just before classes start, see if you are eligible for your parents’ medical and dental insurance (if they have some) so you know if you can opt-out of these at school.  Also look up the list of opt-out fees and decide if you want to pay for these or not, and if you want to opt-out, write down the dates of the opt-out period.