Let’s face it, college isn’t cheap. At the end of the day, most of us are just broke college kids. It doesn’t help that the holiday season is approaching, and with that comes a big dent in our bank accounts. It also doesn’t help that we live in a capitalist society, where your value equates to how much you’re worth. Every time I log into my bank account, I feel a little anxious, and there are times where I purposely don’t look at it because I know it’s extremely low. So let’s all try to start saving money together! Here are some tips that I’ve acquired over the years.
1. Open a savings account
I know, I know, this step is so obvious it hurts. However, you can’t start saving money until you have one. Depending on your bank, you can usually open one online. Oftentimes you can also track the items you spend the most on monthly. After looking at that, you can decide if you want to try and cut down on certain areas where you are spending more money. Overall, if you’re looking to start saving money, opening a savings account is the first step.
2. Stop eating out
You don’t need to get that Chipotle. Say it with me. You don’t need that Chipotle. Maybe Chipotle isn’t your weakness, but just insert your guilty pleasure takeout food. If you eat out more than once a week, it really adds up – not to mention that it’s often not very healthy, either. Delete DoorDash or Uber Eats from your phone, because in reality those apps are just draining your accounts.
3. No more retail therapy
This is my downfall. Clothes- the reason I’m here, broke, writing this article about how to save money. Here’s a rule of thumb: if you have the same type of shirt in 10 different colors, you definitely don’t need another. Being a girl, it’s really hard to resist the temptation of new clothes, or even accessories or makeup. Retail therapy is very real and very dangerous. It’s been proven that shopping helps relieve stress, and I can vouch that after a hard week, there’s nothing better than ordering a bunch of clothes online. It’s even harder to not buy new things when we live in a materialistic society that puts so much emphasis the newest trends, but if you suffer from retail therapy, try going to the gym instead. Working out is an excellent form of stress relief.
4. Put away money from every paycheck
Jobs are a good way of making money; however, a job isn’t very helpful if you spend all the money you make before the next pay period. I would advise putting an allotted amount of money from your paycheck straight into savings to avoid being tempted. By limiting the amount you have to start, it will be as though the rest never existed. You will thank yourself later when you have money aside for a rainy day.
All of these tips are good ways to start saving, and you don’t have to do all of them at once. I think that even picking one and sticking to it will show results. Let’s make our bank accounts proud and stop spending money on frivolous things, so we can start saving for the important ones.