This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Iowa chapter.
With the price of everyday needs reaching heights greater ever, it’s not always easy getting by, especially as a college student. Here are some shameless money-saving tricks that will put some extra spending money in your pocket this holiday season and the months to come!
- Pack your lunch – Instead of buying food everyday on campus, bring your lunch. You could even have all your friends pack a lunch and eat together, this way you can go back your elementary days and trade your food.
- Stay offline – Don’t be tempted to online shop. You may think you are getting a great deal but the sites get you with their shipping costs and you end up spending more than you thought.
- Wait before Purchasing – Wait at least 24 hours before making a big purchase. Shop around and see if you can find it at a better price elsewhere and if not maybe the price will come down on its own over time.
- Use Netflix or Redbox – Instead of spending your money at an overpriced movie theatre rent a movie or get a Netflix account. Paying $10 for Netflix is equal to one movie and popcorn at a movie theatre and Redbox updates their movie lists every week! Head to the Netflix and take advantage of their online unlimited streaming package, only $7.99 a month!
- Walk or Carpool – Instead of driving yourself or spending money on the bus everyday carpool with a friend. Then you both are saving and enjoying each other’s company. Depending on how far away you live, leaving 10 minutes early to walk can be efficient on your wallet and on your body for some good exercise time.
- Carry Less Money With You – When you have less cash money with you then you have less ability to spend that money throughout the day. Always have emergency money on hand though!
- Use Coupons – Pick up the free newspapers around town and use the ads and coupons from them each week! Hy-Vee, Fairway, and local shops are always looking for ways to get people into their shops and discounts and sales are always a great way.
- Keep the Change – Keep YOUR change. Even the nickels and pennies are your cash! Keep the small change and put it aside in a piggy bank and take it to the bank once full, you will be surprised to see how much all those coins add up to!
- Recycle – Keep your cans and plastics and take them to a redemption center for your money back! Can Shed is a local business in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids that is a full-service redemption center and will buy back any brand of containers accepted in the Iowa refund!
- Sell your clothes – There are many places like Plato’s Closet that buy your used clothes for cash on a daily basis. So you outgrew those jeans or got bored of that shirt? Sell it for cold hard spending cash. Check out the Plato’s Closet Website for the rules on clothing buyback and locations!
Everyone loves having some extra spending money and there really are countless ways to save and get your money back for the things you want. Don’t settle for less when you can get more!