Money Matters

When completing a budget plan, it's a good idea to include unexpected costs such as extra travel home, birthdays and end-of-term parties.

­Where possible, a part-­time job can help provide much ­needed cash and new friends. The graduate job market is becoming increasingly competitive and most employers look more favourably on students with work experience, even if it is not related to their career, as they give students transferable skills.

To reduce travel costs and pressure on the car parks, SETU Waterford actively encourages car pooling. Information on car pooling can be found on http://www.carsharing.ie

­It's not necessary to rush out and buy all the books on the reading list in the first week. Waiting will allow students to see which ones will be needed regularly and provide the opportunity to try to buy them second hand. Students from the year above often sell old course books, as do the second­-hand sections of many bookshops. Bargains may also be found on websites such as Amazon.

Once your son or daughter’s budget plan is complete, don’t worry if their income turns out to be less than their expenditure - they are not alone! Look at the plan and see if it will be possible to increase income (eg by working part time or during the holidays). The alternative is to reduce expenditure. Ask your son or daughter if they could reduce their mobile phone bills, or go out less for a couple of weeks until their income can catch up with their outgoings.

Those who are fortunate enough to have more income than expenditure should try to be sensible with this extra money. Remember, the less money that is borrowed now, the sooner the debt will be cleared after graduating. This being the case, it might not be a bad idea to use some of this surplus to pay some of the fees up front, or to put it in a savings account.