monitor all of your accounts and bills in one
place. With practice, you can narrow down your
expenses, pinpoint areas where you can limit
spending and see how much money you have
left for luxuries.
Find a part-time job
Extra income is never a bad idea. Most
colleges have several on-campus opportunities
for student employment in the library, dining
halls, recreation centers and gyms. If you have a
car or easy access to transportation, you should
search for jobs off campus too. Even a few hours
of minimum wage work each week can buy you
extra meals or pay for your entertainment.
Use the library
The campus library is one of the most valuable
tools a college can offer to students. The library
typically has everything a student needs
academically, including books, computers, wifi,
software, videos, a quiet place to study and
more. The best part is everything is usually free
for students. Many libraries even have a 24-hour
room for those late-night study sessions.
Take full advantage of
your meal plan
It may sound pretty straight forward, but using
your meal plan to the fullest will save you a lot
of money in the long run. Limit your spending on
snacks for your mini fridge or late-night orders
of Dominos and stick what the dining hall has
to offer. Many colleges have at least one dining
hall that stays open late, and some even have
food pantries that offer a limited amount of free
groceries to students. And if you live off campus,
the dining hall will be even more valuable.
Learn to cook
What better time to learn how to cook than
when you’re at college learning all sorts of other
new skills too? If you live off campus and can’t
make it to the dining hall, cooking for yourself is
the next cheapest option. It starts by replacing
that bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwich from the
bodega with one you cooked at home. Start with
simple meals and recipes that you enjoy and
work your way up to more complicated meals.
Soon enough cooking will become part of your
regular routine and you wallet will feel much
heavier.
Attend free events
Too many students spend money on
entertainment rather than taking the opportunity
to enjoy free events on campus. Students can
receive free or discounted tickets to college
sporting events, movie screenings, concerts,
theater performances and much more. Joining
a club sports team or another type of club that
you’re interested in is also a great way to keep
yourself busy at no cost.
Ask for student
discounts everywhere
It never hurts to ask, right? You never
know which local restaurants and stores offer
discounts to college students until you try. More
and more establishments close to colleges are
doing it to reward their frequent customers, so
take advantage of every college student discount
you can get.
Use free/discounted
transportation
For those who live off campus, especially in a
place like New York City, public transportation
costs can add up quickly. Avoid using ride-share
apps like Uber as much as possible when you
don’t feel like walking to class. Many campuses
offer free shuttle buses, Citi Bike or e-scooter
sharing services that can greatly cut down your
transportation costs over time.
Live with roommates
Roommates can be a godsend when it comes
to saving money. Your cost of living is much
cheaper when you split rent and utilities with your
roomies, and that only scratches the surface. If
your roommates cook, you can take turns cooking
dinner for everyone to share during the week and
everyone will save. You can also carpool or find
other ways to work together to save each other
money. Even if you live in a campus dorm you can
split costs with your roommates and keep more
money in your pockets.
Be mindful of utilities
While living off campus, it is important to be
aware of your utility costs. Gas, electric and
cable bills can become costly if you and your
roommates don’t try to conserve them. Kindly
remind your roommates to turn off the lights
whenever they leave a room, turn the heat or air
conditioning off when it is not needed, and avoid
renting movies or adding more features to the
basic cable and internet plan.
Live at home
If home is not far from school, it is worth
staying put rather than paying for an apartment
or even living on campus. Rent money is a
huge expense that can be avoided along with
extra food and living costs when you opt to
stay at home. Your mom might get sick of you,
but at least you can take advantage of home-cooked
meals, free laundry and the comfort of
your parents paying the bills for a little while
longer.
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