A college student with a limited amount of money; Gee, is there any other kind? Whether you’re on scholarship or financial aid, work study or you have a part-time job, no matter what your financial situation may be, there’s one thing that we know for sure: You’re trying to find ways to make your money last for just as long as you possibly can.
We’ve been there and we can totally relate. If you are looking for some frugal living tips, ones that will give you the ability to enjoy the college life without getting (financially) stressed out, we have five suggestions that can easily help you to reach that goal:
Cut out bad habits. Yeah, we know. College tends to be the time when you start certain habits more than you think about stopping them. But, if you’re a smoker, drinker or junk food eater, if you looked at the receipts for those purchases over a months’ time, it could literally cause you to go cold turkey. Vices come with a price, in more ways than one. Make sure to remember that.
Buy used. The cool thing about a lot of college towns is that they have great used music, book and thrift stores. So, try and avoid the malls as much as possible and opt for buying used instead. Look at it this way: By buying used, you can get twice as much stuff as you would if you bought full-price retail. Oh, and while we’re on the subject of getting purchasing items, you can get your textbooks that way too. Chegg, Valore Books and Textbooks are all websites that can provide you with just about any book that you need (for class).
Watch what you pay for. OK, this particular tip can apply to so many things. For instance, if you like to work out and you had a membership at a gym in your hometown, most colleges have a gym on campus that you can use for free with your student I.D so, there’s no need to pay for a fitness club membership. If you’re a big coffee drinker, you probably have thought nothing about frequenting the local coffee shops. Yeah, but at $4-5 a latte, that can really add up. You’re much better off with having your own coffee-making machine. And parking? You can lose a lot of money in paying for tickets. So, you might either want to go without a car or making it a point to park off campus.
Take your college identification everywhere. Whether you’re an undergraduate student studying math or you’re looking at some of the best online business intelligence degrees to enroll in, if you have a college identification card you definitely need to put it into your wallet. There are loads of places (including the movies) that will give you a nice discount just for having one.
Do some side jobs. In college, even an extra $20 can go a really long way. Thanks to social media, all you have to do is change your Facebook status to let your professors know that you’re available to babysit or housesit or do any odd jobs around their house or office. Sometimes people don’t offer us opportunities because they don’t know what we’re looking for them. If you’re willing to work, put that message out there. It usually pays off (literally).
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