Sarah.ccz

Sarah.ccz helping you become overly educated & financially responsible in your 20s
🌱grad school • student finance
🎓PhD Psych student
📍Toronto
[email protected]

06/02/2026

Here’s what I spent in the month of May as a 25 year old PhD student living in the GTA 💸👩🏻‍🎓🎀

I pay for everything on my credit card, and track my expenses on my spreadsheet throughout the month!

These 9 categories have worked great for me. Curious to know if you have similar or drastically different categories for tracking your expenses? 🤗

05/30/2026

How I would level up my Canadian personal finance as a student 🇨🇦 👩🏻‍🎓

🎀 Points covered 🎀:

🌱 Emergency Fund

Aim to save 3-12 months of living expenses. Did you know that 50-60% of Canadians do NOT have enough emergency savings to cover unexpected expenses?

Just by having an emergency fund, you’re doing better than most working adults!

I use , you can get $20 when you sign up using the link in bio!

🌱 Sinking Fund

Great way to organize your larger, on-time expenses. E.g., down payment on a house, travel, grad school, car maintenance, gifts, wedding, etc.

🌱 Investing

Investing early, even with $50, can set you drastically apart from your peers!

I have step-by-step videos on (1) how to open an account with WeathSimple, and (2) how to invest your first $200 in WealthSimple.

🌱 Credit Card

With many CC to choose from, be sure to pick one that suits YOUR needs. CIBC’s Dividend Visa works well for me now, but as my lifestyle and income change, I may want to switch to something else.

🌱 Budget Tracker

You need a budget tracker for 4 simple reasons:

🔹 Knowing how much you spend each month
🔹 … and in what category
🔹 Knowing how much is coming in each month
🔹 Knowing whether you are on track to meet your financial goals

🎀 My favourite accounts:

Emergency Fund 👉  (2.75% with DD)
Investments (TFSA, non-reg, etc.) 👉 
To get free SPC membership 👉 

Comment “WS” to open an account with WealthSimple and get $25+

Comment “TFSA calculator” for my favourite TFSA web calculator!

Everything you need to know about Canadian student loan repayment 🇨🇦Quick recap of what’s covered 👇🔹There are federal & ...
05/26/2026

Everything you need to know about Canadian student loan repayment 🇨🇦

Quick recap of what’s covered 👇

🔹There are federal & provincial loans

👉 But most students only have federal loans (+ federal grants), though you’d need to double check through your NSLSC account.

👉 Note that applying for loans also come with grants (free money you don’t need to pay back)!

🔹Federal student loans are now 0% interest

🔹Provincial loan interest depends on your province

👉 0% provinces: British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador

👉 Provinces still have interest: Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta

👉 Interest depends on the prime rate (e.g., prime + 1%, prime -1%, avg prime, or prime based on one bank’s)

🔹 If you haven’t logged into your NSLSC account yet, do so!

👉 Everything from lower payments by extending repayment terms, applying for RAP, loan forgiveness applications, setting up pre-authorized debit payments, etc. are done through NSLSC.

👉 A video a made a while back talks about how to login etc!

🔹Loan forgiveness programs

👉 Up to $60,000 forgiven for qualifying professions.

Even if you don’t qualify for federal loan forgiveness , many students still qualify for support programs and never realize it!!

E.g., provincial loan forgiveness, repayment assistance, etc.

Student loans are one of the biggest financial decisions most Canadians make in their 20s. Understanding how repayment actually works can save you a lot of stress and money! 🫶

Things I did to reduce taking out student loans 🎀💰High grades + Strategic Involvement + Apply for Scholarships I planned...
05/21/2026

Things I did to reduce taking out student loans 🎀

💰High grades + Strategic Involvement + Apply for Scholarships

I planned for what my “scholarship resume” would look like early on and got involved with activities that would contribute to these awards. Reverse engineer!

Also, if you got an entrance scholarship, keep it as long as you can!

💸 Utilize government grants

When you apply for student loans, you also open doors to receiving grants. This one is mainly for domestic students studying within their own province.

🌼 Save for Big Purchases

Sinking funds are a great way to save & spend on things you want, without blowing your budget or feeling guilty. E.g., travel, gifts, car, grad school fund…

🌱 Learn to Budget

Cannot stress this enough!! If you don’t already have one, start by tracking all your expenses & income for 3 months and work out a sustainable budget for yourself.

Also, I ask myself a set of budget questions to reflect on my spendings.

💌  Make lump-sum loan payments

Make lump-sum loan payments whenever possible to reduce interest is also a great tip! Especially applicable to those who have interests on their loans (note that federal loans are 0% now).

✨ Got an HISA

It’s a simple move that pays off. Traditional banks has its perks, but regular interest rates isn’t it.

👉I use (1.25%) and (2.75%).

Link in bio for $25+ sign up bonus!

There are so much more, like finding on campus part-time jobs, figuring out my spending rules, used student discounts, moved off-campus, learned more about money and credit cards, paying tuition & rent with a CC, etc.

Hope this list helps!

05/16/2026

8k summer fund saving goal update!

Last update before kicking off of the summer (and using my summer fund)!

I put my summer fund in for 2.75%, in which the interest is enough to pay for my (part of) my coffee budget!

(been enjoying myself too much with coffee shop visits the last month, as seen in April’s spending recap 😅)

Scholarships to apply for in May! These are a snapshot of the scholarships coming up, for the whole list, see the free s...
05/13/2026

Scholarships to apply for in May!

These are a snapshot of the scholarships coming up, for the whole list, see the free scholarship list!

What I spent this month as a PhD student, living off a teaching assistant salary, in Toronto 👩🏻‍🎓💸🫶I’d like that coffee ...
05/09/2026

What I spent this month as a PhD student, living off a teaching assistant salary, in Toronto 👩🏻‍🎓💸🫶

I’d like that coffee budget to be higher… just saying 🤷‍♀️

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Yorkville, ON

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