FIVE SIMPLE WAYS TO REDUCE SPENDING AND START SAVING AS A COLLEGE STUDENT

We’ve all been there before. As college students, we pick up our paychecks on Friday and that money immediately starts burning a hole in our wallets. We go out and immediately spend money on food, alcohol, and cool clothes that we’re only going to wear for one night out. Before we know it, it’s Saturday morning and our wallet is totally empty, along with our bank account. Here are five tips to help you avoid this problem and save some money.

1) Set Money Aside

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I can’t even begin to stress how much money you can save by doing this. For those of you who burn through cash like you’re at the casino, set aside just five or ten dollars every week. Five dollars a week equates to $260 at the end of the year and for a college student that can get you quite a bit. One couple did this over the span of about a year and a half—every five dollar bill they came across, whether it be change at the store, or some on the ground they put it in a coffee cup. After that year and a half they emptied out the coffee cups to realize that they had saved $2,930. For a college student, the savings might not equate to almost $3,000, but it’s a nice way to have a little reserve at the end of every year for personal spending. Even saving coins in the cupholder of your car can reward you with some cash at the end of each month. Another good way to set earned money aside is by putting away one quarter of your paycheck. Say a college student makes $150 dollars a week when he or she works back home for the summer. If he or she puts one quarter of the money in a stored stash from June 1st to September 1st, they will have $525 dollars when they return to school. This is by far the most efficient way to keep an emergency reserve of cash when you need it.

2) Take Advantage of Your College Meal Plan

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On-campus dining halls can get boring and repetitive very quickly. In a large college town with many fast food options your bank account can drop really quick as well. Part of your tuition goes toward your meal plan, some even have an unlimited plan, so you might as well take advantage of it. According to a survey done by 21st Century Insurance, the average college student spent $765 a year eating off-campus. We all know how tempting the late night delivery from Domino's is, but that $20 you’re spending on pizza and wings could go toward something more useful, such as your textbooks.

3) Know When to Buy In Bulk

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When people go grocery shopping, the choice whether or not to buy products in bulk or in small quantities must come up in a lot of situations. Who wouldn’t want to take a trip to a local store like Sam’s Club and purchase a large sum of products for a great price? It becomes challenging however, when you really take the time and measure out the differences in unit price between bulk and regular items. Six Dollar Family stresses the importance whether or not to buy in bulk to stockpile items. If a person or family does not have a stable income, it might be a good idea to purchase in bulk to have a stockpile at hand whenever times may be tough. However, items such as vegetables and condiments that may only be used once or twice a year, should not be bought in bulk due to their little use. Simple strategies like buying certain i

4) Don't Buy New Textbooks

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Make it easy and just rent the textbooks from the school store or buy used textbooks from other students. Colleges make so much money off selling textbooks to students. Usually when you buy a textbook from the store at your college it will be more expensive than going online and doing online shopping. Students are learning new ways in which they can save money on textbooks, through websites such as Chegg.com or Amazon. Some students do not buy the book they will just use a friends that's in the class to save money.

5) Shop Wisely

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Try to be smart about how you spend your money, Set yourself a spending limit daily/monthly, When shopping always look for the deals and try to locate coupons for whatever item you are searching to purchase. Students can always find a student discount at any store in a college town. Instead of going out every night pick a day or two days out of the week to go out and have a good time but still when doing this you should set yourself a spending limit for both of those nights that you go out.