A video about my experiences over the past year:

At the beginning of the month a shiny brand new RBC branch opened up on UBC campus. The branch is located on University Boulevard near the old bus loop and has provided RBC clients with the first full service RBC branch ever at UBC. Although there has been a lot of debate about the use of the retail space in this central campus location, for UBC’s RBC student clientele it certainly has proved useful having RBC ATM’s and tellers on the largest campus in BC. I have been hearing a lot of positive feedback about the branch from my friends who frankly were frustrated with not having and RBC on campus earlier. The life of an RBC student client before was a bus ride off campus to the 4th avenue branch which was old and closed on Mondays. Now students can gain access to all the bank offers without having to go to another location.

UBC is a massive campus with a BMO, CIBC and most of the other main banks on or right next to campus it was pretty much about time that RBC got involved. For me the benefits of the bank on campus have been great. As someone who goes to school in the day and works at night I don’t have time to wander and look for a branch.

Now that I have one right on campus next to my favorite coffee shop I can get all my banking needs easily. Ever since I have been going there I have found the staff very polite and young which makes the banking experience that much better. I like that the staff there are serving people like me, students, all day long and so they have a clear view of my banking needs and how to assist me.

There may be some students that complain about another bank being on campus and would rather have other services that cater more obviously to students but does nobody see the value in growing up anymore? With a bank on campus that clearly not only cares but is focused on student needs we can begin to access the services that they provide in order to make the best of our buck. Banks do a lot more then just loans and it would be wise to see the benefits of a business like that on campus rather then ancient perspectives.

The logic of criticizing the obvious stereotypes of a business seems irrational. Should we boycott the Boulevard Cafe because its overpriced coffee is addictive? Or maybe we should boycott the burger pitt and its Trans fat fries for clogging our arteries? I understand that University is a meaningful experience that students want to protect themselves from evil commercial world outside but isn't the point of university to transition into the world?

\When I first got to UBC I was disappointed that there wasn't an RBC on campus but now that there is one I am going to take full advantage and I am glad that my bank is where I need them to be and that my University has let them be there.

This will be the conclusion on how Vancouver Fashion Week went. It has been a really amazing experience to be involved in the week as well as to see how such a large scale event is planned and executed.

Saturday and Sunday were the final days of Vancouver fashion week and the shows provided a very dramatic ending. On Saturday I showed up for hair and make up and fittings at 1pm and the show which was supposed to start at 3 ended up starting much later. I was cast to be in the show for Christopher Bates’ new line Ultra and this was one of the shows that I was the most excited about. This was the fourth show that I have done with Christopher and I really love his clothes and shows. His line ULTRA was inspired by his partying and traveling through Europe and is based on the “eurotrash” style that he loves. In any case I was stoked about this high energy show that was going to be on the big stage at VFW. In this show I was wearing torn up jeans and a German print tank top. The show ended up going very well and the clothing was well received by the audience. The final show on Saturday was the Parasuco show which featured models strutting down the runway in just jeans. Some men wore scarves and certain shirts while most of the girls used their hands as their tops. Needless to say the show was well received by the audience, especially since some of the models threw clothing samples into the audience.

Sunday proved to be another great day for VFW. The day started off with a gangster clothing show featuring URSUS clothing wear. My outfit was a difficult one for me to pull off as i had to wear a green toque and wide rimmed glasses. Basically I was the ultimate gangsta nerd. My second show of that day was for Pacific Thorn in which I featured shotgun destroyed jeans and a target print tee.

Pacific thorn is art fashion from BC that challenges the US occupation of Iraq and pokes fun at gun issues. During the show as models walked behind them was a video of the designers shot-gunning the clothing was shown.

The night was finished off with a dramatic show by Roca Wear and Mark Ecko clothing in which models would walk and then perform dance moves on the stage.

