Thrifty. Frugal. Economical. Practical. Whatever you call
it, taking control of your money all comes down to
separating your needs from your wants. By keeping your
spending in check, and holding back on the splurges and
impulse purchases, you’ll learn how to save money not only
while you’re in college, but also when you graduate.
Here are some creative ways to save your dough:
Buy used books
When it comes time to buy books for the
semester, consider buying used copies. There are a lot of
places you can shop online for used books, including
textbooks, such as
Half.com and
Amazon.com. Also, find out
if any of your friends have taken the class before and still
have the books. Borrowing is even cheaper than buying!
Carpool
Whether you’re heading to the local mall or on your
way to the airport, find out if any of your friends are
going to the same place and carpool. Not only will you save
money on gas and parking, you’ll also have some company for
the ride.
Skip the coffee shop
Whether you’re buying coffee at the
local campus coffee house or a big chain coffee shop, you’re
probably spending a pretty penny on those lattes. Why not
buy your own coffee maker and make your own? Granted, yours
might not be as fancy as the ones you get at the coffee
shop, but the money you save will make up for that,
especially if you invest it.
Let's say you go to your local coffee shop four times a week for your $4 sugar-free vanilla latte. That's about $832 a year on lattes. Now, let’s say instead you decide to buy yourself a no-frills coffee maker for $15, a bag of gourmet ground coffee for $14 and some sugar-free vanilla creamer for $3. The $32 you’ve spent will probably keep you happily caffeinated for several weeks, maybe more, rather than the two weeks you’d have of lattes from the coffee shop for the same amount. And you’ll be able to use the coffee maker itself over and over again. Now, if you took the money you're not spending on those fancy lattes and put it into an individual retirement account (or IRA) at the end of each college year, based on typical historical stock market returns, by the time you're 65 you'd have more than $100,000 - over $100,000 to put towards BUYING your own coffee shop, or whatever else you want to spend it on. Not a bad way to have your coffee and drink it too, eh?
Cut out the bottled water
It may taste better, but bottled
water is expensive. Did you know that bottling, packaging,
shipping, marketing and retailing makes up the majority of
the cost of bottled water? And the water itself might not
even be that great…your local tap water might actually be
better for you. If you’re still not sold on drinking tap,
consider getting a water filter that attaches to your faucet
or a filtered water pitcher. You’ll still get great tasting
water, and you’ll save a lot of money in the process.
Eat less takeout
Eating at restaurants and ordering takeout
can really add up over time. Why not take the money you
spend at the local pizza place and make your own? Weekly
grocery shopping trips will be far less expensive than what
you’re paying for takeout. Plus, you’ll get to sharpen your
culinary skills! Also, if you have a meal plan at school,
take advantage of it. You might be surprised at the
delicious meals you can find at campus dining halls. Ok...maybe
not delicious. But just think of the money you're saving..
Entertain yourself for less
Want to pay less for a movie?
Try hitting matinee showings, which can sometimes cost half
the price of an evening movie. Also, find out if any of the
movie theaters near you offer student discounts. And, keep
your eye out for free advanced screenings of films. Many
movie studios offer these anywhere from weeks to a couple of
days before a film’s official release. You’ll not only get
to see the movie for free, but you’ll also get to see it
before most of your friends. Another option to consider is
that your campus might also offer some free or cheap movie
nights at residence halls or lecture halls. And while you’re
looking at campus resources for your entertainment needs,
check out your school or local library. You can borrow
movies and books, new releases and best sellers alike,
rather than buying them.
Love music? Consider buying used CDs when you can. The quality is often just as good as new for half the price. Digital downloads could also provide a thriftier way to get music. There are plenty of legal sites and services, such as iTunes or eMusic.com, that allow you to download songs very inexpensively, sometimes free. You might even find that the record label of your favorite band offers free downloads of some of their artists. Check out the record label’s website to see if they have anything available for download. Another free option for music lovers is your local and school library. See if the libraries near you have a music loan program—you might be surprised by what they have to offer.
Use coupons
Coupons are your friends. If you need
something, chances are the place where you plan to shop has
a coupon or two just waiting to be used. A great place to
check for coupons is the Sunday newspaper. It’s chock full
of weekly coupon inserts for everything from groceries to
personal care items to restaurants. There are also some
great websites, like
coupons.com, that offer free printable
coupons for a variety of different products. Many clothing
stores, book stores and the like also offer coupons on a
regular basis, so be sure to check around before you buy.
You might even ask the cashier as you’re checking out if he
or she has any coupons you can use.
Never shop when you’re hungry
It goes without saying that
grocery shopping while you’re hungry can be disastrous. Your
cart or basket can fill very quickly with all kinds of
goodies that you don’t need, but that look good because you
haven’t eaten since breakfast. But doing any kind of
shopping can be a bad idea if you’re hungry. You could end
up spending more at the food court than you spend on what
you went to the mall to buy in the first place.
Be smart when you grocery shop
When you go grocery
shopping, be sure to make a list and stick to it. All the
new and improved items can be tempting…and expensive. It’s
okay to stray from your list a little bit, but when your
cart ends up full with more stuff that wasn’t on your list
than what was, that could be a problem for your wallet.
Also, think about whether you really need brand names—store
brands can often fit the bill and are typically much less
expensive.
Consider consignment
When buying clothes, consider shopping
at resale or consignment shops. You’ll often find
high-quality, gently-used, brand-name clothing for extremely
low prices. If you’re lucky, you might even find something
with the tag still on, making your bargain even that much
sweeter.
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