From one college student to another, let me fill you in on a few tips and tricks I’ve discovered to save money in college. We have to help each other out in this world of stress, debt, and fatigue, so here are my top five ways to save money as a college student.
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Going to college is often the first experience that people have of managing their own personal finances. Without parents at home to watch their spending and perhaps give money when needed, students need to buckle up and learn how to tighten their purse strings. Although it can be tempting to splash out and spend money when you’re at college, living frugally can set up good habits for the future and allow you to better enjoy your salary when you finally get the graduate job you’ve been coveting. Read on to discover some of the best ways for students to manage their finances.
Whether you’re going to school for your bachelors in business, your masters in social work online from a school like Rutgers University, or your degree in education, you’re probably in search of ways to help you save money so that you have more to spend on your school supplies and tuition. Well, there are a few practical ways that you can go about saving money surprisingly easily, and a few of them are listed below.
Cook for Yourself
While it may be convenient and it might save you time, eating at restaurants all the time, or even at your school’s cafeteria, will end up costing you a lot more money than necessary. If you wish to save more cash, purchase your groceries and prepare your meals at home. Your wallet, and your waistline, will thank you.
On one hand, college is the most crucial educational experience you’ll ever have. It’s where you really set the groundwork for your future career, growing as a student and working harder than you ever have before in your life. But it’s also a crazy amount of fun. You’ll meet more people, have more experiences and yes, drink more beer than possibly during any other four year stretch you’ll experience. That’s an awful lot to balance, not only when it comes to time management, but also your financial budget. Simply affording the classes you need to graduate is a pretty tall order these days, and most people can’t even do that without taking on a mountain of student loan debt they’ll be paying off for years to come. If you’re on a tight budget each semester, you’ve got to watch every dollar. Hopefully that insures you can cover the basics and still have enough fun that you don’t feel like you’re missing out on a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Here are a couple of tips to help you prevent frivolous spending in college.
First of all, think long and hard about your approach to eating. Most college students start out with a food plan, so ideally your major meals are covered. Yet it never seems to work out that way. At some point in the semester you’ll get tired of the choices laid out, and will end up going out to eat, calling for food delivery, snacking from vending machines or shoving down some late night grease bomb you barely remember in the morning. All of those meals out will add up in a hurry, and most of the time these meals just blend in with one another. Try to stick to your meal plan as much as possible, and go on periodic supermarket runs so you have snacks around that aren’t nearly as expensive as what you’d pick up in the convenience store.
Many college students are not well-equipped to make sound financial decisions, and there are a couple of reasons why. For one thing, they haven’t had to manage their own finances to this point. Even those that have held a job or had to maintain an asset like a car have had help from their parents. Very few students reach college with the experience of paying for rent and utilities under their belt. But even worse is the fact that they have received little to no education on the subject of personal finance. They might not even have a bank account, much less the knowledge needed to earn, save, budget, and build credit. Unfortunately, this makes them prime targets for credit card companies, who swoop in to offer young adults what seems to be “free” money, but actually comes with unfavorable terms such as high interest rates, annual fees, and more. So if it happens that you’re not particularly savvy when it comes to financial matters, here are just a few guidelines to help you make wise decisions during your time in college.
The first and perhaps most important lesson is that you must live within your means. This can be a tenuous undertaking when you are forced to take on the debt of student loans, you are living off your parents, or both. But you’re now an adult and it’s high time you learned how to handle your money in a responsible manner. And the easiest way to start is by creating a basic budget. You know what your expenses are, and if you don’t you should sit down with your parents to figure it out. Your list should include tuition, fees, and related expenses, as well as dorms, a meal plan, and other living costs. If you have a car, you’ll need to include loan payments and all associated costs such as registration, insurance, fuel, parking, and maintenance. And you’ll no doubt have other items to add.