How To Save Money In College

College. It’s definitely a big transition from school life. Unlike the comforts and supports offered by the schools we spent half of our life in, college poses a lot more challenges to deal with and responsibilities to fulfill, one of which includes saving enough to reply to student loans and having something left to still graduate within the bank!

Here are a couple of tips to help you get started:

 Opting for cheaper supplies: 

•  With each passing semester, supplies begin to become a huge demand, particularly books. One of the hidden costs of being a student is spending roughly 650 to 700 bucks for references, manuals, and handy books. Instead, a smarter way to keep your pockets full is by purchasing second-hand books or going to the library for materials. When you are done, you can resell them to someone else who needs them. Another better alternative is to utilise digital resources for studying. 
• The BookLal app comes in really handy for those who are looking for purchasing or selling books at a reasonable rate. So keep your eye out for this app the next time you want to explore more books in categories!

Adapting better strategies for groceries: 

• Groceries. Of course, the amount you spend on groceries depends on the place you’re shopping at and the items you’re purchasing. Compare prices between stores. You can find out which store has items available at cheaper rates to optimize savings. Be on the lookout for coupons, as get is your ticket to boost discounts. Oh, and don’t forget to bring your own reusable bags while you’re at it!
• Another clever move is to buy food that can last for multiple meals rather than spending on junk every alternative day for snack binging.   

Reconsidering entertainment expenses:

• Although it’s important to unwind after the end of a very long week, it doesn’t necessarily have to involve spending cash all over the place. You can still relax by doing the things you enjoy. Play video games, read a good book, or better yet, pick up on the hobbies you’ve left off. Not only is this financially savvy, but it allows you the odd treat from time to time which is sometimes, all you need. 

Cherishing what you own:

• When it comes to saving money in college, the less you need the more you actually have. Know the difference between your wants and needs. Don’t let the traps of materialistic culture fool you into believing that you need to own the latest brands to be happy. Adopting a minimalistic lifestyle helps you have the things that are vital, and makes you feel (and stay) more than happy. 

Scholarship supremacy: 

• Every dollar you own through scholarships is one less dollar you have to put towards books, tuition, and other fees. Scholarships are the superheroes to feed our financial necessities and motivate students to get those grades! So it’s safe to say that we can wipe the sweat of repaying loan debts off our brows and focus more on enhancing our resume through better grades instead. 

Looking for student discounts: 

• Make sure that every time you make a purchase, you look out for student discounts on the shelves. One of the benefits of being a student is that you can get money off almost everything. So make sure to keep an eye out for those goodies and freebies on campus. 

Smart traveling: 

• Although it’s pretty awesome to imagine owning your own car, if money is tight, you may want to rethink that choice. Travel wisely. Public transport is much cheaper unlike cars as oil changes, petrol and diesel refills, washing and services keep topping the list of maintenance. Another plus is that there’s lesser traffic. Even by scratching the surface of travel savings, you could make some huge differences. 

Splitting the rent: 

• If you aren’t staying in the hostels or dorms offered by the college, it’s best to split the rent with a couple of roommates in your place, along with the electricity and water bill. Living is expensive. So try to get most of your furniture second-hand and choose what you need discreetly. 

Engaging in extracurricular activities:

• Set up a savings account or an auto-deposit. You could even take a business class or an economics class in your leisure time, or listen to a TED talk. It could give you an idea of how people make decisions and how these decisions apply to the real world. You could learn about taxation, price controls, exchange rates, and even more. So what are you waiting for? Go, give it a shot!

Just having a mere glance at all these tips isn’t important. Only unless you have a very fixated mentality, it will be difficult to stick to them in the long term. But that doesn’t mean you always need to compromise yourself. As long as there is a good ratio between your savings and your spending, you still have the freedom to enjoy your lifestyle the way you want to.
There’s no “perfect size” which fits the shoe, but the point is the more you save during college, the more confident you’ll feel about getting into the real world once you get your diploma.

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