Tips For College Students To Save Money

Wow, I cannot believe it school is right around the corner for most college students.

Most students have experienced the difficulty of saving money from over the summer at their summer jobs. Usually the amount of money parents give them is just right for  their needs and other school-related things and when there is something left, it is not enough for the personal purchases the students want to make. Through the years, students have resorted to various ways of getting their own money for their own needs, since their student allowance won’t suffice.  These range from starting their own small business, saving monetary gifts from relatives (especially grandma), getting summer jobs, bullying younger siblings (kidding), and taking out larger student loans so they could keep the difference. Some of these aren’t good things to do at all, particularly the last two.

The good news is that you don’t have to resort to bullying and stealing just to save money. It may be difficult but it is not impossible. For one thing, students just need to know their priorities. They should always keep in mind that they are saving money for something important, and that money is never easy to earn so it must be given importance. For students who want to start saving money, here are some suggestions.

 1. Hide the credit cards

Stop abusing credit cards

Students should stop abusing the credit card, especially if it is just an extension of their parents’ card. Usually doing purchases through credit cards can get addicting and students might get used to the fact that they are not shelling out any money. Another downside to using credit cards especially by students is that they still do not have jobs so their own personal credit cards might accumulate large amounts of debt that they might not be able to pay since they are still in school.

2. Stop keeping up with the Joneses

Rich bullies are not friends

There will always be rich kids, those with a seemingly infinite allowance and have the capacity to spend hundreds of dollars a day. And while it’s totally fine to hang out with extremely rich kids, one should not keep up with their expenses if it is no longer within budget. This is one of the common problems encountered by students, peer pressure. Pressure not just from trying to level up with other students but also the pressure not to feel and look inferior. But the best way to get around this is to stop hanging out with rich students. But if you can’t do this, because some of these rich kids can be really cool, then just remember to stay within your means. At first, it might be difficult, but your friends would eventually understand the nature of saving money.

3. Stop buying on impulse

Girls often shop on impulse

This is truly one of the “diseases” that most students experience. Buying on impulse happens when students see something at random while leisurely walking through the malls or while surfing the Internet and then suddenly realizing they want a particular thing. This is a habit students should really stop doing for many reasons, primarily because this is a step further away from saving money. Buying on impulse just makes a person spend money on things that they are not even sure if they want or need and, in most cases, usually for students, this is just because they saw another student owning this item. Buying on impulse also discourages responsible buying of things, and this is something students must not get used to. For students who are serious in their attempt to save money, they must first think if they really need that thing before making a purchase.

4. Appreciate hand-me-downs

Borrow used books

One of the old tricks in surviving school and saving money is by appreciating hand-me-downs, may they be uniforms, books, or notes. For the uniforms, just make sure that they are still in good condition and they fit well enough. Saving money for parents could be easy if the children are studying in the same school the parents did. More important hand-me-downs are books and notes. Books generally cost money and sometimes could even be difficult to locate. If a student has friends in the higher years and they are using the same book, the most practical way in saving money is to borrow their used books or buy them at a lower price (since they are used).

Notes are sometimes passed on as well, along with the books. This will not only be beneficial for younger students but also would make the older ones share what they had learned. Students might not be able to immediately provide a payment or something in exchange for the hand-me-downs but after some time, these young students would remember the kindness of the older ones and would repay them in some other way. Doing the old trick of hand-me-downs encourages not just friendship and gratitude among students but saving money as well.

5. Be wise when eating

Make good choices regarding food

A huge chunk of any person’s money goes to food and for students who tend to eat a little more than they should, saving money by cutting expenses on food could be a challenge. Students are young and energetic, they need food more than an average adult. Also, students, who are mostly teenagers, tend to get bored easily and when there is nothing left to do, most of them eat. Eating is an important part of studying because of many reasons–students should eat good food in order for the brain to function properly for school and at the same time, most students eat while studying on their own or while doing homework.

Students also eat while spending time with other students, usually over lunch or dinner. There are many ways to start saving money for students, this include–sharing a meal with a friend and splitting the cost. When eating outside, ask the waiter if there are “group” options in their menu or at least buckets of chicken or baskets of garlic bread that could be shared by everyone; and when there are group studies or gatherings, students can do potluck.

Those are just some of the ways students can start saving money. Some additional quick tips are:

Always ask for students discounts. Bring packed-lunch to school. Find the cheapest pub in the area and stick to it. When going to the groceries, carefully make a shopping list and stick to it. Look for online shops, sometimes stuff are cheaper there. When buying books, first check Amazon marketplace or Ebay and scout for low prices. Call people for free anywhere in the world using Skype.com. When washing clothes, make sure it is always on full load, if not, wait for a few days to have more clothes to wash. Check out the library for CDs, DVDs, and magazines, these could usually be borrowed for free, instead of buying immediately. Students who want to work out can use the school’s gym if it is allowed. When going home or traveling somewhere, book tickets weeks before departure.

Save money and get a degree!

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