Study or Work?

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  Euphemistic on 31/05/2016 - 07:36

  +15

  Step one: quit smoking.
  Step two: make your own lunch
  Step three: save.

  • 

    onetwothreefour on 31/05/2016 - 07:49

    +12

    And don't buy coffee in cafes

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  mskeggs on 31/05/2016 - 07:42

  +6

  In before the anti-smoking pile on!

  I think you want to have what my Grandad would have called "a long hard look at yourself". You are a young person fully in charge of your life. You have a higher budget for leisure than I do, and I earn well above average. You are well supported and have opportunities available.
  What you seem to lack, is a direction or what motivational memes on Facebook call 'your passion'.
  The reality is most humans don't get seized by their passion every day and have to get up, work hard, and pursue success.

  I worry you are making excuses for why you underperformed at VCE and will underperform at your studies. How about instead, knuckle down for a year or two, git gud, and earn some success. When you have some genuine achievements you have earned yourself, you will find your self worth increases and your motivation expands.

  Good luck.

• 

  voiletmay on 31/05/2016 - 07:50

  Do you have a drivers license? It's hard work to get the hours etc.

  If you aren't doing a course you are passionate about, then I think it's probably wiser to get a full time job and go back to studying later. It is really hard to find a job though, so I'd be looking now if I was you.

  Everyone is going to say give up the smoking, coffee and eating out. Take food from home to save money for a car.

  Goodluck

• 

  Limitless on 31/05/2016 - 07:56

  I work full time and still try and save money by making my own lunch. I know it can be difficult at uni to pack your lunch but you make basically no money and still want to have that luxury…

  My friend took a gap year to study. They saved no money in that year because they made more money so they also spent more.

  Edit: my friend also changed courses 3 times. If you don't have the motivation to do your course then maybe a break isn't such a bad idea. You won't save more money but you won't be spending it on a course you don't love.

• 

  the-mal on 31/05/2016 - 08:44

  +2

  What do you plan on doing with your diploma? What work would you pick up if you left now?

  In a honesty if you leave to pick up a job the chances of you actually returning to Uni in 2 years is fairly slim. After two years of working you'll have a different lifestyle you won't want to sacrifice, you'll have routines you won't want to sacrifice, you'll have savings you won't want to sacrifice.

  The vast majority of us go through higher education living on scraps with hardly any "Fun money", but it's a means to an end.

  Just remember it's really hard to go backwards in lifestyle. You most likely won't do it when the time comes. So having said that how different are your career prospects with or without your diploma? Will it open doors for you that you won't get otherwise? What are your longer term career prospects if you drop out? All things to consider.

  Higher education is really, really valuable. Without that piece of paper I wouldn't have landed any of the jobs I have. Silly, maybe, but true.

  • 

    Kawaii69 on 31/05/2016 - 15:46

    Diploma probably won't get me any opportunities, but it will allow me to continue onto the second year of bachelors. so all up it will be 2 years diploma and 2.5 years bachelors, a total of 4.5 years to get a degree in engineering

    • 

      the-mal on 31/05/2016 - 16:57

      And if you drop out? What kind of work do you want to do?

      • 

        Kawaii69 on 01/06/2016 - 11:17

        Full-time retail maybe, if not factory work

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  Donaldhump on 31/05/2016 - 09:11

  +4

  1.) the money ur getting is free for one, ie my taxes are paying it…so u smoking sort of annoys me!

  2.) you smoke and drink coffee and buy lunches..
  all of those three things aren't necessary, so if you really want to save STOP them.

  3.) why be so obsessed with saving when you are studying. you will probly earn 100k a year after u finish so who cares.

  the only aim of your life right now is to pass university.

• 

  tomsco on 31/05/2016 - 09:37

  +10

  So I pretty much can't save any money

  ಠ_ಠ

  $150 - Smokes
  $120 - Coffee
  $240 - Lunch/Dinner

  There's $510 a month you can save right there.

