By Emily Gianni
Once you are a college student, you realize how fast you can spend money. You are always doing something: going out for dinner, buying coffee, or going out at night. It may be hard to get accustomed to a new lifestyle after spending so much money all the time. But if you want to make it through the whole semester with money, you need to be smarter.
You need to set an approximate budget you can spend in a week. This can help you monitor how much you spend a week because you are thinking about not going over that budget. It is also okay to go over that budget every once in a while, but you have to even it out by staying under the budget the next week.
To be realistic, most college students spend their money while buying drinks, whether it be coffee or alcoholic beverages. It would be cheaper if you bought a Keurig, coffee pods, and creamer and made your own coffee in your room every day rather than go to buy coffee. Buying coffee should be more of a treat rather than an every day activity. When it comes to alcoholic beverages, you can spend a LOT of money on drinks. Even just buying shots can be about $5 each. It may be more beneficial if you bought a bottle for yourself, if your living situation allows it, and save it for drinking before you leave the room. This bottle may also last you a few days (or trips you go out) when it will be way less money.
In the same way buying coffee should be a privilege, so should buying food. If you have a meal plan, it will save you so much money just by eating on campus. Although you may not love the food they give, it will save you a decent amount of money: at least $10 a day.
Another way you can save money is by going to places that are free or low-cost. You do not always have to go to expensive dinners or clubs; instead, you can go to free museums and get less expensive food. There are so many places you can eat in the city that aren’t going to be $40 per person.
Another way you can save money is by getting a job. This may not necessarily count as saving money, but you are making money while you spend it. This counts more as maintaining the money you have. If you are afraid of your job getting in the way of school work, in some on-campus jobs you just have to sit there. You basically get paid to do homework.
Running out of money mid-semester really does stink, but these are the rules I follow and really do work. You just have to remind yourself that you cannot spend a lot of money and truthfully, you won’t if you have the right mindset!