Saving Money and Spending Less in College

Unless you both eat the same things and the same amount of those things, this usually turns out badly. This is not the best way to save money considering you'll both probably have different tastes and preferences. One roommate is inevitably going to eat something different or more frequently than the other. For example, I liked Doritos cool ranch, and one of my roommates liked rice cakes. I ate Doritos more often than she ever ate rice cakes, so if we would have gone half on groceries, she would end up losing money, and I would resent buying rice cakes that she never ate. So, to avoid this, just go shopping with separate carts or shop on your own.

2. Visit the library

This is a very practical and money saving idea considering it's free. The library has all kinds of free things. Free computer access, free internet, and you can even check out the text books that will be used for your classes. The library can save you from spending money on 'suggested reading' assignments that you wouldn't want to shell out money for anyway since it's not required.

3. Go to free events like plays and rallies

College campuses are full of fundraising, charity, and free events. The theater departments often puts together free plays, and invites speakers to the campus. To check for the dates just visit the ticket department, or read flyers in the student union and pick up the student paper. Most events are held on campus to garner interest in certain organizations or fields of study, and are promoted to the students and general public in various ways. These are free events that you can invite friends to for an educated and cheap night out.

4. Carpool to class

This is an obvious way to save money by saving gas, but it also helps with limited parking spot availability. Its easy to find a friend in class or a roommate that has to go to campus at the same time as you considering that most classes have similar time frames, and let out at the same time each day.

5. Cook at home instead of eating out

Sandwiches are cheap as hell, and if you get the right kind of bread they're very healthy and filling. Expanding your cooking repertoire can also help you save money and make you feel proud of your newfound self sufficiency, and can help your self esteem by the knowledge that you can take care of your body by eating right. Pasta meals are cheap and affordable! Just throw in some penne pasta to boil in slightly salted water, while you have some tomato sauce with your choice of spices and a meat simmering. Then when the pasta is done (10 minutes) throw it all together in an oven safe dish, sprinkle cheese on top, set the oven at 350, watch the cheese melt, then eat and enjoy! You just made a really cheap and delicious meal that saved you a lot of money!

6. Don't turn your air/heat off unless you're going to be gone for more than a week

Heating up the house is not worth the huge expense in energy you'd have to pay to re-cool it to a comfortable degree once you got back. I know, because my roommate turned off the air when she and I were gone for a few days, but I returned to the hottest most miserable apartment ever. It took 3 hours before the air went off enough to cool a 2 bedroom apartment in Mississippi down to about 70 in the middle of the hot southern summer. Our power bill that month was 90 dollars more than it had ever been all because of her misinformed "money saving" intentions. What she should have done, was simply nudge the thermostat up to a higher temperature setting, but never cut it completely off. The most you ever want to move a thermostat is about 5-10 degrees above what's comfortable normally. That would be much more practical than attempting to save money by cutting it off entirely.

7. Offer to proofread people's papers for a few bucks.

You'll inevitably have lazy friends in college, friends that hate writing papers, or really stressed out friends that don't have time to go over the final details of their assignment. One way you can help them out is to offer to proofread their papers, and correct grammar for a few bucks. I'm sure there is a free writing center on campus, so you have to advertise how convenient it is for your friend to just drop the paper off at your house, and you'll deliver it to them with corrections after you finish. They'll also save money by having a friend do it, instead of purchasing and illegally turning in a paper from an online source.

8. Get an on campus job

There's always short quick ways to make money if you get creative, but for those of us that don't have time or patience to think of them, there's always the campus bookstore or the alumni foundation. You can get a job answering phones, and calling alumni requesting donations, or you could go for retail jobs around campus. Call your career center, which is probably located in your campus bursar's office, or speak to your advisor about job opportunities around campus. With that extra income, it should be pretty easy to save money in college.

9. Sell back your books on Amazon not at the book store

The bookstore is always going to mark down the prices of a used book, and often times the professor changes the required text because a new edition was published. This is how students all across America get screwed. They shell out about 110 bucks (and that's cheap) for a new biology book, and when the end of the semester rolls around, all they can get for it at the book store is about 50 bucks....if that. So the best place to go would be online, where someone is actually looking for that very book, but maybe their bookstore ran out of used copies, or they simply can't afford a new one. Amazon has a used books section, and its very easy to list your book and set any price you feel is reasonable. Students all across the world need books, so with that market expansion its entirely possible to get back close or exactly what you paid for from selling your book. Putting things online is a great way to save money from advertising it in a paper or a forum, and the people buying from you are saving money from the bookstore prices as well!

10. Borrow books for short-term reading

If you have a book assignment that needs to be read really quickly, and you're really cramming to get it turned in, you can often visit the library to see if they have it in stock. Its also very likely that your friends may have taken that class or know someone that has, and can see if that person still has the book you need. Also with growing online sources available you may even be able to purchase a copy, or view it for free from google. Saving money is easy when you know a lot of people that have taken the class before, or are taking it while you are and have the materials that you can borrow. Simply go to your favorite social networking site, and try to find out who has been in that class before.

