I wanted to conclude the Little Savings Series by compiling an ultimate list of little savings that can have a big impact in the future. These are all minor savings today and big savings tomorrow. I’m not a frugality zealot by any means. I do however believe in the power of time and little moves towards a major goal. As a college student you can really benefit from these little savings in the long run.

Let’s jump right into it because we have a lot of ground to cover. Let’s go over the list of  12 little savings that can go a long way in the future:

1. Doing research today.

If you start planning right now, you can save yourself lots of money for tomorrow. This is what I do with trips and major purchases. The further in advance that I start planning the better off I find myself to be. This is a little saving and an investment of time that leads to huge yield in the future.

2. Drinking tap water.

I used to hate drinking water, especially tap water. Now I don’t drink anything but water. I find it to be so simple and yet very effective. Most of us are fortunate enough to have easy access to clean water. Water is cheap (free from a tap) and it hydrates us. I can’t imagine drinking or spending my money on a soda.

3. Pre-drinking before you go out.

If you’re in college on a tight budget or even a young professional you can save yourself some decent coin by drinking at a friends house before you get to the party. I’ve saved lots of money with this strategy because drinks are too damn expensive in Toronto.

4. Saving $10 a week.

If you start to put aside $10 a week and never touch the money, you’ll find yourself with a pretty beefed up savings account in a few years. The key is not to touch the money or to think about it. Just let it chill.

5. Preparing your own lunch.

When it comes to food we pay for convenience. When we eat out we’re paying a premium for someone else to prepare our food. If we took a few minutes out of our very busy schedules (sarcasm) we could save some real cash by just preparing lunch. If you can prepare all of your emails ahead of time, your bank account will be thanking you after a few weeks.

6. Turning the lights off.

Turning off the lights is a good habit to build early on. You might not save any money right now, but when you have a big house and a family you’ll notice the results.

7. Saving your change.

Do you have a piggy bank for your change? Don’t scoff at this idea just yet. Saving up your change in a jar is the easiest way to save a hundred bucks or so a month. Instead of throwing your random change towards a candy bar you can save it up and wait up until your piggy bank starts to get very heavy.

8. Sharing textbooks.

I used to hare buying text books. These are by far the biggest wallet buster for all college students. I highly urge you to find a way to share textbooks with a classmate. It’s a good way to turn a stranger into a friend and to save some big money over your four years of college.

9. Riding the bus.

I spent four years riding the bus. At times I hated it. When it was all said and done I was impressed with how much money I saved by riding the bus instead of taking the car to school. This little daily saving can save you fortune during college.

10. Learning a new language.

The more you learn today the more options you’ll open up for yourself in the future. Don’t be intimidated. Try to learn a new language. I’m trying to learn Spanish and I’m giving myself a year to pick it up.

11. Keeping your stuff for longer.

I kept my old laptop for three years. This doesn’t sound like much. The thing is that the laptop was no good and it needed to be replaced before I even bought it. I managed to ride it to the very end until it could no longer start. I need to admit that this only worked for me because I don’t play any video games on my computer.

12. Helping others.

If you can help a friend save time or with any problem that’s bothering them, you can build a friend for a life. This is a valuable connection that will stick with you forever. You save someone a little bit of money today and in the future they can somehow repay you with their time or money. Life can get pretty interesting.

I listed 12 little savings that can lead to big savings in the future. What would you like to add to this list? Let’s see how many more we can add here…

Check out the rest of the Little Savings Series:

Holding a Yard Sale For Extra Cash.
Your Daily Commute’s Impact on Your Wallet.
How Being Responsible Can Save You a Little Bit & Even Lots.
The Little Savings From The Things You Put Inside of You

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Are you putting expensive things into your body? Are you spending too much money on supplements? Are you looking for little savings from what you consume?

There are many ways that you can save money just by watching what you put inside of you. Are you aware of everything that’s going into your system?

Let’s look at how you can save money by limiting what you put into your system…

Do you really need that?

Do you really need that cup of coffee in the evening? Do you really need that supplement when you’re not even training that hard? I’m not some frugality zealot that’s going to suggest that you save money by cutting everything possible out. That’s no fun. I enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning. The problem revolves around the idea of consuming what we don’t need.

We can find many little ways to save a few bucks here and there by cutting out what we really don’t need. You can save a little fortune by not eating unless you happen to be hungry. You can save even more money by not consuming alcohol when you really don’t need to or with expensive supplements that don’t really do a whole lot of positive.

Lots of money can be saved by asking yourself: do I really need that?

Are you aware of the placebo effect?

The effects of the placebo can be very dangerous. You think that you’re getting certain results due to these high priced pills, but in reality you’re just spending money on nothing.

I recently caught a fascinating documentary on the world of bodybuilding. In this film the director exposes how supplements are made and how they don’t really do all that much. The fancy packaging, the beautiful women in the commercials, and the jacked up body builders make the supplement seem like it works. We then pay the expensive price for this supplement. In doing so we convince ourselves that it’s going to work. This is where the placebo effect comes into play. The placebo effect allows us to justify expensive purchases by convincing ourselves that this high-priced product works.

I don’t want to dwell on this point for much longer so I’ll just leave it at this– try going with a cup of coffee, a drink of beer, or that expensive supplement next time. See what you can do naturally and track your results. You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you find out what you can accomplish all on your own without consuming anything expensive.

Do you enjoy the activity or is it just a habit?

I must confess that I smoked cigarettes in high school. I was convinced that I was addicted. I would meet up with the same group of friends every morning and enjoy a few smokes together. It was a disgusting and expensive activity.

Then I stopped hanging out with these friends for random reasons. At this point I noticed that the smoking was just a habit that I was stuck in and I didn’t really care for smoking. We often get stuck with a habit and have a difficult time kicking it.

You’ll notice this too with one area of your life. You might feel that you enjoy a particular activity, but it’s just a habit. We are creatures of habit and we tend to mimic the same behavior over time. This will happen to you. You can save yourself a decent amount of change by cutting out habits that are costing you money.

How will you save a little bit of money today? Will you cut out a habit? Will you try to go natural? 

Check out the rest of the Little Savings Series:

Holding a Yard Sale For Extra Cash.
Your Daily Commute’s Impact on Your Wallet.
How Being Responsible Can Save You a Little Bit & Even Lots