How to Save and Earn Money in College

How can you save money if you don't have money? Admittedly, campus jobs don't pay much. Many will pay only a little above minimum wage. However, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Most campus jobs allow you time to do your school work and are much more flexible with your work schedule. You can work for one semester and take the next one off, if necessary. Also, if you work at a desk, usually you can print documents for free which will save you money on printing costs. Because the job is located on campus, you won't have a long commute to work.

2. Don't buy a car (or just don't use it).

Cars are expensive. They require gas and all sorts of maintenance. Why drive, if you can walk? You get exercise and save money on gas. Think about all the money you'd save, if you didn't have to pay for gas every month! Also, most colleges require that their students pay a transportation fee. This usually means that you can ride public transportation for free. If you're only going to pick up a few items from the store, why do the driving and waste the money? Take advantage of that transportation fee!

3. Don't pay to get into a party!

My general experience is that parties you have to pay to get into are pretty lame. I'm not against having parties to support charities and such, but you have to think of yourself first. Why spend that $5 on an entrance fee when you could do so many other things with it? If you're going to pay to get into a party, go to a club or something. Just don't waste money on some campus party you think might be cool.

4. Get in with the cafeteria lady (or get a job in the cafeteria).

Okay, this goes back to the first suggestion. If you work on campus, sometimes you get free meals, depending on where you work. If the cafeteria workers know you work on campus, many times you can get in for free. If you have a job in the cafeteria, you are pretty much guaranteed at least one free meal per shift.

5. Don't buy a meal plan!

I cannot reiterate this more...Meal plans are a sham. You can eat for almost half the amount that they make you pay. You're paying like $1500/semester, when you can eat for $200/mo. Do the math: $1500 for four months or $800 for four months. Which would you rather pay? And let's be honest, they lied on the campus tour. The food sucks. You can eat better and healthier by yourself.

6. Don't use your printer.

It seems a lot more convenient to have your own printer in your room, which you can use anytime. However, if you print a lot of documents or very little, the paper and ink you pay for can get pricey. Why pay $5 for a pack of paper and $20 for an ink cartridge, when you can print documents for 5-15 cents/page at the campus library?

7. Don't sell your books back to the bookstore before you compare prices.

I've gone to the campus bookstore to resell books only to find they either are not using the textbook anymore or want to pay $2 for the book I paid them $20 for. When buy back time comes around, check how much money you could sell it for online (and how marketable it is). Then, if they don't get give you a decent price, just sell the book online. I shouldn't even have to tell you that you shouldn't be buying your books from the campus bookstore, unless you can't find them online for a cheaper price.

8. Have you considered going natural or prolonging perms?

I know this will seem farfetched to many African-American girls. Appearances can seem like everything. However, paying $60/mo. for a perm is just not cool...Consider getting a perm only hair every ten weeks instead (if you're skilled enough, do it yourself). Or better yet go natural. Wearing your hair in a natural style is healthier for it and more cost effective. Check out Youtube for advice about going natural-the information up there is endless! You can learn everything from how to moisturize your hair to how to cut it. Check it out. Like now.

9. Get Netflix and check out movies from your campus and public library.

I'm a movie nut, so I know full well how expensive it can be to go to the movies every week. Even more so, I realize how ridiculous it would sound for somebody to tell me NOT to go to the movies so often. However, there are ways around this. First of all, go to the matinees. That's easy enough. Second of all, consider ordering Netflix movies. For $8.99 you can get an unlimited amount of movies per month, one at a time. Also, you get unlimited access to their online movies, which you can watch instantly. As for checking out movies at the library, you probably already know about this. It's free, so why not? Oh, and I almost forgot. There are a million free movies on Youtube-I'm talking about full-length. It's great!

10. Before you buy another Itunes song...

Get Ruckus. Many campuses have some sort of free music downloading program. You can save the songs to your computer and listen to them, although you cannot burn them onto a CD. Also, consider just listening to the song on Youtube.

11. Invest your refund check.

Yeah, I know. You want to spend it on a shopping spree. Put it into a high earning interest account instead. Don't let the regular banks sucker you into their free savings accounts that pay you like 1% interest. Search the internet for more information.

12. Suze Orman!!!

Watch her show and check out her books from the library! Enough said.

13. Credit cards are not baseball cards-you don't collect them.

Do I really have to go over this? Credit card debt is bad debt. You're already up to your ears in student loan debt, why are you making things harder for yourself? Don't live your life according to some image you want to project. Live it according to your reality. And your reality is that you're a poor college student who needs to be more frugal with your money or else you wouldn't be reading this article.

14. In general, don't pay for anything you can get for free, for less, or you don't need.

You don't need a candy bar or a soda. You don't need the newest Ipod or Mac. The old one will do just fine. You don't need new clothes or shoes if the old ones aren't in shreds. You don't need to go out to eat every weekend. You don't need it, you don't need it, you don't need it (whatever it is, because you're thinking about it right now). However, it's sort of pointless for me to stress this. It's good to splurge on yourself now and again. Just don't go crazy. Be responsible.

15. Budget blah blah, direct withdrawal blah blah, and Roth IRA blah blah.

You probably won't do it. But you should write up a budget and consider getting money directly withdrawn from your account and put into your savings. Think about getting a Roth IRA (if you have a job, of course).

16. Don't get a campus job.

This is in direct opposition to my first piece of advice. Off-campus jobs pay more. Don't ask for less than $8 wherever you go. Just consider what's most important to you as far as expenses go. Factor in the cost of the commute and etc.

17. Random ways to make money

Sell stuff on Amazon and Ebay. Do Freelance writing. Blog and put ads on it. Write stories and send them in to literary magazines (the ones that'll pay you). Mow a lawn. Tutor a kid. Sell candy grams on campus, during holidays like Halloween and Valentine's Day. Sell dinners. Do hair. Do makeup. Get an internship. Call your parents and beg for money. Talk to Auntie Elvira, she'll send you $10 now and again.

18. Random ways to save money.

Shop at flea markets. Wear your clothes longer, wash them less. Clip coupons. Share a textbook with a friend in the same class. Work at the campus bookstore and get a discount on textbooks. Buy on sale, buy wholesale. Bum rides. Bum cigarettes. Bum anything that can be bummed (especially food). Cancel magazine subscriptions, read them at the library. Read the book at the bookstore and never buy it. Only use one cup of detergent per load. Learn to pluck your own eyebrows (see Youtube). Try to go to the doctor only when you go home and avoid exorbitant health center prices. Go to the counseling center for free. Volunteer places where they give you discounts. Don't buy your freaking essay! Go to the writing center and get it proofread for free (it's a good way not to get kicked out of school too!). Be nice to people. Karma goes a long way.