Common+Purchasing+Mistakes

This page outlines a couple of ways to maximize saving on a few common purchases made by students.

Phone plans[[image:adm1370-rhysalexanderj/BlackBerry-Torch-9800_White.jpg width="157" height="372" align="right"]]
One would be hard pressed to find a student who lives his life without a cell phone. Since this expense is considered unavoidable, it is important to be aware of different rates offered by different companies. [|Bell], [|Telus], and [|Rogers] are traditionally the most wide spread mobile providers in Canada, but do not necessarily offer the most competitive products. Recently a number of discount brands have been introduced including [|Fido], [|Solo Mobile], and [|Koodo Mobile]. Many of these plans offer more competitive rates and could offer substantial monthly savings to a student on a budget. Recently [|Wind Mobile] has also emerged as a new mobile provider, but has come under scrutiny for offering very limited "zones" in which a user is allowed to make calls. Being outside of these zones while making a call may cause a user to incur extensive fees. It is important to research exactly what a plan gives you because exceeding a plans allowance can be very costly. Koodo Mobile has recently introduced "Canada Wide Plans" that include extensive long distance coverage. This feature may be especially helpful to a student who is living away from home and missing his family. Many users of mobile companies, particularly Telus, are deterred from exploring new plan options because of a contractual obligation. Though it may be costly to break a contract, on some occasions it may save one more money and grief in the long run. Consider being locked into a contract with two years remaining at a monthly fee of $75. If one were to break this contract and begin a different plan at a rate of $35, one could save $960 worth of fees and it would only cost $480 to buy out of said contract.

Fine dining
It may seem innocent enough to spurge $5.25 on a [|Venti vanilla bean frappucino]. After all is it only around five dollars right? It probably seems just as innocent to spend $8.50 on lunch since you were on campus studying anyway. Why not have another coffee in the afternoon to coast through the rest of your classes and maybe buy a bottle of water for $2.25. It only seams reasonable to grab some dinner after your afternoon class. Maybe you will also have a beer. Count that as another $16.00. Small purchases on their own are always insignificant from a budgeting perspective, but after we calculate these meals throughout the day we come to $37.25. If this meal plan were consistent throughout the month it would total over $1100! Admittedly, it may be inconvenient to pack a lunch ahead of time, but planning out spending for groceries ahead of time is an incredible way to save money. It is also the largest expense for many students. It should not be suggested that a student should not eat out whatsoever or enjoy a coffee simply to save money, but all things should be enjoyed within moderate reason. It should be considered a treat to oneself to enjoy these luxuries.

Coffee destinations

 * To view possible Coffee destinations in Ottawa, see the following wikilink by Brittney Riendeau

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toc This is an example of a bad purchase mistake: Try to replace $2000 Christian Louboutin with these Walmart plastic beaded shoes: Regular price $29.99! On sale for $15.99!