Money Saving Ideas for College Students
College students require money for a lot of different needs. Unfortunately, there are so many things to buy, but very little funds are available. With college costs rising constantly, it is not easy to live on a tight budget. Trying to stretch the money in that budget becomes a never ending quest for the college student. Following are some money saving ideas for college students to make their funds go a little further without straining their budget.
Entertainment: Students like to have fun and party on the weekends especially after working hard on their studies all week. After all, it is a part of the college experience. Nevertheless, it gets really expensive to go to movies, eat out, and visit the favorite pub, pool halls, sporting events, and other entertainment venues. Instead of doing these things on a regular basis, how about fixing up a couple of big bowls of popcorn, rent some movies and watch them with your friends. Buy beer or wine and drink at home with your buddies instead of going out to bars or pubs. Pizza is everybody’s favorite. Instead of going out or sending out for costly pizza, just buy some at the grocery store and cook it up in the oven or microwave. You can also split the cost of pizza and beer with your friends. Organizing a barbecue in a park and splitting the cost with friends is another great idea. You can enjoy the outdoors, throw around a football, play volleyball, etc. While there in the park, check upcoming evens for free concerts, etc.
Gasoline: The high cost of driving now puts a big strain on anyone’s budget. Having a car at college can be really cool, but you may have trouble finding enough money for gas. Think about carpooling – just get together with a few friends that own cars and take turns driving on different nights. You are not only saving money on gas, but wear and tear on your vehicle.
Textbooks: One of the major costs of college is purchasing books and study materials. Another of our money saving ideas for college students is to offer to buy textbooks from students that have already completed the same course of study. Also, you can check on eBay or Amazon for used textbooks. Or, you can just click on the link below to a couple of companies that specializes in selling or renting used textbooks.
Food: College students love to eat and of course this is a major part of the budget. There’s many ways to save money such as buying in bulk, or from dollar stores, wholesale markets, and farmer’s markets. Buying in bulk takes money and you also need room for storage. So, instead of just doing this on your own just split up the cost and the food among 5 or so friends. Don’t forget couponing. Expert couponers can save 50% to 90% on their groceries and personal care items. If you don’t receive the Sunday newspaper, you can join coupon companies online and print out your own coupons. Just be sure that you only use coupons on things you buy on a regular basis. You’ll be able also to save money on personal care items such as shaving cream, soaps, shampoos, etc. Let me give you a personal experience on couponing. I buy a protein bar chock full of vitamins and frequently eat it as a meal replacement for breakfast or lunch. The cost is $1.59 each. I go to the manufacturer’s website and print out a 50 cent coupon. I purchase the item at a store that doubles the coupon to $1.00, so it ends up costing me only 59 cents.- a savings of 63%. Every so often, the item is put on sale for $1.00 each. When this happens, I get the item for free and stock up during the time it is on sale.
These are only a few money saving ideas for college students. Be sure to check out our Educational Products category for educational products, services, information and tips.
