Paying for School

These days, post secondary education is extortionately expensive. With easily accessible student loans, one may think that schooling is easy to pay for. But alas, students graduate only to face an insurmountable loan. Yikes! After graduation is usually when you need money the most. That's when you can explore the world and live out your independence. Unfortunately, a big loan is going to set back your plans by many years. So here are some practical things you can do while at school to avoid this situation down the road.

Minimize Borrowing

• Student loans are a valid payment option but minimize your use
• Do your best to keep your student loans under 1/2 of your projected gross annual income of your first job (yes, start thinking about how much you can realistically make in that first job out of school)

Co-Operative Education (or some kind of paid internship program)

• This is the single most valuable experience in my personal schooling
• It helps pay off school (and other luxuries)
• Provides work experience - prevents the proverbial catch-22 problem of experience/skills
• Helps develop confidence, job interview skills & resume writing skills
• Helps build professional networks

Work on Semester Breaks

• If you take a semester break, get a job

Scholarships

• Apply for scholarships if you think you might qualify
• You'll never know if you'll get one unless you try

Spending

• Students need to practice spending behaviours on a shoe-string budget
• Pack your lunches as much as possible
• Get that bus pass and whatever discounts available for students
• Live at home with your parents if you can

Self Preservation while Schooling

Schooling is a busy time of life. Spending full days in lectures and classrooms is tiring. You go home exhausted yet still you push yourself to study, finish assignments, etc. One can easily lose oneself in the stressful demands and rigour of school. This blog covers some easy steps to help preserve your sanity through school:

Personal Time

• Set aside one evening every week just for your self
• For that one evening, don't do anything related to school
• Do something you really enjoy
• Make it regular and make it consistent

Quiet Time

• Set aside some quiet time for reflection, meditation, and/or prayer
• Preferably daily; however, I find that consistency is more important than frequency

Time Off

• If you're feeling burnt out, take a semester off and take a temporary job or go on a vacation
• Co-op/Internship semesters can help as well
  

Studying Effectively

Based on my own schooling I have grouped all my courses into 4 course types based on different study methods. I have compiled guidelines for each course type to help you study more effectively. This does not take away from the fact that hard work and dedication are still required.

Learning by Repetition
These generally are math or math-dependent courses. For myself, these are the hardest credits to earn because I suck at math. There are no shortcuts through the learning curve. Here are some tips:

• do the practice questions after each class.
• if you are weak in math, do more practice than the regular Joe. Ask more questions.
• do not fall behind - it's impossible to catch up in a short 13-week semester.
• avoid taking on a full course-load when taking a "Learn by Repetition" course, if possible.
  
• In a semester, take at most ONE "Learn by Repetition" course.
• Ask around about professors in advance. Get a reputable professor.
  

Learning by Memory
These are courses based on memorization, sometimes called "regurgitation" courses. For myself, they are moderately difficult credits as there are a few shortcuts available. So here are the tips:

• Attend all lectures and know what the professor deems as "important". You don't want to bother memorizing something unimportant.
• Buy a marked-up used text book. Choose the book carefully as books that are completely highlighted are useless. Study the mark-ups and don't bother reading the entire book.

Essay Courses
These are courses with long essays. The credits are easy in that it is nearly impossible to fail but equally hard to excel.

• Essay-writing is time-consuming. Avoid taking more than 3 essay & repetition courses at the same time.
• If possible, take essay-writing courses with similar themes simultaneously. This allows you to leverage the same research but DO NOT use the same essay twice.
• Do not throw away your research notes if you still plan to take more essay courses. I found the same research comes in handy in many courses.
• Proofread your essays at least twice. If you're weak in the language, have a friend help you.
• Use the spell checker.

Remember, there are only 2 ways to fail an essay course: plagiarism and missing assignments. Don't do either of these. Plagiarism is particularly bad - that'll get you expelled from the post secondary world.

Cheat Sheet Courses
These are generally science or engineering courses that allow you to bring a "cheat sheet" to your exam. Be warned, though, cheat sheet almost always means incredibly long exams. If you solely rely on your cheat sheet, you will not finish the exam by a country mile.

• When making the cheat sheet, take the time to study what's on your cheat sheet so you don't have to completely rely on it.
• Memorize the topography of your cheat sheet so you do not have to hunt around.
• Do not photocopy someone else's cheat sheet. For the above 2 reasons, you'll find that the cheat sheet is useless to you.

If you have found any other tips for studying, please feel free to comment.

Gaining Direction at School

Post secondary education is tough to get through. The courses are difficult, stress levels are high, and workloads are tremendous. This blog is about surviving post secondary education while finding success and meaning. It will be a 4 part series covering:

• Gaining Direction - understanding why I'm at school
  
• Effective Studying - tips & tricks for studying
• Preserving My Sanity - controlling the stress
  
• Paying for School - maintaining good financial status

Gaining direction for your post secondary education makes sense because it gives clarity as to why you're in school. To do this effectively, an objective-setting framework can be useful.

