Charity Williams, Staff Writer
College isn’t cheap. With the cost of tuition and textbooks, it makes it hard to be able to do everything that you want. So, how can you save money when it doesn’t seem like saving money is possible?
Ky’Aria Moses, a junior majoring in psychology, knows how important it is to save your money. “We won’t be in college forever. We will eventually graduate and be exposed to the real world and if we save now, it’s less we will have to worry about in the future,” says Moses.
Below are some tips that you might find helpful:
TIP: Don’t buy new textbooks
At the beginning of each semester, it may seem like a good idea to buy new textbooks. However, buying new textbooks for classes can be very expensive and the cost could go way over your budget for spending that semester. It’s much cheaper to buy used textbooks, to rent textbooks or, if you and your friend are taking the same class, to share textbooks and split the cost.
TIP: Limit eating out
It’s incredibly tempting to want to spend money on fast food because it’s cheap and ‘fast’. Unfortunately, however, the cost of eating out can quickly accrue and, before you know it, you could be left broke and hungry.
To limit the amount of money spent eating out, consider cooking more at home. It’s cheaper to make home cooked meals and they often last longer. If you’re not someone who has time to cook every day, then consider only eating out during the weekends.
TIP: Cut your cable bill
Cable bills aren’t an issue for students living on campus, but if you’re a student who lives off campus, then cable costs could be hurting your pocket.
If you can’t imagine living without cable, a cheaper alternative would be, instead, using streaming sites like Netflix or Hulu, which are more affordable than cable and still offer a variety of shows and movies to enjoy.
TIP: Consider having roommates
Here is another tip for students living off campus. It is often much cheaper to live with one or two other people.
It is, however, difficult to find roommates to live with but one also has the options of staying with friends, classmates, and even posting flyers around for potential roommates, available to them. Just be careful in who you choose to stay with and be sure to set clear rules around the house.
TIP: Keep your loose change
All you need is a container. It’s super easy to store your loose change.
Although it’s easy to overlook the amount of change that you collect at first, overtime it’ll add up, and eventually you’ll have more money in loose change than you could have ever imagined. Keeping loose change is one of the easiest ways to save your money.
TIP: Be a smarter shopper
Shopping is a great way to relieve stress. The only downside is that it can sometimes be very expensive. You can combat this problem by being a smarter shopper. That means when you shop, try to avoid buying anything at full retail value and to try to buy groceries and clothes on sale.
Jazmin Ward, a senior majoring in psychology, says that it is a good idea to shop smart.
“You can find deals and save money on necessities and then be able to spend money on other leisure activities,” Ward suggests.
Also, when you’re shopping, take advantage of coupons and consider buying the generic brands of products which are a lot cheaper than their name brand name counterparts.
As a college student, you know firsthand the expenses of college whether you want to admit it or not. Learning how to have good money management skills is an essential part of being an adult, but it doesn’t have to be hard; it just takes commitment.
Remember: it never hurts to save money. You never know what you might need the extra cash for.
