Hi friends! Today, I’m going to be sharing with you ten tips for saving money in college. It can be so easy to overspend or rationalize spending money you don’t have in college, and before you know it be in a tough financial spot. I see it all the time. These ten tips will help incoming students set up a good plan for spending, and current students cut back on their expenses or reevaluate the money being spent!
It’s never too late or too early to start paying attention to your finances and taking control of your money habits!
10 Tips for Saving Money in College:
- Set a Budget
- Coupon
- Shop Sales
- Use Public Transportation
- Use Your Meal Plan
- Shop for Groceries in Bulk
- Buy Quality Items
- Use Rakuten
- Take Advantage of Student Discounts
- Go to the Campus Gym – You’re Already Paying for It!
There you go! Ten tips for saving money in college – now let’s break it down and see why these are helpful…
Breaking down tips for saving money in college:
Set a Budget
Basically, if you think you have access to all of the funds in your bank account for whatever, whenever, those funds are likely to disappear very, very quickly. In college, it is easy to spend tons of money without realizing it. Especially if you’re just paying people back for rideshares and for your part in giant food deliveries. If you have something you want to save money for or regular expenses, take those into consideration, consider any unusually large expenses that are coming up such as holidays or vacations, and at a bare minimum, make sure you can cover your commitments before you allocate money to be spent anywhere else.
If you don’t want to spend $100 every time you go off campus (it is way easier than you think in the northeast!), make sure you know what your limit is. Bring snacks with you, carry a water bottle, there are lots of little ways to save money!
Coupon
When I got to college, I learned that not everyone used coupons. This is totally fine if money is not a worry for you, but most college students need to be aware of their finances and using coupons can make a huge difference for grocery runs as well as bigger purchases. If you’re going grocery shopping with friends and don’t have a say in where you’re going, I really super recommend coupons.
I don’t have a car on campus, so I usually find someone who is going to Target and tag along if I need anything. Obviously, they don’t have the best food prices compared to grocers like Aldi, but they do have Target Circle in the Target app! They regularly have discounts on allergy-friendly items and everyday essentials, which are what I’m purchasing as a college student. 5% or 10% off may not seem like a lot, but oh my goodness it adds up. They also have gift card promotions sometimes, where you’ll get a $5 gift card if you spend $10 on hygiene products, for example. These are really convenient and can make those more expensive purchases a little less painful.
Shop Sales
Similarly to couponing, you should be shopping sales! Especially for those bigger ticket items that you know you need. If you find out you need something for classes but can wait a couple weeks for it, depending on when your classes begin each semester you could wait to make the most of Labor Day or President’s Day Weekend sales. This can be really helpful if you need to buy new tech!
In general though, if you need something (or just want something) from a specific store, consider signing up for that store’s email list. Then, you’ll be notified when there’s a sale and if you decide you still really want whatever the item was, you can then purchase it for cheaper. I saved hundreds of dollars on my parka by grabbing it on clearance! In the sales cycle, it was out of season, but I ended up wearing it two and a half months that year before nice weather came around.
Sometimes there are even sales at grocery stores, you should definitely be keeping an eye out for those too!
Use Public Transportation
You may have noticed I mentioned ridesharing adding up in my reasons you should be keeping a budget in college. I’ve seen some people talk about how they spend more than they’re comfortable with on ridesharing when they add it up at the end of the month or the end of a semester – and in some “How Much I Spend in a Week” videos, I saw girls saying their Ubers only cost $3 total for them to get to wherever they need to be. I don’t use ridesharing personally, but I’ve talked to friends and checked the Uber app myself out of curiosity. To get to a grocery store from campus, it would cost about $20.00. Target and many other destinations are usually around the same price for the area I go to school in.
Friends, I have no qualms with sharing that I could not afford $40 in ridesharing expenses if I needed to go to Target. You can get free 2-day shipping and spend less than that!
(no this is not an ad for Target I just happen to be really familiar with a lot of their business model)
This is partially why a lot of students opt to use Amazon and other online retailers for their shopping if they don’t have a car on campus. Transportation is expensive, but public transportation is much more affordable. If your campus or city offers free buses to take you around town, take advantage of them. If not, look into public transport offered by the town or city you’re in. Where I go to school, a day pass that gives you unlimited access to the bus and trains only costs $4.00. You could get five day passes for the same cost as that one-way rideshare!