From November 6th-10th it will be Vancouver fashion week here in Vancouver and since I am participating in it I thought it would be appropriate to share about the shows and the parties as they happen. Wednesday night was the opening gala and party for VFW which is trying to raise its reputation to the level of other famous fashion weeks like Toronto or New York. At the opening gala and party POP OPERA night club was filled with all the industry professionals in Vancouver. The Vancouver based hair salon “blo me dry” had their promo girls in attendance as well and they enthusiastically pinned a “just blo me” pin on me. The party was great and everyone was talking about the shows that were coming up in the next few days.

Last night, the first runway shows to start off the week began at the exciting venue of a woodworking garage in one of Vancouver's most dangerous neighborhoods. The entire runway was made of giant slabs of timber that proved challenging for the models, especially the girls in heels. The venue had a very unique feel to it as it had high ceilings and wood work examples all around and even the seating was on timber benches. Although the shows started late, the excitement was felt by models, photographers and audience members alike. The shows for VFW on thursday featured clothing by Papillon and leatherwear by Hirad.

Papillons spring collection included a variety of women's long flowing spring dresses. Hirad, on the other hand designs for men, women and children and models showed of black, brown and black high quality Italian leather. I myself was in Hirads show and wore a beige coat over a silk shirt whilst carrying a light leather satchel. My second outfit was a dark brown alligator skin jacket which was worn on my bare skin which made for an interesting show when my zipper wasn't working.

Behind the scenes at a fashion show tensions are high. The space had a limited back stage area and male and female models have to make quick outfit changes without any privacy whatsoever. Getting in order for the shows and constantly being told where to go or not go makes for a stressful time. The biggest problem we faced last night was that the runway was so short that the models (with their long legs) sped through the runway without giving photographers a chance to get any good shots.

VFW is still quite new but its a privilege to be part of something that is really trying to progress to the next level. With MUUM productions providing most of the male models and some of the female ones I have been able to be a big part of it and see my fellow agency models take part too. Tonight the shows continue with eco style clothing and more after parties that Vancouver will be sure to remember.

I’m always on the search for more money saving blogs and info for students and recently I came across a blog called “the simple dollar”. This website is packed with blogs about practically any and every financial issue someone could have and the high readership makes for an enormous amount of comments. The thing I like about the comments is how serious and honest they are which helps me understand the issue at hand because there is someone else going through the same problem.

One of the most useful blogs is a series of blogs called “31 days to fix your finances” . It starts at the very foundation and then builds up your finances to the level they should be at. The recommendation starts with the reader writing down a list of their financial goals. The thing that I really respect about this blog is that it gets down to some core issues with our financial state of mind. For example the “simple dollar” claims that the set of values we work around make the biggest difference.

“The real truth is that we live according to a set of values. We continually perform actions based on values: our values mixed with the values of others. For example, my top value is my family. I want a good, fulfilling life for my wife and my son so that they can easily define and follow their own values.”

“Every person has a set of between four and six primary values that underline their life (we may have other values, but those values are secondary to the primary ones). Financial problems occur through distortions of those values: we come to believe that some things are vital to these values when they really don’t matter. Generally, this is what advertising seeks to do: it tries to express a core value that some people have and make their product seem essential to achieving that value.”

For me this gets to the really serious issues that plague most of us that are struggling financially. The values that “the simple dollar” are talking about refers to when our lives become financial unbalanced and we begin spending money on things that are not in line with our values and goals and then our cash flow becomes unbalanced.

One of my next favorites is titled “ten steps to financial success for a minimum wage earner” and it's perfect for the struggling student or young person that still wants to do well even if they are making peanuts.

The first tip for this topic is a little ridiculous but interesting. The blog claims that you should “go rural” and find a place to rent for $200 a month because it's much easier to live on minimum wage in a small town. Other tips include not driving as it sucks your money away, not being prideful with money and getting an education. The blog ends with some inspiration on working hard and believing you can make it:

“One final tip: don’t give up the dream. If you’re working a minimum wage job, either you’re very young, very lazy, or very unlucky. All of these can be overcome, but they take time and commitment and a lot of hard work. It’s very easy to give up the dream of a better life when you’re doing this. Don’t. You can succeed and you will succeed if you spend every day taking steps in the right direction. Surround yourself with people who are also fighting to go in the right direction. Don’t be resentful of people in a better situation than you - instead, use them as inspiration and realize that if you keep on the path, you’ll get there too.”