Start off with prayer. Tap into your spiritual side to seek direction from the divine.

Then, familiarize yourself with all the programs available and the graduation requirements by reading the Academic Calendar/Almanac. Know your academic options and understand the rules for your school. You need all this background information to make an informed decision.

Next, set your objectives. This often starts as a debate between your vision and those of your parents. It takes some negotiation. Figure out which of the following objectives are most important to you: Employment Potential vs Academic Interest vs Personal Strenghts. Once you know your objectives, you can make a proper academic selection to match.

At the end of each academic year, it's good to look back and do a pulse check to see if you're still on track with your academic program. Also check if your academic program still fulfills your objectives.

Buying Your First Vehicle

What's the difference between leasing vs. purchase financing? I hear this question asked a lot, especially for those getting their first new car from a dealership. So what is the difference... really?

Purchase Financing is taking out a loan for the purpose of buying a vehicle. You will be paying for the full price of the car plus interest. In this type of financing, the car is legally owned by you at the time of purchase (ownership doesn't mean much in a depreciating asset). At the end of the amortization period (i.e. when you pay off your loan), you can keep the car. The monthly payments are higher because you're borrowing more to pay the full price of the vehicle. Typically amortization periods (the length of time it takes to pay off the loan) is 7 years or less.

Lease Financing is an option usually only available for new cars where you pay for the use of a vehicle for a period of time (called the lease period). The amount paid is calculated by the depreciation on the car for that period of time plus interest (lease rate). Lease rates are lower and the monthly payments are lower. The typical lease period is 4 years or less. The car still belongs to the dealership for the whole time. At the end of the lease period, you have to return the car back to the dealership. You do have the option to buy the car at the end by paying what's left on the value of the car (i.e. initial purchase price - the depreciated amount). This is called the residual value.

Rule of thumb is if you're planning to change your vehicle often (every 2 - 4 years) and your vehicle is typically a luxury vehicle (over CAD$40k), leasing is likely cheaper for you. If you plan to drive your car into the ground, purchasing is better for you. Having said all that, if you really want the best deal on a vehicle, buy it used. Something within the 2 - 4 year-old range is my personal preference.

Youth in Debt by Free Credit Cards

So you just got your first credit card and now you finally can buy those gadgets and wizzbangs you always wanted. It's a great way to build credit history and the card's free too. Wow! Sounds like a great deal, right?

Well, sort of. I think there is one guideline to follow when using your credit cards. Make sure you can pay off the full balance at each billing cycle! Don't just pay the minimum. Never run a balance into the next billing cycle. If you don't have any income, don't use your credit card. Free credit cards charge crazy amounts of interest that adds up quickly.

If you're already in credit card trouble, then you need a plan to get that back in control. There are 3 ways to help reduce debt and none of them are easy. Best to stay out of trouble in the first place. Here are the steps:

• consolidate your debts - move all your debts to one account with lower interest - maybe a personal creditor (mom and dad?) or a line of credit
  
• increase income - get a job or get a raise
• reduce spending - budget your spending, slash your luxuries, take the bus, ride the bike and please cancel the credit cards.

Hurt Feelings & Broken Hearts

People are feeling creatures. Feelings can drive one to do selfless acts and the same feelings could drive one to perform the most heinous crimes.

Once in a while, someone might hurt you emotionally. It happened to me. Hurt feelings will lead to sadness, grief, bitterness, resentment, anger, vengeance and a whole host of other emotions that could start you on a downward spiral. The problem is that the downward spiral of bad feelings just don't stop.

The cure is actually forgiveness. Learning to forgive solved all the issues of tumultuous emotions. Forgiving is not just about forgetting. It goes further than that. Forgiving is an active verb... something I have to do. Start by saying it out loud. "I forgive so-and-so" or "I don't have any ill feelings towards him/her regardless of what they've done to me". "Even if I remember what they've done, it doesn't bother me." Do whatever it takes to convince yourself. The acid test to forgiveness is being able to recount the events that hurt you without feeling hurt anymore. Do you harbour resentment and bitterness towards someone? Isn't it time that you stopped allowing them to persist those negative feelings in you? Take back your life. Forgive.

About e.Guidebook

This blog will be a dumping bin for some of my lessons learned. If you're a youth in a funk looking for some answers to life, studies, relationships, sex, finances, etc. I hope you find a nugget of wisdom here. If you're a parent of youth and just want to keep your knowledge relevant to see what the youth face in the world, then maybe this will help you too.