Ten Ways to Save Money in College

Saving Money for College

So you have already looked for scholarships, grants, and loans and are still finding it hard to pay your way through college? It goes without saying that the typical college student is either broke or financially hanging in the balance most of the time. We’ve assembled a long list of both practical and creative ways you can save some green while you’re going to campus.

Managing the Money You Have

To save money you need to manage it. I hate to get on the topic of money management right off the bat, but if you expect to save money you need to be a bit savvy with the little bit of cash you have:

1. Get a free checking and savings account. The bank will nickel and dime you on dumb stuff like too many ATM withdrawals, too many checks written, or a funds transfer. Shop the town for banks catering to students. Make sure you can access online banking, pay bills and manage your account without attached fees.
2. Take the free checks that the bank offers in the maximum amount they allow – mine was initially going to give me 50, but for some reason I thought I needed more right away and  paid $4.95 for another 50. If you need more, you simply go online and order more, but leftover checks are more typical than not, especially with online bill pay options becoming more commonplace. Extra checks become nothing more than wasted paper and wasted dollars.
3. Failure to keep track of your bank/checking account can easily cost you money via overdraft fees. Your debit card can easily get you into the red if you don’t know what’s in your checking account. Think your card will be declined if your account has insufficient funds? Think again.If you go into the red in your checking account, your debit card will usually continue to work without even so much as a burp. Every time you make a debit card purchase while you have insufficient funds in your checking account you are also being slammed with a banking fee. (My banking faux pas cost me $250 in fees one weekend because I didn’t pay attention to the balance in my checking account and my debit card just kept on smokin’. On top of that, the bank charged me another separate fee to transfer funds from my savings account to my checking!) Unless you have an automatic overdraft protection that enables funds from your savings account to be transferred, you can be way more broke than you ever imagined in one, short weekend. Make sure you know what banking fees you’ll be spanked with if you make a mistake.
4. If you have to have a credit card, make sure you get one with the lowest interest rate possible; no annual fees and with only enough of a credit limit to get you by in an emergency. Don’t carry it with you, but instead keep it in a safe place known only to you.
5. Pay credit card bills on time. Companies charge late fees, sometimes as much as $50 per month. And do not go over your credit limit—that offers just one more way for your credit card company to get rich off your poor judgment.
6. Serious about saving money, huh? For one month save every receipt of everything you purchase, from a pack of gum, a tube of toothpaste to your computer. Log each expense in a notebook. When the month is up, tally up what you’ve spent and take a good look at just where most of it went. Food? Beer? Gas? Games? This sure fire technique will unabashedly expose the evils of your spending ways.
7. Save that spare change you’ve got jangling in your pocket or sloshing around in the bottom of your backpack or purse in a big jar or can somewhere out of the way.
   • Count and roll spare change yourself.
   • Stay away from those coin-counting machines you see at the grocery store. They will rip you off or at the very least charge you a fee.¹

Alcohol

It’s an expense many college students will not forego. Each year, college students spend about $5.5 billion on alcohol, mostly beer.² So here’s how to save, and some creative alternatives for your favorite beverages.

Don’t drink. But if you must…

8. Be cheap
   • Buy the cheap stuff. Pabst Blue Ribbon and Old English 40 oz. bottles come to mind
   • Buy in bulk. A cheap 5th of Vodka might cost about the same as a drink or two at a bar.
   • Drink where the specials are. Some college bars and dance clubs have pitcher specials, 1 dollar drink specials, no cover charge, or other specials for people going out early or going out on slower nights.
   • Pre-game if you do drink heavily.
   • Don’t bring much money with you to limit how much you drink and spend.
   • Hit other people’s parties.
9. For those beer lovers who really dislike the cheap beer, join a beer brewers club or get a group of dorm mates to brew beer. In the last few years the hobby has grown exponentially and college students everywhere are brewing. Warning: brewing may not be “legal” in your dorm room….que sera, sera.
10. Hate beer? Brew cheap wine.
11. At a sit-down restaurant avoid ordering the alcoholic beverages. Most restaurants make a killing on beer, wine and fancy cocktails. The alcohol mark up can be anywhere between 75 and 400 percent! An option is to shop for BYOB restaurants.

Books

Every college student must buy books. You’ve probably heard horror stories of textbook “final bills.” Well, we have options that will save you money on your textbooks. Make sure to allow yourself time; don’t wait to run to the bookstore the day before your class begins.

13. Before you even think about putting out money for a textbook, don’t you think someone else on campus had to already have one? Borrow if it’s possible.
14. If you can’t borrow, buy used college textbooks.  On sites like Amazon.com used hardcover books are often cheapest. Soft cover are more valued for convenience, so if you’re willing to haul a couple extra ounces, then hardcover is the cost-saving choice. ISBN.nu allows you to easily compare book prices from major online book stores. The campus bookstore will sell a supply of used books, but they are limited; so check the online sources as well.
15. If you are buying new, check for an “international” edition. The book will be almost exactly the same, except for maybe some Chinese characters on the front, AND it will be exponentially cheaper.
16. Have your own store of used textbooks?
    • Sell your used textbooks online and make some cash for yourself, at the same time you will help some other starving students save their money.
    • Or you can sell them back to the campus bookstore, but expect to take a big hit on the value if you sell them back to the book store. Some sneaky students wait in the campus bookstore with their old books in hand, trying to connect with new students that need their books, hoping to strike a better payout directly.