• 

  cypher67 on 31/05/2016 - 09:59

  +5

  First of all I can see why you struggled in school as you are left with $70 not $90. Diploma in Engineering is not worth much, there is so many more people out there with bachelors, masters and years of experience struggling to find work due to the market, either commit or don't do it half-arsed. Also if you think that all your expenses are smokes, coffee and lunch you are kidding yourself, you dont have a mobile, clothes, transport etc? Wake up and join reality, there is no upside to smoking, coffee is a luxury and bought lunches are at premium. Find a career path that you want to do and stop trying to please your parents. Get a real job or get a real qualification and join the rat race, stop being a sorry passenger.

  • 

    Flowerbomb on 31/05/2016 - 10:53

    +1

    Agreed. Cafe Coffee is really unnecessary at your current situation. Try moconna or 7/11 $1 coffees

• 

  Ughhh on 31/05/2016 - 10:08

  +2

  All those smokes, coffees and meals are wants, not needs. So yes you can save money, but you just don't want to and you're making excuses for yourself.

  don't have my dad waking me up every uni morning at 6am for me to get ready, so I guess I just lost motivation

  So that's the only motivation to get yourself out of bed? Will you need your dad to wake you up in 10 years time when you have a job?

  No one else can help you if you don't help yourself.

• 

  pantsparty on 31/05/2016 - 10:28

  +1

  I worked part time all the way through uni. How many hours of class do you have per week? I managed to work 12 or 15 hours each week even though I studied a full time Commerce degree.

  Also sorry to repeat the obvious, but stop smoking, buy a Nespresso machine and make coffees for 50 cents and make your own lunch. You are better off continuing with your studies. By delaying it you are just delaying earning good money post uni. All you will earn now is crappy retail money.

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  indium on 31/05/2016 - 10:30

  If you aren't enjoying your course or finding it interesting then i suggest you drop out. Then look for what really interests you and what you can see yourself enjoying in the future and work towards that.

  Semester 2 starts in a couple months, if there is something else you want to study then you should apply asap.

  You should also budget your money with needs and wants. Cigarettes and coffees are wants. As for coffee i suggest you buy an aeropress and make your own.

  I assume your parents provide you with dinner and most likely have bread etc. so 240 a month is too much for food. Eat dinner at home and buy cheap ingredients to make your own lunch and you will find you are saving a lot.

  Best of luck! Also at your current job try to make around $215 p/w so you can still receive max centrelink payment.

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  Flowerbomb on 31/05/2016 - 10:46

  Far out. Had no idea smokes cost that much! I thought they were $10 a pack.

  Can't you apply for rent assistance? That's about $80 (not 100% sure) per fortnight for board (Not rent) which Centrelink gives.

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  rgr on 31/05/2016 - 11:36

  +4

  holy shit, for a uni student you spend WAYYY too much on luxury items. $510 a month on things you could go without is insane.

  Also, if you need your dad to wake you up each day to get ready then you need to start growing up quickly.

  If you saved that $510 for a year then you'd be able to get a decent secondhand car, but if you can't manage your finances and lifestyle habits then you're not ready to own a car. You have to pay for stuff like servicing, petrol, insurance, rego - and they don't come cheap for uni students either. Honestly dude, you need to turn things around because there are a lot of people who are worse off than you in the world and still manage to do simple things like get up for work, even if it pays them pennies.

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  phobo on 11/10/2016 - 12:16

  +1

  1) Stop smoking, drinking coffee at cafe's and buying lunch. I feel like these are self explanatory from the way you outlined your budget.

  2) I would recommend differing your studies for at least a year, does not sound like you really want it. I personally forced myself through a course i didn't like only to end up with a career path with no real opportunity or enjoyment for me. Take a year off and work like crazy, you will still find you have thoughts that you aren't going anywhere. While working think about what you want to do in the future. Really think. Great advice that was given to me was to get 2 blank pieces of paper - on 1 write down career goals and try and understand why you want them and what you must do to achieve them. On the other write down what you want out of your life and what is important to you.

  3) Everyone feels depressed at times, your issue is that you are growing up and it sounds like your parents pushed you to do a lot of stuff as a kid so now you need to learn to push yourself. Don't rely on motivation and practice discipline. If you decide to work i would recommend joining a gym.