The Simple Dollar is a serious blog that deals with major financial problems that old and young people face. It is full of answers to tons of financial questions and often sheds light on the problems with a moral or ethical perspective which is interesting. So whether your rich or poor, young or old, The Simple Dollar is a blog to keep your eye on.

Its party time! You and your roommate or significant other have decided to hold a party at your house and invite the right people to make sure its hopping. How are you gonna ensure that this party is going to be talked about the way you want it to? How are you gonna get people to attend? When having a house warming party there are a few rules that will help you out if you stick to them.

Choose your theme

People need direction. They want to be themselves and make their own choices but they want someone to motivate them to make those choices and yet still fit in and feel comfortable. It is for this reason that one must have some sort of simple party them. For example you could have a lingerie + pajama party or a tight and bright night or even an Irish Luau (these are all recent events that I have been invited too). Also having a theme is more then just saying “this is the theme” you have to ask them to do, wear or bring something otherwise people are unlikely to get into it.

Use Facebook

Facebook allows users to create events, add photos and info and invite people to attend. It also lets them RSVP on the site itself. This method is a great way to get the info for the party up in one place so everyone who might come can check info like addresses and what to bring. Some issues with this method is that a lot of people wont RSVP on the site and it doesn't necessarily mean that they arent coming, it just means that they are part of the rising trend of RSVPing “maybe” to every event. In order to avoid this it will be necessary to call close friends and tell them about the party and have them pass on the message to others. It is common courtesy that a Facebook event invite does not constitute an official invite and you cant be insulted if friends ignore it. You must call people as well!

Invite a perfect balance of A people and B people and some C people

I don’t actually believe that there are people who are better then other people but I do believe that there are people at different stages of maturity, confidence and looks. As far as parties are concerned you have to make the perfect balance of A and B people and invite some C people, especially if your venue is a limited space like my condo. A people are confident, dress well, intelligent, leaders and most importantly have accessed that x factor that makes people attracted to them without them even making any effort. These are the people you must have at your party because their actions will be watched and they will make the party look good, give it a good reputation and respect. Now B people are just as important as A people because they are the ones that may not have the whole package but have something unique about them that almost always proves useful at parties. It may be their humor or their sense of style but either way most B people always want to be A people and so they will mingle with each other and that will get the party going even more. C people are important too because they often feel like they are lacking a lot of the A and B qualities but they usually want them that much more and so they will either rise or fall from their current position depending on their actions and that is both and partial purpose and result of parties. I am certainly no social darwinist but I do believe that the right mix of people makes an event memorable.

So with my roommate and I’s house warming party coming up tomorrow we will see how applying these ideas benefits or weakens the party. The most important rule for parties is plan as much as you can up to the party and then once the party happens relax and enjoy it like it was nothing. If you arent relaxed they wont relax either and will feel as though it was over done. So I hope that helped and please enjoy responsibly one of the oldest traditions known to man, the house party.

For more party tips there are lots of sites you can check out including Party2Win, or Brianx.com

Spain has always been known for thinking “outside the box” and ever since I spent my summer there I have thought about how fascinating the Spanish way of doing business is. For one thing in Spain most of the time your job has to fit your life and not the other way around. With most businesses still practicing siesta the work hard play hard attitude is likely to stick around in the Iberian peninsula. Since I have been back to Canada I started working for ZARA and its been interesting how the ideologies of this massive Spanish company have made it competitive, unique and successful.

