There are a lot of different ways that you can save some money while you’re in school. You want to get a quality education but you also know that you need to save money as much as possible so you can afford that education. So how are you going to cut corners while you’re in school? There are actually several ways that you can do just that and the best part of it is that you likely won’t even notice that you’re cutting corners or even feel like you’re missing out. Here are several different ways to save on top of the 7 we're going to discuss.
Personally I didn’t want to have any kind of debt when I finished college so I did everything I could to avoid it. But of course I couldn’t completely succeed and I ended up with a student loan. But over some time I managed to locate other ways that I could save some money. These tips are some of the best ones that I believe will help you out the most. They’re easy to follow through with and they’re also going to save you a lot of money. You’ll be amazed just how much you can save in one semester. I know I was.
- Cook Your Own Meals-If you go out to eat a lot or even if you purchase a pass to eat in your school’s cafeteria you’ll be paying a lot of money for not a lot of food. On the other hand if you go to a grocery store and buy your own groceries so you can make your own meals you’ll be able to make all the meals you need for your entire year at school for less than you would pay for even a semester the other way. This is going to save you big time.
- Get a Roommate-Renting an apartment or even staying in a dorm is extremely expensive. The closer you live to the school likely the more expensive your rent is going to be. If you find one or more people who are interested in a room as well then you’ll be able to split the cost of the rent. This helps you to save some of the money you would otherwise have to spend for that large room all by yourself.
- Stick to Your Budget-When you first move out you’ll want to buy more things than you did before. What you should do instead is sit down and make a budget. You want to make sure that whatever else you do you are sticking to that budget. Sure you will want to spend some extra money every now and then. You’ll want to pick up some extra things or splurge on something new. The problem is that when you first start ignoring your budget it becomes even easier to do so and before you know it you’re in debt. By sticking to your budget you’ll be able to save some money (and if you’re good about it you should have some extra money left over for a few splurges every now and then).
- Avoid Getting Credit Cards-Having one credit card in case of emergencies is a good thing. You want to build up your credit
after all since you are going to want to get out on your own soon after you graduate. And of course sometimes things will come up that you just can’t afford but you have to take care of (like medical expenses or an emergency car repair). For these instances it’s a good idea to have a credit card. But avoid using it for anything other than emergencies as this can cause you to run up debt that you simply can’t pay off.
- Work Hard to Keep on Track-Staying on track with your studies is the best way to save money. Many people end up falling behind and then they end up retaking classes or needing to make up credits. As a result, they end up spending a lot more money trying to get their degree. If you can keep on track with your education you’ll be able to save the money for extra classes.
- Use Student Discounts-If you live in a university neighborhood you probably have a lot of stores and restaurants nearby that cater primarily to university students. If this is the case then likely a lot of them offer student discounts. Make sure you’re taking advantage of all of those discounts. The more you can save on the things that you want the more you’ll be able to have fun without breaking the bank. Student discounts could be on anything from movie tickets to dinners or even discounts on clothing at local stores.
- Rent Everything-If you’ve ever bought a textbook before then you know how expensive they are. But then if you’ve ever tried to return it then you know how much it’s worth when you’re done. Well when you go away to school you end up having to purchase a large number of things. You need furniture and textbooks which are all very expensive but if you choose to rent the things you need you’ll be able to spend less and still get everything you need. You also won’t have to worry about how to get some of the money back when your semester is finished. Instead you’ll end up paying a small amount of money over a period of time rather than a large amount for something you can only use for a small amount of time.
- Bonus:Find a Grant-If you need some more money while in college look into grants. They'll be able to help you pay for the things you need and you'll be able to get more out of your education at the same time. Find out more in this article on some popular grants.
Saving money is going to be crucial for you as a college or university student. You want to have a good time while you’re there and of course you want to go somewhere that you can get a good education but at the same time you can’t afford to fall too far into debt. So what do you do? Well all of these tips are going to help you out with just that problem. You’ll be able to avoid the debt problems that your fellow students are stuck with. If you do need a loan however, check out this link to apply.