Plan ahead and you will save a ton of money.
Use Your Meal Plan!
I know it might not be the best food in the world, or you may be bored of it after a while, but seriously: if you want to save money, use your meal plan!!!
Most schools require a meal plan for at least first-year students, it typically is a part of the contract with the catering company the college or university uses, and they can get pretty expensive. But here’s the deal: that money is already spent, and that food is already paid for. Not making the most of your meal plan is literally wasting money. Maybe you have to do a bit of experimenting to figure out how to make your meal plan work and make the most of it, but this is totally worth it when you consider how much money you’ll be saving on food delivery.
Shop for Groceries in Bulk
Some quick math will usually tell you that its cheaper to buy the 24 pack than the 12 pack. While college living situations do tend to be smaller and lack storage across the board, shopping in bulk has been really helpful to me personally. Not only do I save money, but I have to go to the grocery store less often because I have enough food on hand.
For example, I usually eat cereal for breakfast. Instead of just having the cereal I eat in the morning and one container of almond milk in my fridge, I started keeping backup almond milk in my cabinet (because the kind I buy doesn’t need to be refrigerated before being opened!) and doubling the amount of cereal purchased. This meant I could go for about four weeks without needing cereal or more almond milk!
This saves time and transportation stress. It also cuts down on my opportunities to go shopping and buy things I don’t need!
Bonus tip: learn how to properly store things like produce to help it last longer, and make your money go even further.
Buy Quality Items
Alright, tip number seven is to buy quality items. What do I mean by quality? Simple: when you make a purchase, be intentional
One of the best examples for the importance of good quality items is shoes. I wore my hiking shoes almost as frequently as my tennis shoes my first two years of college. Why? They’re really freaking comfortable, and I was walking a ton.
I see so many students trying to wear cheaply made shoes that they got from a discount/fast-fashion website, and this is usually a mark of a first-year student. Those shoes were not made to be walked in for miles at a time. Trying to make them work can lead to blisters and pain and all sorts of other issues, you do not need that! Having a few pairs of comfortable shoes that are supportive and made of quality materials will make a huge difference and save you money in the long run – on bandaids and shoes.
Use Rakuten
Use what? Rakuten! If you haven’t heard of or don’t use Rakuten, then I’m about to rock your world. I have literally received hundreds of dollars using Rakuten (formerly Ebates) while online shopping and shopping in-store! You can link your card to your account to allow for you to receive in-store cashback at certain retailers, which is great for things like Black Friday or dorm shopping when you want to go in person.
I personally received a few hundred dollars
Rakuten collects coupons from around the internet and will apply everything available at check out to help you save as much money as possible! I’ve checked Rakuten coupons before checkout to learn that the site I was on had two sales happening that
If you haven’t yet, you can click here to sign up for Rakuten. When you make your first order spending $25 or more, you’ll receive a bonus $10 cashback!
Take Advantage of Student Discounts
When shopping in person or going out to eat, don’t be afraid to ask if there’s a student discount wherever you’re making your purchases. The worst they could say is no! Tons of fast food places have a free drink with Student ID discount and some clothing stores will have 10% off. Those little bits add up! If you’re planning to go to a professional sporting event in your college town or city, I also recommend going on a student night! You can get cheaper tickets, sit with friends in the student section, and most ball parks let you bring in your own food, so check and see if you could bring your own snacks and save money there as well if you’re heading to a baseball game.
There also may be discounts offered to you through your school specifically, aka exclusive discounts just for you! Fun, right? Ask around about these and check out your school’s activities websites. There may also be deals advertised on posters around campus. Keep an eye out!
Use the Campus Gym
You’re already paying for it! Friends, if you want to workout, use the campus gym. Sign up for free exercise classes, go to events at the gym, take part in intermural sports if you want to, make the most of your gym membership! Even if the gym doesn’t have the classes you’re looking for, you can always watch a workout video and follow along or write out a program to follow. Save the money you’d spend on a boutique fitness studio and make the most of the gym you’ve already purchased a membership to with your tuition and fees. Not to mention the money you’ll save on transportation by going to the gym on campus!
And there you have it! 10 Tips for Saving Money in College – complete with how each tip is helpful for students.
I hope you found this helpful! Feel free to pass this along to the college (or soon-to-be college) student in your life. Everyone could use a little help with money now and then. Especially college students!
