photography by Danielle Tocker

What I Spend Each Month as a Student at University of Regina

Nneoma Ndukwu lives with her family and focuses on saving

by Nneoma Ndukwu

April 1, 2024

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University: University of Regina
Program: Nursing
Age: 19

My family is from Nigeria. In 2016, we visited my uncle, who lives in Ontario. We really liked it in Canada. My parents applied for permanent residency for our family in 2020, but their application was still being processed when my sister and I were ready to go to university. We applied to Brandon University’s bachelor of nursing program as international students. The tuition was expensive—$9,000 per semester. I paid $400 a month to share a bedroom with my sister and another roommate in a two-bedroom apartment. I got a part-time job working as a cashier at Sobeys, earning $13.75 an hour. I usually worked about 16 to 20 hours a week.

By November of 2022, our family’s permanent residency came through, and my own came through in January of 2023. We moved to Regina with our family a few months later. Being a permanent resident means we pay much less tuition—$3,000 per semester.

I don’t have as much pressure now to earn money for rent and groceries, but I’m saving up to get a car and rent my own place in the next few years. I work part-time as an administrative assistant and youth mentor for an NGO for Afro-Caribbean children. Sometimes I pick up shifts doing caregiving work through an agency. Over the summer, I’ll try and get a job working in a care home or at the hospital so I can earn and save more.

Housing: $0

I live with my parents and four siblings in a three-bedroom house in southwestern Regina. My two sisters and I share a bedroom and my two brothers share another bedroom. I’m the eldest of the family. I usually study in my bedroom, but if it feels too noisy or crowded, I’ll take the bus to a public library 10 minutes away to study. Our house is pretty far from campus—it takes an hour on the bus to get there. But, since I have some online courses this semester, I only have to go to campus twice a week.

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My parents pay for our rent and all the utilities, but I might start to chip in with some of the bills, like the internet. We took over the previous tenant’s internet contract with SaskTel for $87 a month. When that contract ends, I’ll be able to get a student discount for $60 a month.

Groceries: $60

If I’m out and buying groceries on my way home, or I’m the one who pops out to buy some items for our family, I’ll pay for the grocery bill. It varies every month. Sometimes I spend $50 on groceries for the family and sometimes I spend $100.

We make a lot of African meals, like jollof rice and egusi soup. We also buy bread and tea for breakfast, and we’ll make tortilla wraps with vegetables and chicken since it’s fast and easy. We’re considering getting a Costco membership since we’re such a large family. Sometimes we’ll go to an African shop to buy different kinds of leaves, melon seeds and dried fish that you can’t get at regular stores.

Our family doesn’t really go out to eat at restaurants. We’ll go once a year, like over the summer when my uncle was visiting, to try some Canadian foods like mac and cheese.

Transportation: $50 for Ubers

I take the bus a lot—about 20 times a week to go back and forth to school, work and just heading out to explore Regina. A bus pass is included in our school fees. Sometimes, if I’m running late, or it’s really cold outside and the bus is running late, I’ll cave and get an Uber. For example, I had to take a test for one of my nursing school certifications recently and I needed to be there by 5 p.m., but my previous appointment ran late.

Class costs and fees: $293 for certifications and uniform fittings

We have clinicals starting next semester, so I had to order a set of scrubs in the school colour, which is turquoise. It cost $214 for two scrub tops and bottoms. I also needed to be fitted for a special mask, which cost $79 at one of the St. John’s Ambulance branches.

Subscriptions: $6.99 for Netflix

I pay for my family’s Netflix subscription. We watch a lot of Nigerian movies. We’ll get together most days after dinner in the living room and watch whatever we’re in the mood for. We watched Merry Men 1 and 2 and a Nigerian movie called King of Boys. I recently signed up for a free trial of Amazon Prime. I get six months free as a student, then after that, it’s $4.99 a month or $49 for the year. I’m not sure if I’ll continue the subscription after the trial. I’ll see how the next few months go.