Inditex, which is the mother company of ZARA and its other retail subunits overtook Gap this last year to become the worlds largest clothing retailer. Inditex prides itself and a unique business model in the clothing retail sector and has been copied by rivals ever since. Inditex’s business model has proven to be successful as it “has nearly quadrupled sales, profits, and locations since 2000”. So how has Inditex continued to succeed in the eye of difficulties that are facing the economy, especially the retail sector? According to Business Weekly, it does by “breaking all the rules”.

There are a few key things that Inditex is doing differently:

Design

The old way: Traditionally designers will design a line of clothing a year ahead and then it will be produced and distributed in its season.

The ZARA way: Designers do research on the hottest trends and are designing the clothing constantly and not just fitting into the timeline of “lines”. ZARA clothing can be designed and distributed within two weeks. Thats really fast.

Production

The old way: Companies will produce their products in labor cheap countries and produce masses of them so that they will save on placing extra orders later. This results in many overstocked items if they don’t sell well which forces the retailer to have sales.

The ZARA way: Higher quality, more complex products are produced close to home (Spain, Portugal, Morocco) which guarantees they are done properly and saves on transport and more importantly time.

Transport

The old way: Companies send very large shipments of product by boat which take a long time and new product arrives in the store infrequently.

The ZARA way: Most shipments are much smaller (making them more exclusive and sell faster) and are sent by air which means that new shipments are coming to the store constantly providing customers with fresh clothing twice a week.

Style

The old way: Designers decide what is in style for the season and then the consumers control whether or not they make profit by buying it or not.

The ZARA way: Managers of stores are given commission and send style and clothing requests to designers in Spain who design, produce and ship fast. This allows the consumer to get more of the type of product they bought available at the store. Essentially it makes room for the fact that in every store different things will be popular. Also as a customer this system means that the more you shop at ZARA the more clothes that you like will appear in their stores.

The ZARA business model has made it successful and helped it stand out. Even as a sales associate there you see how the attitude of supply and demand are key in the company. Thinking outside of the box and challenging the established ways of learning, teaching or selling clothes has been the foundation that Inditex has built its name on. Thinking outside of the box is essential when pursuing a goal in entrepreneurship or business as it will often be the aspect of your company that will make it stand out and change the established ways of doing things

The other day I received a mass Facebook message and usually I would just delete them instantly but I decided to give this one a chance. It actually ended up being a sort of Facebook survey about the importance of learning about finances. In the message it was asked what you had wished your parents had taught you about finances and what you plan on teaching your children. I found the question intriguing and was surprised to find that people responded to the message and how they responded.

The first response was this: “I wish I had been taught how credit cards work, especially regarding how interest builds, and how to build interest for one day when you want to get the bank to approve your credit card, or approve you for a car or a mortgage”. Credit cards seem to always be a hot topic as far as financial education is concerned. I think its probably because of how much of our society revolves around the use of those cards. Kids grow up and they see credit cards in the movies and they see their parents using them, they may even have one of their own attached to their parents name but they still don’t understand them. The two main things that parents need to educate their children on credit cards is the dangers of them and also the benefits of them. Namely that credit card use can benefit your credit rating and help you with future bank relations and that misusing them can limit your financial freedom in the future.

Another comment focused on the broader issues of how the financial system works and how that influences our lives.

“I would have liked to learn the basics about how banks work and how the stock market works, both theoretically and practically. Big things, I guess, like, how money moves, why money moves, what governments do with money, what people do with money, how the interest rate is determined, how currency value is determined, and basic information on different economic models.”

This comment touches on some very important financial issues that younger people are hardly aware of. There are many facets to the financial world and when I was younger I simply saw money but economics and the functions of the financial system that is behind the scenes is even more important. For example, as the central banks adjust interest rates the private financial institutions will adjust theirs and so when we as consumers see those numbers changing it is important that we see the deeper issue that effects the value and use of our money.

For another person the confusion of financial language is something that she had wished was cleared up for her a long time ago.

