Because Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees: Simple Ways to Save Money While You’re at School

As a college student in today’s bleak economic climate, it’s pretty obvious that we all need to save some cash. But what are some simple ways to do that? There are seas of financial advice out there, but sometimes few people know better than your parents. So I decided to ask my own parents, Rani and Jeffrey Goodman, both financial advisors with Raymond James and Associates, what they think college students can do to help keep the green in their wallets.

Fruits and Veggies are the Only Green You Should Be Eating

Going out to restaurants can drain your wallet like crazy. Try eating on campus instead. According to my mom, Rani, “you should use a meal plan when you can because it’s so much less expensive than restaurants.” If campus food isn’t for you, try using the money you would use to go out to go grocery shopping instead. You’ll be able to make yourself more meals for what you would normally spend on just one dinner.

Not only that, but also remember water doesn’t cost anything—it’s healthy and free. If you invest in a good, tough water bottle built to last you a while (Nalgene, $4.53-$11.60, www.nalgeneoutdoor.com), you’ll be able to consistently fill it up for free at water fountains.

Spending Slasher: Dining in keeps your money where it belongs—in your wallet. If an average restaurant meal costs between $10 and $20 and you go out once a week, that’s $160-$200 a semester. A home-cooked meal can cost between $2-4 per person, so you’re saving at least $8 per meal, and $128-$144 per semester.

Bring your own bottle: when bottled water costs about $1.25 per bottle and you’re purchasing about four bottles of water per week, that’s $5 a week. That bottled water actually ends up costing $80-$90 a semester! Getting a water bottle like a Nalgene saves you $75-$85 a semester.

A Book is a Book is a Book

Your textbooks will be the same no matter where you buy them (unless you accidentally get a foreign version…be careful of those!). My parents suggest buying used books because, even though they might be a bit rumpled, what you need to know is still on the pages. You can also try borrowing books from friends, or trying websites like Half.com (a division of Ebay) and Amazon.com for slashed prices on books. You should rarely buy a new, full-priced book if you can avoid it. They’ll put such a dent in your savings that your bank statement will look like a car accident. Remember, you can also sell your books back to the bookstore, but remember you’ll usually only get 25-50% of the original cost back. So, just as you bought textbooks on Ebay or Amazon, you can also sell them there, too. And don’t forget really awesome buyback websites (where you can sell your books back to the site as if it were your campus bookstore) like TextbooksRUs.com, Textbooks.com, and good old Barnes and Noble.com—all three have some of the highest buyback rates around.

Spending Slasher: Used books are the way to go: On some websites you can save as much as 97% off of the cover price, like on half.ebay.com where you can get Stephen A. Lucas’s The Art of Public Speaking for as little as $2.32, quite a ways off from its list price of $113.60—a savings of $111.28!

The Price of Gas

Is perpetually high, and can be quite an annoyance in an economic recession like this one. If you take public transportation, you can get around for much less per week than it takes to fill up your car with gas. If you do use a car, use it sparingly—only drive when you really need to. Public transportation is much less expensive, and some universities include a fee for public transport in their tuition, so riding public transport doesn’t cost you any additional money—all you have to do is flash your college ID and you’re golden. And remember—you can always walk! Especially if it’s a beautiful fall day, take the time to take in some of the beautiful leaves changing…and save some green at the same time.

Spending Slasher: Public transportation and your own two feet are your friends: Gas is $2.70 a gallon, so about $37 a tank. If you use a tank a week, that can be between $550 and $600 per semester. Public transport can cost as little as $1.50 one way—twice a day would be $3, and round-trip five times a week would be $15. That’s the difference of $22 per week, and $310-$330 per semester. And remember—walking is free!

Going Out Vs. “Going Out”

Sometimes just hanging out at a friend’s apartment or on campus can be enough of an evening out, and it costs a lot less than going to a club, to bars, or to the movies. “There are less expensive entertainment venues on campus than at movie theatres where they show first-run movies. You can go see a movie on a college campus for an eighth of the price you’d see it anywhere else.” Hanging out with friends is also free, and going out to bars can get costly, with both the price of drinks and transportation. Take advantage of some of the options that are closer to where you live to save on transportation as well. But just don’t stay in and do homework! “All work and no play makes kids very dull. You need to fund your recreation a little bit,” my mom says. But remember, always fund responsibly.

Spending Slasher: Sometimes it’s good to stay close: an average movie theatre ticket costs $10, but on campuses it might cost $1 to $3 or might even be free! If you see about five movies per semester, that’s $50 you get to keep.

Things They Wish They Knew

When my parents were in college, they wish they had known the value of a dollar. “Sometimes we’re insulated by our parents, and when we go out into the workforce it becomes a surprise. I had to learn the hard way because I was on my own,” my mom tells me. “If your parents are helping you out with funds, treat the money as if it were your own. Learn how to budget yourself for the future. If you can live on 100%, you can live on 90%. If you put that 10% away, it accumulates and you can invest it for the future.” To get a better understanding of what saving can do for you, my mom recommends reading The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. It’s a book they give to all of their clients so they can better understand personal finance, so it can certainly work for college students, too.

My dad says an important part of learning to save is making a budget. “At this age it’s a great idea because when college is over you’ll have four years of planning to take you into the next part of your life.” Beginning to understand how you work with your money is a big part of being able to live in “the real world”, not just that show on MTV.

Sources:

Jeffrey Goodman, First Vice President of Investments, Raymond James and Associates

Rani Goodman, Associate Financial Advisor and Wealth Management Specialist, Raymond James and Associates