While attending class for several hours a week and being constantly on the go, college students tend to spend more money rather than save it. There is also not a lot of time that we as students can be working to save money. After taking a look at some of my spending habits, I came up with a few simple ways to save money during the week!
Make your own coffee: Although we all love going to our favorite little coffee shack, it is much cheaper to make your own coffee right in your kitchen. If you drink a coffee every day, a medium would cost you $2.35. Multiply this by 7 coffees in a week and you have spent $16.45 a week just on coffee! Even if you are only going four times a week you are spending nearly $10 on coffee. In price comparison, spending $13 on 24 K-Cups would equal out to be about 54 cents per cup! Much cheaper than buying a coffee each day!
Take advantage of your meal plan: If you have a meal plan, it has already been paid for. Instead of spending lots of money each week on groceries, go to the dining hall instead where the food has already been prepared. In addition, spending money on take out or dining out can be quite costly so if you want some sort of take-out food use dining dollars or cat’s cache at one of the many “to-go” places on campus! Our favorites are Wildcatessan (Wildkitty) and the Pita Pit!
Instead of going out for entertainment, bring entertainment to you! It is definitely a fun time to go see the Pats (or Giants) play at the bar, however if you eating and drinking at the bar your tab can add up pretty quick! Instead, invite over a bunch of friends and make a ton of yummy appetizers such as Buffalo Chicken Dip, Wings, Mozzeralla Sticks and Nachos! Purchasing these items from the store will take less of a hit at your wallet than ordering these items at a restaurant.
Another way to bring the entertainment to you is to use Red Box or subscribe to Netflix. Redbox has all of the latest movies and they only cost $1. Netflix can either send DVDs to you via mail, or you can watch them right from your computer for a very reasonable fee per month. If you head to the movie theatre, you can easily rack up a fifty-dollar bill by purchasing two movie tickets, two drinks, two boxes of candy, and some popcorn! If you are dying to see that film that has just been released, hit up the dollar store before to buy candy and drinks!
Be Energy-conscious! For those of us living in off campus apartments, save money on your electricity bill by turning off lights when they are not in use, turning your heater to be off during the day when you are not home and taking quick showers. When you are home, wrap up in a blanket and set your heat to a lower setting. If you follow these tips, your electricity and heat bills will be much lower!
Grocery shopping: When you go grocery shopping, make sure to find out if the store you are going to has a discount card or a rewards program. Enrolling in these types of programs can save you quite a bit of money! In addition, when you go shopping, go shopping by yourself so that you are not influenced by anyone else to purchase things you do not need. Make a list, have a budget and stick to it! If the items were not on your list, you really do not need them! I find it best to plan out my meals in advance. Since I usually only cook for one, I usually find that I have lots of excess food. This means that I can have left overs for a few days instead of making a new food each night. My last grocery-shopping tip is to not be afraid of store brands! Just because the label is not as pretty does not mean it is any different that another brand!
Pack a lunch: Many of us are often off campus at a job or internship. Instead of heading to Panera or a local sandwich shop, be sure to pack your own lunch. Purchasing the items necessary for sandwiches for one week at a grocery store can equal the cost of one sandwich at the sandwich shop!
So there you have it! Six simple ways to save a couple of bucks. If you follow these different money saving tips, you will see bigger numbers in your bank account! Good luck J