“Oooh - tell people to stop saying "buy an RRSP" (my personal pet peeve). An RRSP is like a bank account for cash and securities... we buy stock, mutual funds, etc. to deposit therein. Sigh. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest!”

Often adults will misuse financial terms and then students and youth won't be able to understand the differences when they are discussed.

It was fascinating for me to see how others my age felt that a huge part of their financial education had been missing and to see what they would want to teach their kids. Financial independence is so important in the world. Parents want it for their kids and kids want it for themselves. That goal is impossible without being educated on the world of money. Parents and children both can access banks for financial advice and answers that would be provided liberally but until financial education becomes a priority that change probably won't happen.

Its early morning in Vancouver and as summer is now over the rain has returned. The rain makes my commute and everything else that I do seem so much more tedious. Whenever this is the case I feel my dreaded “car envy” return.

I begin to imagine what a life with a car would be like. I imagine how nice it would be to just hop in my car and head to the mountains or the beach without any worries. I imagine other poor students envying me! Once I have daydreamed enough I usually hope online and start looking for cars and estimating how much it would actually cost me to own and run a car in Vancouver. The result is a rude awakening from my dream and a quick cure to my “car envy”.

The ironic thing is that I have some money saved up so buying the car would be the easiest part. The hard part of course would be running my baby and the added monthly cost that would cripple my budget. Right now with full time school and three jobs I am living an extremely busy, but comfortable life. I can pretty much buy everything that I need and a lot of things I want. Buying a car would pretty much end all of that. Although there are plenty of sites where you can find great deals on used cars like kijiji.com and craigslist.com once again the issue of maintenance comes up as the biggest concern.

Lets imagine that I decided to buy a Mazda 3 and now I have had my Mazda 3 for a month or so and these are the costs that have now been added to my monthly budget:

Apx $260 month insurance
Apx $250 gas every month
Apx $20 month extra costs every month (air fresheners and cleaning supplies)
Apx $400 dollars a school year in parking
Apx $60 drive through fast food

Currently, I have a one hour commute to school each way and I pretty much only walk and use transit for my transportation. Currently the cost of transit for me every month comes out to:

Apx $0

Can you see now why over and over again when I think about buying a car I come to the same conclusion. If I get a car I will have maybe a 15 min shorter commute and I wont be able to do any work on my commute because I will be driving. Right now because all students at UBC get the Upass I don’t have to pay anything for transit and although it does suck walking in the rain sometimes I can use my extra money every month to look stylish when I’m drenched.

Although “car envy” is definitely something that I do suffer from and if I did win the lottery today I would surely ditch the “loser cruiser” (car drivers nickname for the sky-train) and drive some huge luxury SUV, I still think that transit works for me. Transit is cheap, fashionable, eco-friendly and is becoming more an more dependable. So if you are coveting your friends automobiles, get over it and try to realize how much sense taking the bus really makes.

Currently in Vancouver, BC fashion week is happening and everyone seems to be talking about it. Luckily I have a friend who runs a modeling agency called MUUM productions who cast me in one of the shows. So, last night was my first fashion show in quite a while and I thought it might be of interest to share what the whole experience entailed.

The show that I was going to be involved in was an exposition of two designers who use Italian materials for their clothes and it was to be presented to the Italian chamber of commerce gala dinner. I arrived at two as told and spent about an hour waiting for all the models to get signed in and organized. Once almost everyone had arrived it was time to start the fittings. We proceeded into the dressing rooms where male and female models were dressing and undressing on command with a “hurry up!” here and there.

What basically happens at the fitting is that the clothes which the designer has made are given to specific models to wear and those will be their outfits for the show. The problem is of course that the designer is couture and so its not like there is a jacket in every size or pants in every size. In the end what happens is whatever fits, each model gets and hopefully it matches well together. At one point I was given a horrible boring black jacket for one of my final pieces and I tried to express that I thought something else might be more exciting for the finale. The reply to my simple request was “You have no opinion. You are a walking coat hanger!”. That is when I decided just to sit down and look pretty (luckily later the designer changed my outfit).

