Financial Literacy

Understanding Your Finances

You and your family must assume primary responsibility for financing your education. It is up to you to decide how you and your family will finance these expenses. Successful financing means careful planning and sticking to your budget. Identifying financial resources, estimating costs, and developing strategies to meet these costs should be part of your plan to attend college.

Tips on Discussing Finances as a Family:

• Parents/spouses and students should determine in detail all realistic needs and available resources;
• Clearly decide which expenses you will be responsible for and which ones your parents/spouse will cover;
• For single students:
• Decide whether your parents will provide money in September/January or on a monthly basis;
• Establish if these funds will be put into a chequing/savings account or a cheque mailed to you monthly;
• Will you apply to live in residence or in off-campus housing?
• Will you live with your parents? Single students who live in the same city or town as the campus they are attending are expected to reside with their parents. The Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) will not provide a living away allowance for you.

Other Resources:

• Paying for College  – the Fanshawe College financial guide
• ontariocolleges.ca (Ontario Colleges Application Service)
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
• Individual Tax Filing Assistance – Canada.ca
• Fanshawe Student Union
• Information London – meal calendar and food banks
• London Food Bank
• Canadian Bankers Association – financial literacy for students
• ​The Debt Free Graduate
• Get Smarter About Money 
• HowToSaveMoney.ca