College students are in a great position to save money. They have time on their side and they can be very creative. One thing most don’t have (I fell in this category) is money.
Here are 10 tips that can save you a lot of money. The tips are mostly free (unless you have to buy a crock pot, in which case, that’ll set you back $20) and take 30 minutes or less to set up.
- Walk to do local errands and to go to campus (if you’re within walking distance). [Approx. savings: $36/month ($3/gallon for 3 gallons)]
- Carpool to get to campus if you’re a commuter student. [Approx. savings: $60/month ($3/gallon for 5 gallons)]
- Share a parking pass if you commute with some one [Approx. savings: $40/semester]
- Do your own oil changes. [Approx. savings: $160/year]
- Stay on your parent’s car insurance policy. [Approx. savings: $100/month]
- Compare car insurance policies. [Approx. savings $50/month]
- Don’t be a smoker. [Approx. savings $70/month]
- Consider trading clothes with friends. You may have out grown or out shrunk your clothes. See if you can swap with stylish friends. [Approx. savings $75/month]
- Make a grocery list and stick with it. [Approx. savings: $80/month]
- Use a crock pot for your meals and spread it out. Chili, lasagna, stews, and more can be made in a crock-pot and they last several meals. It takes very little effort, usually just putting the ingredients into the pot and cooking. We usually make enough of something to last 3 meals. [Approx. savings $100/month]
With the money you save from the tips, take a chunk of it and pay off your debt, put it into a high interest savings account, and or start a retirement fund. Enjoy the rest of the money, you deserve it.
Photo Credit: Victor Geere
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Another tip I used in college. Look around campus to buy used books for classes. You might be able to get a good deal. There are also on-line book sales/exchanges for college books as well.
Great idea, you can save some money every semester with that tip.
Randall has a great idea! Books are extremely expensive. I would buy them used from half.com, amazon.com or another student for less than 25% of what the book store was charging.
Also, collect used textbooks that are being thrown away. I had a lot of friends that just threw their books in the garbage. I listed them for sale of half.com and paid for my books for the last 2 years I was in school.
I also recommend getting a part time job at the library. You’re paid to study…it forced me to study and I received a $40 check every other week (enough for beer and clothes)…..
I can personally attest that as a college student I saved a grand total of one giant goose egg. Rather than focus on saving as a college student (most are not really ready for such a responsibility), it’s better to focus on NOT getting into financial trouble. Signing for credit cards to get T-Shirts for example.
-Raymond.
Excellent advice!
There’s also a great site called SwapTree.com where people can trade books, CDs and DVDS with each other for free. All you have to pay for is shipping. I only wish that I had known about this while in college.
From an eco-friendly standpoint, you should also recycle and reuse as many things as you can. You can use old CDS as coasters or bike reflectors, used coffee grinds are great fertilizer for your plants and old plastic soda bottles can be used as planters!
Check out Potatorioles Fans last blog post..Choosing a Graduate School Loan
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