2006 Unsw Co-ops (2 Viewers)

[milkyways]

I thought that I should probably start a forum for all those doing a Co-op program this year so that we can share our thoughts and get to know each other.

I will be doing the Commerce degree with a major in Actuarial Studies. Have you guys all received the Co-op agreement yet?

 

[milkyways]

So any coops out there?

 

[seremify007]

LOL i can think of 2 ppl who come to BoS who are on coops at unsw this year- one's doing Fin and the other is doing Acct. Hopefully they'll see the topic and if they're gonna reveal themselves, they can.

 

[chloe169]

Thanks for pointing me to the thread, seremify. Im the one doing finance. handed in my scholars agreement today woo!

 

[milkyways]

Thanks for pointing me to the thread, seremify. Im the one doing finance. handed in my scholars agreement today woo!

What type of bank account did you elect? And what do you think you'll do with $13,400?

 

[seremify007]

I think she's giving it all to me or maybe she'll buy a new clarinet... but we'll wait and see =]

 

[milkyways]

I think we actually get the payments in instalments every week/fortnight. I think I'll spend half of it on myself and university fees (not hecs) and save the other half.

 

[Sharpshooter]

its ~$550 a fortnite? havent really checked. but 1st yr it certainly doesnt add up to the 13.4k, its less and they increase it every year so by 4th year your getting more than 13.4k since you got less in 1st yr. dont ask me how it works but apparently it does.

 

[sunny]

pb and I are on our last year of coop....so I guess we're still 2006 coop

My suggestion would be to save whatever you can and try and avoid spending too much....

 

[milkyways]

How are the sponsors chosen for your IT? Can you choose them yourself or are they allocated to you?

 

[grimreaper]

pb and I are on our last year of coop....so I guess we're still 2006 coop

My suggestion would be to save whatever you can and try and avoid spending too much....

Why would students need to save money? Once they finish their degree, and in the case of co-op students, stop receiving their payments, theyll be able to get a job and earn money anyway... Unless youre talking about so they can make hecs payments

 

[sunny]

Why would students need to save money?

Keep up a lavish lifestyle, and it'll be hard to stop once coop stops paying.

Once they finish their degree, and in the case of co-op students, stop receiving their payments, theyll be able to get a job and earn money anyway...

Theres no guarantee the sponsors hire coop students when they graduate. What if you want a holiday/break after you finish uni? What if you decide to buy a car? Deposit for a house? What if you want to do honours/postgrad/masters/phd then realise you have no money left to do it cause you spent it all during your undergrad years when coop paid you?

 

[chloe169]

im totally with sunny on this one.

seremify, a new clarinet? yeah right. im gonna be using the money to support myself... my parents arent helping me anymore, so thats gonna be my sole income that ill use to pay for all things uni related, travel, bills, etc... im not looking at it as money to blow.

its a total lifesaver though... theres no way id be able to study if i had to spend all the time it would take working to pay my way through uni... im thinking that the study time is gonna be heeeeeaps, cos im already behind before i even start (gen maths) and not only do i have to keep on top of the work but i gotta do really well in it (d avg) so its gonna be hectic this year.

 

[chloe169]

What type of bank account did you elect? And what do you think you'll do with $13,400?

what type of bank acct... ummm savings?? why?

 

[sunny]

I know some of the coops in my year save with ING Direct to get interest, might be worth a look - putting some aside each fortnight for 3 years would add up when you finish. I'm getting ~$610 fortnight. $300 goes into ING, the other half into my regular bank account for petrol, bills, etc etc.

 

[seremify007]

That sounds like a good idea sunny... can you provide any more info (in an unbiased fashion)? I don't really want to look at the ING website since it's probably filled with very "honest" advice!

Btw I'm not on coop but on a cadetship so I also need to figure out how to save my money.

seremify, a new clarinet? yeah right. im gonna be using the money to support myself... my parents arent helping me anymore, so thats gonna be my sole income that ill use to pay for all things uni related, travel, bills, etc... im not looking at it as money to blow.

Haha well think of it as a work expense =] Good luck with your financial management- it's good to be independent, and at least you have a steady source of income. Try not to blow all of it^^
(how suggestive)

 

[chloe169]

hmm ING eh .. my current savings account has no fees and an interest rate of 5.6%... 5.6 seems to be the highest rate ive seen from any of the banks atm.

 

[grimreaper]

What if you want a holiday/break after you finish uni? What if you decide to buy a car? Deposit for a house? What if you want to do honours/postgrad/masters/phd then realise you have no money left to do it cause you spent it all during your undergrad years when coop paid you?

Thats true. I suppose the thought of having a half decent disposable income as a student made me light headed (no coop for soft eng )

 

[sunny]

That sounds like a good idea sunny... can you provide any more info (in an unbiased fashion)? I don't really want to look at the ING website since it's probably filled with very "honest" advice!

I guess its pretty straightforward in the way most of these things work:
1) Put money in on a regular basis
2) Get interest.
The application process was pretty painless. The more you put in, the more interest you get It would always be wise to read fine print with banks and places to check out any fees. I haven't had any with ING Direct (the only fee I pay is to my bank for a fortnightly direct debit by ING to automatically transfer money in). You could always shop around and get higher interest rates like Chloe and see what you like.

Oh another thing, make sure you're only putting money in. Decide how much you actually "need" to spend, and the rest goes into savings - make sure it stays there! Getting a tight budget one particular fortnight? Don't skip a deposit! Make a habit of it and its all ruined.

Collected abit of a float in your normal bank account? Throw it into savings or treat yourself something

Right now I earn enough interest a month to pay for my mobile phone bill. The half of coop I keep in my account I use to pay the house phone, water and Internet bills, with enough left over for a nice life. The other half I'll enjoy later (with interest )

Thats true. I suppose the thought of having a half decent disposable income as a student made me light headed (no coop for soft eng )

hehe...thats exactly the thought you'd want to avoid.

 

[milkyways]

hmm ING eh .. my current savings account has no fees and an interest rate of 5.6%... 5.6 seems to be the highest rate ive seen from any of the banks atm.

Which bank are you with Chloe? I have seen the commbank site and to get interest in one of the savings account, you need a minimum balance of $5000.