Tuesday 1 December 2009

Budgeting for the new year

Yesterday I received the official letter from JCU offering me a place in the MAstron course next year, and today I sent in the acceptance form and completed the eCAF (electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form) which is required prior to enrollment.

The JCU website indicates that the two courses I'll enrol in for 2010 are each 0.25 EFTSL (equivalent full-time study load) and are both "Band 4" (which determines how much Commonwealth sponsored students have to pay). However I'm still not 100% certain what I'll have to pay in 2010 for these courses, as the JCU site only lists the cost per EFTSL for Bands 1, 2, 3 and for those subjects classed as 'national priority' subjects for 2010 (science, math and engineering). I strongly suspect (since the MAstron course is run by the Dept of Engineering and Science) that these Band 4 subjects are included the 'national priorty' category, which means that the lowest cost per EFTSL will be applied. I intend to pay the course fees in full before the 'census date', which will mean I get an additional 20% discount. I think that the subject fees will end up around $850 each.

This month I'll prepare a detailed household budget for 2010 that includes paying the course fees in full each term, and I'd like to start tracking my financial data again in Quicken from the start of next year - my 'one off' expenses have been excessive for the past few months, and need to be brought under control.

I'll also need to carefully budget my time next year so I can get good results in my uni subjects - my previous study method of leaving assignments until they were almost due and only studying for exams the night before produced 'mixed' results. I've been browsing through the Study Hacks blog and there are a few tips that I'll give a go. So, this week I'm studying how to study ;)

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