After all of that it was on to hair and makeup. The make up part went fine and since men don’t need a lot for shows it was fast. The only awkward part was when the makeup artist asked me “so, do they usually do your ears for shows? Because, I don’t do ears”. Once my makeup was done I headed down to KABOOM! hair salon to have my hair done for the show. What they were doing for most of the men was a slicked back look because we were wearing mainly Italian leather for the show. In short, I was not happy with the fact that they slicked my hair back and forward and made me look like an english school boy. I tried to remind myself that I have no opinion.

Once all of that was done things started to get really crazy as we had a dress rehearsal where our walks were severely critiqued and our facial expressions too. Luckily, I avoided much criticism which was encouraging. I was however told to look less “angry”. It was a lot of fun practicing and watching the others “work it” on the catwalk. I wouldn't say that its difficult but it is certainly harder then it looks. Then came the actual show and nerves were high all around. We got into our first outfits, had hair stylists, makeup artists and fashion designers hovering around us and maintaining us right up until we went on stage. The show did have some “complicated” choreography in which two other guys and me go up on stage then I, who was in the middle, strut down to the end, pose, and then as I return the two of them strut to the end passing me. Thankfully we nailed it and as I was walking down the runway with flashes in my face and amazing music blasting I suddenly realized how much fun I was having.

After the show, which went without any major issues, the models, designers and assistants went to an after party and danced the night away, while networking of course. Fashion truly is an industry and I think that is probably the biggest thing I learned this week. All the glamour and ease that the fashion industry often exudes is actually about hard work and money. The hardest part of the whole industry is that you are working and waiting for hours and you make friends with other models, designers and assistants because they are amazing people and then you go to parties and meet more but in the end it is all still work and those who succeed in the industry are absolutely clear about that. With BC fashion week ending tomorrow I will be anxiously looking forward to Vancouver fashion week in November where I plan to once again walk and have no opinion.

Recently I picked up a second job at Zara so I could earn some extra cash and also just because I think its really fun working in retail. When I say that to my friends and even some of my colleagues they think I’m crazy and can’t understand why I find retail “fun”. Retail work has had a bad name and image for some time so in order to explain my love of retail I decide to write my top seven reasons why I love retail.

7. The discounts.

For some, this may be the number one reason for them but because I am oh so passionate about working in retail I didn't want to put it up too high but at the same time I cant deny that a certain percent off isn't appealing.

6. The friends.

I swear that I have met both the craziest and the most fun people while working in retail. With the right group of people in the right store a shift can feel like a party instead of work. You end up chatting, dancing to the music and fooling around while cleaning the store and helping customers.

5. No stress.

Currently at the store I work at that new song “no stress” is on the store CD and so whenever it’s on it reminds me of how totally not stressful my job is. Basically what I do all day is answer questions for people, get them stuff and organize clothes.

4. The style.

I don’t care what store you work at but at every store there are both extremely ugly and extremely stylish clothes. When you spend as much time in a store as you do when you work in one you get a lot of time to see all the styles first hand, up close and personal and even see people wearing them. This makes shopping and dressing stylishly that much easier because you have had hours upon hours of research and prep time.

3. The experience.

Once you have worked in retail and know how to do it and survive it you know that if you had to you could always go back to it and every time you do it gets easier and easier and you end up moving up in the company and learning a lot more then you thought you would from a simple retail job. I like the fact that although retail isn't overly stressful it can be very rewarding if you put your energy into it and learn from it.

2. The stories.

Seriously crazy stuff happens in retail. Some of the weirdest times are when people try and steal from the store and are really bad at it. One story that the people at Club Monaco make fun of me for is the time I got food poisoning and didn't make it back to the washroom in time and so I threw up on some stock in the back room. I think that because of the public nature of retail and the fact that you are often in a mall or commercial area of some sort means that you get a mix of people in the store that makes for an exciting time.

