Green Panda Treehouse

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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 20 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.

1. 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)]
2. Carpool to get to campus if you’re a commuter student. [Approx. savings: $60/month  ($3/gallon for 5 gallons)]
3. Share a parking pass if you commute with some one [Approx. savings: $40/semester]
4. Do your own oil changes. [Approx. savings: $160/year]
5. Stay on your parent’s car insurance policy. [Approx. savings: $100/month]
6. Compare car insurance policy. [Approx. savings $50/month]
7. Don’t be a smoker. [Approx. savings $70/month]
8. 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]
9. Make a grocery list and stick with it. [Approx. savings: $80/month]
10. 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

Most college students don’t consider health insurance a priority with all the other bills they have to deal with. If you neglect having suitable insurance, it can not only lead to serious health consequences, but also can ruin your financial life. A visit to the ER can average $361- $1262 according Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. In Florida an ER visit can be just under $1900!

 I don’t know many college students and recently graduated students that can afford that. About.com has a really good overview on how to maintain health insurance when you’re in college and when you graduate.

• One option for you if you’re 24 and under is to remain on your parent’s plan. This would increase their bill, but if you can pay your portion, you can get a reasonably good health insurance policy for a better price. If your parents are offering to pay, then thank them for providing some protection incase of an emergency.
• Some universities offer a discounted health care plan for full time students. UNC has such a program. A call to your health services department can tell you if this is an option. All the universities I know offer a clinic for students on routine check ups and minor health problems.
• See if your job offers any health benefits. If you’re part-time, it may not be possible, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
• Another option is getting a limited health care plan. While it might help with some basic visits, the lower premiums usually means getting less coverage. Still, it’s an option for those trying to make ends meet.

E-healthinsurance is a site that allows you to compare prices of different policies. Keep in mind while you are no doubt looking at the price; don’t let that be you’re only guide.  If you’re paying a low price, but get nothing in return, then you’re losing money. Look at the deductibles and co pays. As with every other policy, please read the fine print.

Do you have health insurance now? How did you get it? Do you know another way to get health coverage while still in school?

This is an updated post from July 07.

    Since FAFSA applications will be sent out and available starting this week, I decided to repost (and modify) a previous post on financial aid. The information is still good and very helpful.

My goal with this post is to try and get you the information you need to find  money for college. While many students finance their education with mainly student loans, there are grants and scholarships out there. The main key is start early. While there are opportunities throughout the year, focusing on applying in January and February can really pay off. How? See the tips below to find out.

Remember you’re looking for grants, which mean you don’t have to pay them back.

Apply for FAFSA early. As soon as you can, apply for Free Application for Federal Student Aid in January. Use an estimate for your taxes when you initially fill it out. Once you get your tax return back, (or your parents’) sign in online and update the information. The earlier you do this the higher your chances of receiving more grants.

Be aware of individual states’ deadlines for getting financial aid. Each state has a different deadline on getting grants from them. March is a deadline that many states shoot for, so try to do it early and you’ll see that you can get more grants there. We’re talking about an extra hundred a semester to thousands of dollars.

Apply for scholarships. Just because you’re getting money from the government doesn’t mean you can’t try to get some scholarships. FastWeb is a popular site that searches applicable scholarships for you. You should also check out the institution’s scholarships, which are usually based on need, merit, and/or major.

Stay local. By staying in-state, you get much cheaper rates than out of state students. My university doubles the rate for a class for out of state students.

Go to a community college first. In my area, the community college is close to the local universities. Many of the university professors teach at community college. You also save 40-60% on the price per credit!

Maintain good grades. Most federal financial aid require a 2.0 GPA or higher to keep it. Don’t use that as a guideline; strive for a 3.0 or higher. It will help when you go to a 4 year university and are looking at their scholarships.

Consider work study as an option. This helps put cash on your pocket and the schedule is typically good for a college student. If you have dependents and going to college, this may not be an option, as the pay is usually $6-8/hour.  I would suggest looking at jobs from the career center.

There are several articles great articles from other blogs that can help college students. Here’s a list of my favorites:

• 10 Tips For Realistic Money Management In College (The Simple Dollar)
• Ben Stein’s Tips For New College Students (Consumerism Commentary)
• How I Escaped from Living Paycheck-to-Paycheck (Get Rich Slowly)
• Quelling the Arguments Against Student Loan Interest Rate Reduction(Grad Money Matters)

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Photo Credit: yanec