How Students Can Lead A Budget-Friendly Gap Year

If you've got money on the brain, or if you're worried that your gap year may be “expensive” and you won’t be able to afford it, we’ve got you covered. 

In this episode, we bust the most common myths around money during your gap year and offer up helpful tips that make this process easier and more comfortable. 

Come learn the importance of establishing a budget, goal-setting and the exact processes you need to go through to manage your income and expenses. You’ll also walk away with a solid understanding of how to handle larger sums of money to invest in yourself or your personal development. 

Stick around closer to the end when Michelle dives into valuable insight on how to creatively earn more money and travel smarter to help close income gaps. Discover private and government-funded youth scholarships and organizations that provide financial aid options and how to leverage your own skills to work with them in exchange for discounted scholarship programs. 

Topics Discussed

• Learn how to become familiar with handling larger sums of money so that you are comfortable making investment decisions for yourself. 
• A full overview of the steps needed to create a budget and how to keep track of your income and expenses.
• Traditional and alternative ways to help you create more income and achieve financial stability.
• Three examples of well-known scholarship opportunities.
• Practical examples that will help students reduce their costs during their gap year.
• Ways to work with gap year programs that have financial aid scholarships or bursaries built into their funding structure.
• Three affordable government-funded youth programs.
• The importance of setting goals before establishing a budget.

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

• RBC Future Launch Scholarship - https://www.rbc.com/dms/enterprise/futurelaunch/index.html
• The Youth Travel Foundation - https://ftj-ytf.org/youthtravelfoundation
• The Travel Access Project - https://www.travelaccessproject.org/canada
• Workaway.info - https://www.workaway.info/en/destination/northamerica/ca
• Airbnb - https://www.airbnb.ca/
• Katimavik - https://katimavik.org/en/we-offer/futureperfect/
• The Explorer Program - https://theadventureclassroom.com/the-explore-program-best-study-abroad-experience/
• Canadian Conservation Corps - https://cwf-fcf.org/en/explore/conservation-corps/ 
• The 4-Step Gap Year Planner - https://www.cangap.ca/planner

Connect With The Canadian Gap Association

• Join Gapper Connect on Discord to connect with students thinking about a gap year, current Gappers, and alum all in one place! https://www.cangap.ca/gapperconnect
• Visit the CanGap website https://www.cangap.ca/
• Follow on Instagram http://www.instagram.com/cangapassociation/
• Follow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ucangap
• Follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/ucangap/status/276178230694772736
• Follow on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuBit8gLXEOxaBggoGmykjQ