Education is expensive at the best of times. But this school year, more post-secondary students may need to pinch their pennies to keep financially afloat.

Half of all post-secondary students expect their money to run out before the end of the school year, according to an Ipsos-Reid survey published last month. And many believe they'll barely survive the semester, since 43 per cent of new university students and 35 per cent of returning students think they'll be out of cash by Christmas.

The situation looks even more bleak when combined with a decline in youth employment reported by Statistics Canada, which called the 2009 summer labour market "one of the most challenging for students."

Last month, student employment plummeted by nearly 10 per cent compared to August 2008. Those with jobs worked an average of 23.4 hours per week -- the lowest number since Statistics Canada started compiling this data in 1977. In addition, the summer unemployment rate averaged about 19 per cent for students who planned to return to school this fall.

Shamus Reid, chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students B.C., said post-secondary learners will be hit even harder this school year by increased tuition fees and provincial cuts to student aid.

"It's going to be a significant time of hardship for students going back to school in the fall," Reid said.

"I think that for a lot of students, it's going to mean trying to find more work hours. But again, with unemployment as high as it is, students are usually the first to be hit by that because we don't have tremendously marketable skills in the workforce and haven't completed our post-secondary training. Often we're the first to be hit by the recession."

For many students, this financial pinch will mean taking fewer courses or not returning to school at all this fall, said Reid. Students might also bear the burden of higher debts accumulated through public loans and credit cards, he added.

"When student debt in B.C. is at an average of $27,000 per public student loan borrower, that's quite significant," he said.

"For those students who need the schooling to be able to move on and find a good career in life, it's going to mean accessing even more debt and all the dangers that go along with having such a high debt load."

On average, students taking a full course load at Douglas College spend about $7,277 per four-month term. These costs include tuition and books, as well as transportation, accommodation, utilities and incidentals. Students who live at home have lower costs, totalling about $4,000 per term.

Patty Lewis, financial aid supervisor for Douglas College, said students should start planning in advance how to make their money last through the semester.

"My advice is start putting together a financial plan and look realistically at what money you've got coming in," she said.

"Try to get a handle on what your expenses are going to be because if you have a shortfall, you can start to identify that early and start planning how to meet that shortfall."

By tracking expenses, students will be less likely to overspend -- especially after they receive loan money.

"Student aid funding tends to be in a lump sum, so it seems like a lot of money at first. But it disappears quickly after you pay your tuition and buy your books and pay rent and so on," she said.

"So students really need to sit down and come up with a financial plan so that they can anticipate problems before they arise and maybe cut back on some discretionary spending. They can look at ways to cut down expenses like bringing their own lunch instead of buying lunch in the cafeteria or avoiding the latte-a-day habit."

The Douglas College student aid offices, at both the Coquitlam and New Westminster campuses, provide students with free financial resources including money management trackers from the Credit Counselling Society. For students that need extra financial help, they offer complimentary copies of Murray Baker's book The Debt-Free Graduate, which contains tips on how to live cheaply.

Lewis also recommends students register on www.scholarshipscanada.com and www.studentawards.com. These free national databases provide information about awards students may not have heard about through their school or from government. Other online resources are available at www.canlearn.ca.