It’s never too early to start thinking about student loan repayment. Avoid student debt if you can! Otherwise, be proactive and avoid spending all your student loan money at the bookstore this year; buy used textbooks. Or if you have a pile of used university textbooks at home sell them to other students.

Buy and sell used textbooks online instead. It’s a no-brainer for smart university kids like you. Open your laptop, visit locazU.com, sign up for an account and post your used university textbooks online. Earn cash and save money at the same time. Voila.

Avoid or minimize debt.

How to avoid debt 101
While it’s nearly impossible to avoid some form of debt while you’re a university student, smart kids know a few things about saving money where they can.

So open your notebooks and take some notes the old fashioned way. Then tape these notes to your dorm room door:

- Apply for scholarships, bursaries, and grants. You never know where an extra source of income could come from. Is your great-grandfather a war veteran? Is your mom apart of a local union? Did you hold the top spot in a jump rope competition in grade three? Lots of donors want to pass along money to causes they believe in. Check out your university’s webpage for a list of scholarships.
- Create a budget and stick to it. I know, budget is a yukky word, but being budget is a part of being a university student. Calculate your total monthly expenses, leave a little room for the unexpected, and make it your holy bible.
- Keep an interest-free status on your student loans. Doesn’t this just magically happen while your in school? Not always. Some students who have taken a semester off or who have dropped a class find themselves with an unexpected letter from the Canadian Student Loan Program. So manually inform them and don’t let it happen. Trust me, it’s not pretty.
- Buy used university textbooks. Seriously, do we really need to convince you why you shouldn’t pay full price? Browse locazU.com for a huge selection of Canadian textbooks, trade textbooks with friends, or give away free textbooks and earn good karma!

Okay, so now you’re a little older and a little wiser. Show Mom and Dad that you can manage your finances and avoid debt. They will be proud.

By Ann Schwab