11. Take a refillable water bottle instead of buying plastic ones

A refillable water bottle is an essential if you have a walking campus and like to save money. You can easily fill it up before you leave your place during a hot day, because you'll definitely want to take a beverage with you. Not only will it pay for itself in a short amount of time, but also refillable water bottles are better for the environment, and can often contain more of a beverage than the plastic bottles sold in stores. You don't even have to wash it out that often if it contains the same drink every day, just make sure you keep the mouth piece clean and keep sugary drinks from staying in too long.

12. Invite friends over for dinner instead of going to bars

A night in with friends is definitely going to save more money than a night out on the town, but it also can be very meaningful to your friendships. You learn so much about a person when you actually sit down and talk to them, instead of being distracted by the hustle and bustle of every college aged person's busy schedule. Not often is there time to just sit and relax without worrying about studying, or being able to make it to any certain social event. However, when you spend a night in with friends cooking or watching movies, you bond with them on a personal level, and save tons of cash.

13. Keep all your pocket change

You can always place it in a bowl then get the bank to deposit it, but try not to go to those coinstar machines unless you absolutely have to have cash and the banks are closed, because coinstar actually takes a percentage of the money you throw in. Saving change can really add up in the end. A friend of mine found all his change storage bowls and jars, and ended up with about 90 dollars after he had converted all his change into money. You'd be surprised how the little things in life we take for granted can really impact our happiness.

14. Use cloth towels instead of paper.

Since cloth towels are washable, you can re-use them. However for really quick clean up you may want to get paper towels, but always get the cheapest kind. No matter what the really expensive brands tell you, when it comes to making a mess you really just want to get it cleaned whether or not it's the most quilted or not. Saving money often comes down to being practical, and cleaning your carpet with a paper towel is not that practical. Use cloth towels, and always be sure to wash them or let them air dry if its just a water spill. You'll see how much money you save pretty quickly!

15. Re-use towels

If you're just using a towel for drying off your hair from the shower, throw it over a door and let it dry so you can use it again the next day. You probably want to wash it after a about 3-4 days, and just go by the ole fall back smell test if you have problems deciding when a good time to wash would be. Considering most towels you use are after you've had a shower, you shouldn't be worried too much about any kind of bacteria or mildew as long as you let your towel actually dry out in an open area.

16. Air Dry some clothes

Some sweaters have in their instructions "lay flat to dry" this would be a great time to practice being practical by laying your sweaters in a dry area for them to air dry. Sometimes you don't always have to run the dryer, and from personal experience the air conditioner and the washer/dryer combination are definitely the appliances that run up the electricity bill. For my blue jeans, I couldn't dry them in the dryer because they'd shrink, so I'd always have a couple air drying, and a couple left to wear that were clean so I could cycle them out when they needed time to air dry. One thing about air drying is that it takes a while to do depending on how moist your environment is. I would not suggest putting clothing or any items outside on a railing if you live in an apartment building since that could get you fined, but putting clothing items on doors or shelves in the laundry room is always a good place to start. Use items you don't wear very often for this type of drying, and in a day you should be ready to wear them again!

17. Put your money back into refundable assets.

This sounds pretty complicated, but its really kind of simple. Don't buy into fads which are temporary fashion items that are extremely popular, and also extremely brief. Buy clothes and items that are guaranteed to last, and are known for their durability instead of items or materials that come with a lot of flair. For instance, if you're looking for new shoes, don't purchase the most flashy high heel that you can find. Instead, buy 1 pair of dress shoes that are black and 1 pair that are brown. They should have a medium to low heel, since that is what's required in most professional and casual situations. Make sure to have all your practical items of clothing taken care of before you splurge on a fashion item that will surely stick out, and limit the next time you wear it by being memorable. Get items that are classic like blue jeans, solid color sweaters and shirts, a nice thick jacket, and things that can be re-sold later without giant letterings or fad-like qualities.

18. Buy in bulk

If you can find a wholesale club to belong to, definitely do it. I saved an unbelievable amount of money in college by going to Sam's wholesale club to get the 72 roll pack of toilet paper. This can last you about 6 months, and is incredibly valuable when you forgot to restock your bathroom, but knowing you still have some in the house. Big common items to buy here would be Ramen (who doesn't love ramen!), Easy mac, your favorite chicken parts (like the thighs or the drumsticks that come in big packages), pasta, toilet paper, towels, socks, and any kind of basic item that isn't for too specific a need. For instance you wouldn't want to buy a giant 5 gallons of milk or ice cream considering those are both perishable and take up lots of room in your fridge.

In closing, there are plenty of ways to save money in college, and I hope my practical list of things to do and where to buy can help. Personally, I'm managing my finances all on my own now, and its been a difficult road, but with these guidelines and tips life is much easier. Taking advantage of free concerts, samples, and materials is always a good idea, and who doesn't like sharing things with good friends!? In the end we can't take anything with us, so enjoy the ride while you still can!