Budgeting in Downtown Toronto

[MyWifesBoyfriend]

Right now staring down a minimum of $125k in debt based on rent and tuition costs. Naturally, I am looking to limit my spending throughout school. Not necessarily restricted to U of T students but: Does anyone have any good advice for budgeting as a law student in downtown Toronto? In and around the campus area, specifically. 

Can range from anything as trivial as good spots to buy produce to budget options for buying suits and clothing for future OCIs. 

Any advice is appreciated. 

[Turtles]

The single biggest impact to your debt situation will be the compensation of the job you land. People opt out of recruits and opportunities on a hunch about what they think they really want or based on what others tell them their chances are, but pursuing the high-paying opportunities and going through the right motions to do so will be infinitely more impactful than saving $1/day making coffee at home or shaving $200/mo off rent by commuting more. Chase dollars, not cents.

[GoatDuck]

In terms of specific things,

1. Suits: Spier & McKay has good prices on good suits. You can get a navy/charcoal suit+pants for $350ish. 

2. Groceries: No Frills on Bloor&Sherbourne is relatively close to the campus and you can get really cheap stuff there. Like, whole chickens for $5 or packs of three mediocre steaks for $17. 
 

3. Apply for bursaries if you qualify. You can get upwards or $30k/year depending on your socioeconomic background and assets. 

4. Limit your eating out. Get into good habits early and you’ll save a lot of money. Your peers may have very different spending habits, and you need to be mindful of that from the start. 

[BondGuy]

Check if Walmart delivers to your location. They have the cheapest groceries overall - they deliver to some spots in the city for 5 bucks or free if spending over 35 bucks. Worth every penny for the time you save in commuting to the grocery store. Those little Asian groceries have great produce prices, usually. 

I don't know about U of T, but for my other degrees I was late to the party on the value of the library. I didn't buy those 500 dollar textbooks that I'd never look at again and that saved me a bit of cash. 

 

[MyWifesBoyfriend]

1 minute ago, BondGuy said:

Those little Asian groceries have great produce prices, usually. 

I used to frequent the fruit and produce stands in Chinatown back in my undergraduate. Glad to hear its still an affordable option!

[notterrible]

Buy a giant freezer. Drive to Buffalo. Buy all your groceries for a year from Trader Joes's and store it in your brand new and space-saving giant freezer. Instant savings. 

 

Okay but serious answer to saving money as a UofT student is do NOT buy from anything Terima. You'll be at the law school and want a coffee. You'll think, hey, I'll go pick something up from the little coffee shop in the law school atrium. Then you'll spend $22 on a coffee and a small. I cannot tell you how much money people waste there every week. It's pretty cliched to say, but your budget friend is just serious meal prep. Otherwise, you'll end up in the large cohort of 1Ls who on a whim go out for lunch every other day, and spend all their money on it. Fun if you can afford it, but ass if you're on a tight budget.

Edited June 12, 2024 by notterrible

[GoatDuck]

Re: alternatives to Terima, there are several smaller university coffee shops within a 2 minute walk from the faculty of law that are much cheaper than Terima for food and coffee. Ask around and you’ll get a sense. 

[notterrible]

For sure! I should have said, try Acacia Cafe across the street from Jackman. Better food than Terima, and much more reasonably priced and sized.

[sleepylawstudent]

My two cents:

1. Food: FreshCo, No Frills, Walmart and Food Basics are cheaper than other grocery stores, and they price match. The Metro on Bloor has a 10% discount for students (bring your T-Card), but even after the discount I think Metro is more expensive than the stores mentioned before. But ultimately, buying groceries from any grocery store and cooking your own meals is going to be cheaper than any kind of eating out.

2. Suits: I would not wear this to an interview but Uniqlo has very cheap suits ($150ish) that are fine for wearing to work at a law firm (at least for summering).

[SNAILS]

In law school, I ate out maybe 6 times over 3 years. This was grabbing a sub, not having a steak dinner. I bought my groceries at Wal-Mart. There were no extra expenditures |(no concerts, no video games systems, etc). I bought a decent suit and some dress shirts, but nothing more than the minimum I need.

I'm actually in pretty good shape now debt wise.

Key question when budgeting: Do I NEED this?

You need food, a place to live, and clothes.  

[MyWifesBoyfriend]

I just wanted to say that I appreciate the thoughtful responses guys. I definitely feel more confident in terms of budgeting for this upcoming year. Thanks for this.

Edited June 16, 2024 by MyWifesBoyfriend

[hairpins]

For me, scholarships were a huge part of reducing debt throughout school. I prioritized making my scholarship application as strong as humanely possible (easier in your upper years once you know the questions that will be asked; or ask your career services folks). I managed about 80-90% tuition coverage throughout school. I also applied for loans when I didn't actually need the whole amount (at least not at that exact moment) to get access to government grants. I didn't do that in my first year and wish I did as I needed the money immediately post graduation and can't get easy access to pretty much any funding.