1. The skills.

Some people might laugh at this one but by working in retail I have learned how to fold, clean and take care of my clothes the best I can. Now my room and my closet are way cleaner then ever before because I value the things more then I did before. Also by helping with the set up of retail stores and merchandising I learned how to organize things so that they are efficient but also aesthetically pleasing.

So although I know it’s corny how I am praising retail I really do believe it. Obviously there are just as many retail nightmare stories as good stories but like anything it up to you what you get out of it. So now that you've gotten used to your school schedule consider taking a part time job at a clothing store. Make sure you do your research though and make sure that you take a job that you like the clothes, people and the environment or else you won’t survive long.

The first week back at school is a budget nightmare. There seems to be so much stress and rush that everyones budget seems to slip a little. I know that for me in the past two weeks of catching up with old friends, eating out because I’m on the go and getting everything I need for my house and school has put me way over my monthly budget. That's okay though, because September is not an easy month for university students. If you and I however don’t get our budgets back on track we are gonna find our selves in a deficit and our families will be getting the lamest Christmas presents this year.

So, I decided to look online at some of the webs top budgeting sites for students in order to see what I could learn from them so that I could present them to you on rbcp2p.com, which is of course the best student finance site ever! Anyway, this is what I found:

The first site that I found interesting was the Visa USA student budgeting site . This site, like most of the sites mentions the importance of setting financial goals. I totally agree that you need to make a financial goal for the amount of money you are looking to save every month otherwise its unlikely you will save any.

Even more important than making the goal is having the desire to achieve it. You need to ask yourself “why do I want to save this money for later?” “What benefit will saving 20% of my money for the future instead of spending it on fun now give me?”. Once you have asked yourself these questions hopefully you will find your own motivation to make and keep financial goals. Since Visa is a credit card company however, they are experts with issues related to debt. The coolest thing that is really simple to understand that Visa has on their site is called the 20/10 rule. Here it is in their own words:

Follow the 20/10 rule to keep tabs on your debt. Never borrow more than twenty percent of your annual net income (after taxes). For example, if your annual net income is $6,000, your maximum safe debt load is $1,200. Also, your monthly debt payments should never be more than ten percent of your monthly net income. So if your net income is $500 a month, your monthly loan and bill payments shouldn’t be more than $50.

Is that not the easiest rule to understand ever? I think that they did a great job in making it clear for students and they also have a sweet budget worksheet to calculate your costs, savings and debts easily.

The next site that caught my eye was the SFU (my rival school but I will give credit where it is deserved) student creating a budget site. It focuses on setting goals too but offers university specific tips for saving money which I found useful. Here were some of my favorites:

“It's always better to overestimate your costs rather than underestimate them. You never know when prices for necessities will increase or when unexpected costs may arise.” -This is pretty much the story of my budgeting life!

“Grocery shop with a list and stick with it so you don't buy expensive impulse items that may throw off your budget. Whenever possible try to buy in bulk. Remember it's usually cheaper in the long run if you buy more in the short term.” - I don’t have a car so buying bulk is really hard sometimes but ever since I bought two of those big IKEA bags I have been able to buy big and save big and hopefully get big.

“Join a club! There are a wide range of clubs covering a variety of interests ranging from movies to sports to writing poetry. Clubs are usually a fairly inexpensive way for you to find things to do when you're not studying and a great way to make new friends.” -This is SO true! I joined a club and have found it to be so satisfying because its fun but productive and keeps me busy and when I’m busy I spend less money.

“Lastly, don't play around when it comes to your studies. Pass your course the first time around. Repeating a course is not only an academic burden, but a financial one. Remember how much your class costs per unit?” -Now I feel really bad about not studying harder in Econ, thanks SFU.

So there you go. Even more budgeting tips to help you and me get back on track. Don’t forget to check out the ones we already have on rbcp2p.com, just check out the money link on the side bar. Yeah that one right there. Click.