Freshman year can be difficult and overwhelming for a number of reasons: you are on your own for the first time, you are far away from family and friends, more is expected from you in your academics, and you have to pay thousands of dollars. To help ease the pain, here is a list of money saving tips for Freshman year (and beyond):
1. Invest in your own tea kettle/coffee machine instead of buying it every day
It may cost you more to buy a tea kettle or coffee machine up front, but it will save you in the long run. Buying a five dollar coffee/tea from Starbucks may not seem like a big chunk of change at the time, but it quickly adds up. Even if you are only buying one cup a week, that adds up to roughly $20.00/month or $80.00/semester. Save yourself the money and invest in a smaller kettle or pot that you can keep in your dorm room.
2. If you are of drinking age, do not buy all of your drinks at the bar
Drinks at the bar average from seven to fifteen dollars for each drink. And, when you’ve started drinking and are not thinking straight, you will most likely end up spending far more than you anticipated. Instead, buy a bottle of your favourite liquor with some friends and pre-drink before the bars. When you go out, only bring a twenty dollar bill to spend on drinks. You will save a lot of money this way, and also feel better in the morning when you aren’t dying from a hangover caused by overpriced, cheap liquor.
3. Avoid going shopping for cheap, fast fashion
Buying a bunch of cheap, five dollar shirts from Forever 21 may not seem like a big deal but when you only wear the clothing once or twice before it falls apart, you are basically throwing money away. Do not make the mistake of getting caught up in fast fashion trends that you don’t really like, but feel like you should buy because it’s “so cheap”. Instead, save the money for a larger purchase that you can love for a long time, or for paying off that mountain of student loans.
4. Buy bulk, non-perishable snacks for your dorm room
Instead of relying on the cafeteria for all of your snacking needs, buy bulk foods from places like Costco or Walmart to save money and have them easily accessible for those late night study sessions. Crackers, nuts, bananas, granola bars, apples, and oranges all make great, healthy snacks that do not need to be refrigerated.
5. Buy textbooks used (or don’t buy them at all)
Do not make the Freshman mistake of buying all of your required texts brand new from the bookstore before classes have even started. Instead, wait to see what the professor says about the texts before you buy them. Sometimes, the professors will let you know that the “required texts” are not essential to your success in the class. If they are, try to find them either used in the book store, through buy and sell Facebook groups, or on Amazon before you drop hundreds of dollars on something that you could have found for half the price.
We hope that these money saving tips helped, and let us know if you have any more to share!
All GIFS were taken from https://giphy.com/