Financing An Education

� 2007 By Peter Durant
All Rights Reserved. Printed with Permission

If you're one of the few people who don't have to worry about the cost of your college education, consider yourself very lucky and thank your lucky stars (or rich relatives) that it's not a problem you need to deal with. Most students, however, who are thinking about college tuition, usually don't have all (or any) of their necessary finances in place. It's important to find out what particular means of financial aid are available for you and if they will allow you to balance education costs against your other financial responsibilities.

One of the first things you should do is put together an honest and detailed budget that takes into account your current expenses and your projected education and living expenses. You should also have a figure in mind that will allow you to cover any incidental emergency expenses that may come up. Just because you can't think of what the potential emergency might turn out to be, doesn't mean it won't happen to you. So even if you've never been a boy scout�be prepared. Family and friends can help you create an honest and realistic budget; you may be able to fudge your expenses, but they know you best. Try getting used to this sort of budget plan before you start your courses to make sure the budget is correct in all its aspects. You may need to tweak some areas to make it work properly for you. Try to work things like second-hand books and clothing into your budget to save money, and make a short list of things you could possibly do without. Maybe sign up for a budget cell phone plan rather than your current 'every bell and whistle' model.

You should also look into whether or not you qualify for bursaries or grants through the college or university of your choice. Many schools offer several varieties of grants and scholarships that cater to many levels of students. Some of these offer small financial awards while others can be in the thousands of dollars and provide a welcome relief for students worried about financing their education. Some colleges realize the changing face of their student population and offer daycare subsidies, or even on-campus facilities for single parents who are back in school.

While it's always a good plan to try and finance your education without accumulating debt, this is rarely a practical choice anymore as tuition fees have risen to dizzying levels outpacing any sort of realistic savings plan for education. Though many students still work during their classes, this has to be clearly balanced against the need to devote adequate personal resources towards your school subjects. Having a healthy bank account from overtime shifts isn't worth the very real possibility of resulting bad grade levels from being tired all the time. The money you're spending on your tuition is to allow you the opportunity to learn a subject. If you waste that opportunity, the money is wasted as well. And you still have to pay it back, even if you didn't learn anything.

Finding a job close to campus is always a good idea as it allows you to save on travel time to and from work. But if you have to work away from campus, take the bus to allow you a short time to study. Every minute of study will give you more chance of success in your studies. Some employers may even be understanding enough to allow you to study when it's not busy at your job. This effectively means that you are getting paid to get your studying done. Not a bad plan at all and you're lucky if you can get it.

Many employers also have education subsidies or grant programs that allow for savings to be put aside into education accounts. Many even offer their own scholarship programs for children or spouses of their employees. If your parents have put aside money into an education account for you over the years, thank them. You'll have fewer problems than many other students attending college. This doesn't mean that all your costs will be covered though. There will always be more costs to pay, more books to buy and less time to think about anything but your educational needs for the next part of your life.

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Peter Durant is an artist and writer living in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. For the past four years he has been a professional proofreader and is working on several short stories and screenplays in his spare time. His wife, Renee, recently earned her Bachelor of Business degree, and so he has some experience with career choices and decisions.

A self-taught man for most of his life, Mr. Durant enjoys many aspects of the arts including music, painting, sculpting and carving, and of course, the literary arts. He has only recently tried his hand at writing articles professionally and finds the work both interesting and rewarding.

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