In School

 
You may have noticed that I don't say that much about education policy on the 'Debt 101' website.
 
Usually, I just explain how the system works. And suggest ways for students and grads to survive it.
 
But of course, I'm very concerned about our higher education policy. I care about equal access and quality -- and the destructive effects of loading students up with debt.
 
That's wrong on so many levels - from moral to macro-economic. 
 

 
To those in other provinces, Quebec students may seem to have it comparatively easy.
 
Ok, they don't have the greatest repayment aid system. But for years, they've had Canada's lowest tuition fees.  
 
Now how did that happen?
 
Is it because Quebec is the richest province? No. 
 
Is it because universities in Quebec don't have similar costs to those in, say, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Alberta? No, no and no. 
 

I recently spoke with Emily Minthorn at jobpostings.ca about how students can save money over summer.

Let's face it - it's hard these days to make big money during summer. Unemployment rates are still high enough that many students end up with a summer full of only part-time or occasional work. And wages are often low for student jobs, especially if your province has a low minimum or "training wage."

 In a sequel to yesterday's blog post, Hidden Costs of School, here are 3 things that could mess up your school budget if you don't prepare for them:

1) Other interest costs.

In yesterday's post, I discussed the interest on your student loan. But now we're talking about the interest costs on credit cards, a car, private student credit lines and so on.

Some of these products have very high interest rates, like store and credit cards. Unless you can pay them in full every month, your debts could snowball fast.