{"id":2504,"date":"2019-10-29T10:43:55","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T23:43:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/?p=2504"},"modified":"2019-10-29T10:43:35","modified_gmt":"2019-10-28T23:43:35","slug":"student-finance-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/blog\/2019\/10\/student-finance-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Student finance guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Make your money go further while studying at UNSW with our in-depth guide for managing your budget, plus advice about accessing a wide range of financial assistance programs and top tips for saving cash on food, transport and activities.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

EMPLOYMENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

A recent survey indicated around 80 per cent of students at university in Australia also had some kind of job in order to help fund themselves.<\/p>\n

UNSW can help you find employment thanks to our Careers Portal, which features listings for part-time and casual positions (as well as graduate programs, scholarships, cadetships and internships).<\/p>\n

There are even opportunities to obtain paid roles as UNSW student ambassadors, plus potential employment through the Arc student organisation.<\/p>\n

If you are claiming Youth Allowance, current rules mean you can earn $437 a fortnight by working without affecting your payments.<\/p>\n

International student visa rules currently allow for 40 hours of work per fortnight when courses are in session (and unlimited during official course breaks).<\/p>\n

student.unsw.edu.au\/jobs<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ACCOMMODATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where you live while studying at university is an important decision \u2013 and one you\u2019ll want to carefully consider both in terms of finances and lifestyle.<\/p>\n

Living on campus – either in a college or a UNSW-owned apartment – offers community, convenience, independence\u00a0and comfort. Those are often big factors for students leaving home for the first time, especially if moving interstate or internationally to Sydney.<\/p>\n

\"Small
Small common room at Goldstein College<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition, you\u2019ll be close to your lectures and not have to worry about things like utility bills and even cooking (if you choose a fully catered college).<\/p>\n

Once settled at UNSW, many students then opt to switch to privately-owned accommodation \u2013 often sharing with friends \u2013 which provides greater independence and potentially more flexibility.<\/p>\n

accommodation.unsw.edu.au\/future-students<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

BUDGETING<\/strong><\/p>\n

Knowing exactly how much money you have coming in \u2013 and more importantly going out \u2013 can sometimes be half the battle to staying out of serious financial trouble.<\/p>\n

Our handy guide provides some great tips and tricks for budgeting to make sure you are managing your money – and enjoying student life to the max.<\/p>\n

student.unsw.edu.au\/sites\/all\/files\/quicklink_file_attachment\/Budgeting1.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

TRANSPORT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Full-time domestic students at UNSW are entitled to a Concession Opal card which massively reduces the cost of using public transport in and around Sydney.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A student Opal card will help you get around Sydney on public transport<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You\u2019ll get a 50% discount on adult fares when using all Sydney trains, buses, light rail and ferry services, plus NSW TrainLink Intercity routes.<\/p>\n

student.unsw.edu.au\/opal<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

LIVING COSTS ASSISTANCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are a number of government schemes that provide important financial assistance to eligible students while they are enrolled at university.<\/p>\n

Youth Allowance is available for those aged 18-24 in full-time study, while Austudy applies for those aged 25 and over.<\/p>\n

In addition, financial support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in approved programs (both part-time and full-time) is available via Abstudy.<\/p>\n

The rules and regulations about receiving these payments through Centrelink vary depending on your personal circumstances, so take time to research exactly what is available to you.<\/p>\n

student.unsw.edu.au\/centrelink<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

COMMONWEALTH ASSISTANCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Domestic Australian students and New Zealand Special Category visa holders are eligible for a government subsidy that helps pay for part of their undergraduate course fee.<\/p>\n

This is known as a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP), and also includes access to a HECS-HELP loan to help students pay for their share of the course fee.<\/p>\n

You can borrow an unlimited amount to pay for your course fees via the HECS-HELP loan, which is interest free and does not need to be paid back until you are earning above a certain level of income after you leave university.<\/p>\n

student.unsw.edu.au\/commonwealth-support<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

FOOD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Food bills are often the second highest weekly expenditure for students \u2013 behind accommodation costs \u2013 so it\u2019s important to think about being careful with money when it comes to eating and drinking.<\/p>\n

Tips and tricks for saving cash include buying store-own brands, making full use of coupons and taking advantage of special student discounts when on offer (see link below).<\/p>\n

Making your own meals is significantly cheaper than eating out, so consider making a plan for the week ahead to help you shop for food efficiently. And pooling money with friends can allow you to buy in bulk and get better deals.<\/p>\n

arc.unsw.edu.au\/join\/member-discounts<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

KEEPING ACTIVE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make sure it\u2019s not \u2018all study and no play\u2019 and release the stress of study by getting physical.<\/p>\n

Sydney is a great place to enjoy the great outdoors for little or no money (think coastal walks, hikes in nearby national parks, surfing at Bondi Beach etc).<\/p>\n

\"Coogee
The stunning Coogee to Bondi coastal walk is close to UNSW’s Kensington campus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For those who prefer more organised activity, the UNSW Fitness & Aquatic Centre is a great place to get involved in fitness classes, gym sessions, team sports, squash, swimming and so much more.<\/p>\n

And the Arc student organisation has dozens of sports clubs from aikido to windsurfing, with the likes of basketball, cricket, rugby and soccer in between.<\/p>\n

unsw-ymca.org.au\/join-now\/<\/a><\/p>\n

arc.unsw.edu.au\/sport\/sport-clubs<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Make your money go further while studying at UNSW with our in-depth guide for managing your budget, plus advice about accessing a wide range of financial assistance programs and top tips for saving cash on food, transport and activities. EMPLOYMENT A recent survey indicated around 80 per cent of students at university in Australia also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101291,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","has-post-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8PON4-Eo","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101291"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2504"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2511,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2504\/revisions\/2511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.unsw.edu.au\/studentlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}