Budgeting, Spending, Making the Most of your Money Financial Literacy Budgeting, Spending, Making the Most of your Money

Studylink Student Allowances and Student Loans Student Loan Living Costs: Max of $176.86 per week Must be paid back Student Allowance: Max of $210.13 per week Depends on parents income among other factors Does not need to be repaid

Studylink Tips and Pitfalls Apply early, everyone is trying to apply at the same time, if you don’t apply on time you will not get paid and may not get backdated. You don’t receive your first payment until week 2 of your course, be prepared for this. Course related costs, up to $1000, usually comes through in one to two days. You may need to buy books etc before your loan comes through, be planned for this.

Halls of Residence Example: University Hall Christchurch $13,202 for a 41 week academic year. Works out to be $322 a week Loan and allowance won’t cover the full cost, plan for this. Watch for additional costs, Uni hall has $900 in additional application fees, plus a car parking fee plus a cost to use washing machines and internet.

Halls of Residence Payment Structure Payments can often can be made in one of many ways, these include: Paying up front Paying in installments (usually 2 or 4 installments) Paying fortnightly Often you are required to pay an installment upon accepting a place and then pay the rest as you go in a way that suits you.

Examples Uni hall was $13,202 in total (without additional fees and costs) Assuming a payment of 25% up front you will need to pay $3300 before moving in plus other additional fees. If you pay the remaining balance fortnightly you must pay $471 a fortnight for the rest of the year. In installments you must pay further amounts of $3300 before the deadline.

Flatting What costs are associated with flatting?

Flatting Costs Rent Power Internet Insurance Bond (refundable) Letting Fee (non refundable) Food Furniture Kitchen Rent in advance Appliance Rentals Maybe Rubbish, Transport and water too

Renting Costs Renting a flat in Dunedin for 5 people, weekly costs include Rent ($120), Food ($100), Power ($10), Internet ($5), Insurance ($10), Appliances ($15) Miscellaneous ($60) Total is $320 per week, with student loan or allowance you will still be $110-$150 short minimum (no transport, rubbish and water included above)

Covering That Cost Find a part time job 10-15 hours a week at minimum wage will earn you between $127 and $190 a week after tax and Kiwi Saver to make up this difference. (Don’t opt out of Kiwi Saver you will regret it later) Student job search is a good place for jobs as is door knocking.

Moving into the Flat Flat Rules Flat accounts As many or as little as required to protect yourself financially This means setting a budget Prepay bills where possible (e.g. rent, internet, power) Flat accounts All flat money should go into a flat account, not a personal one. Flat accounts usually need at least two names on them.

Moving into the Flat Paper work All paper work (especially bond forms) should be signed by all flat members, if you do not sign you are not Legally entitled to the money (or required to pay rent). If a flat mate moves out and is replaced have your paper work updated with the landlord The people on the paper work are the legal tenants

Moving into the Flat Take photos of the flat and its condition when moving in. Ensure you have talked to your bank about a student bank package to avoid fees. Avoid credit cards as they are high interest and easy to overspend on in a flatting environment.

Flatting The Experience You are responsible for Keeping the flat in a tidy condition Reporting any damage as it occurs Paying the entire rent not just your part of it Landlord is responsible for Repairing any damage (can come from the bond) Responding to any issues Maybe the back yard (check your contract)

Flatting The Experience If all else fails you do have access to the Tenancy Tribunal, this can be useful if you feel your rights are not being upheld. It can also be used against you if you don’t uphold your obligations.

Budgeting in Life As with flatting set a budget, this should include: All expenses, be generous it is better to over budget Some savings you will take out as your pay comes in A miscellaneous amount for unexpected bills Insurance, don’t over insure but insure yourself against large risks.

Budgeting in Life Stick to your budget If you have a credit card set a limit you can pay back before interest starts to accrue Save for wants don’t use a credit card or hire purchase Cars are expensive, plan for that If you want a house don’t forget rates, insurance, maintenance and legal fees etc.

Budgeting in Life Take an interest in your Kiwi Saver and have it invested in an appropriate risk category Set financial goals Over the medium to long term never spend more than you earn, ever.