It’s no secret that college is probably the most expensive four years of your life. Between tuition payments, textbooks, food, and laundry. And if you’re like most of us here at UT, you need to buy plane tickets home (I’m going to guess New York) four times a year. All of this leaves your bank account looking pretty bare. Luckily for us, there are some tricks of the trade to help keep a few extra bucks in our pockets.
Save at School:
One of the simplest ways to save is to rent your textbooks whenever possible! If it is not a textbook for one of your major courses where you would need to use it again; save your money and rent it. Or better yet, don’t buy it at all. The most common places to rent your books online are: Chegg.com, Amazon.com, and BookRenter.com which is similar to Chegg. The university bookstore also does rentals. Sometimes they turn out to be cheaper than using Chegg or Amazon, it just depends on the book, so do a little research between websites before making any purchases.
Also, if your professor does not require each person to have their own copy of the textbook, find a friend in the class and share the book and split the cost 50/50. That way you have an automatic study buddy for homework and tests too!
Check all of your school supplies from the previous semester and reuse any notebooks, binders, or folders that are still in good shape and can be spared for another semester. No one needs to pay $5.00 each for new notebooks every semester if there is still room in one you already have. And just toss out any unwanted papers from binders and folders that you don’t need again and fill it up with a new subject for the term.
At the end of the week if you have any extra meals, use them! To-go boxes from the cafeteria are really blessings in disguise. Instead of spending your own money at the grocery store, just use the extras on your meal plan that are already being paid for. Pizza slices and pasta can stay for a few days in your mini fridges. You can stock up on stuff from the salad bar and fruits that will last the week as well. Cereal, bagels, and bread are good go-to’s as well; you can take the little serving cups for syrup by the waffle makers and put some peanut butter, jelly, or cream cheese in them for a sandwich later. Don’t forget to grab a few cookies or whatever dessert they have that day either!
Save Off Campus:
Go to the movies on a Thursday. AMC Movie Theaters has a student discount on Thursdays when you show a valid student ID card. The Westshore mall has an AMC Theater! The Britton 8 Cinema on S. Dale Mabry Highway is also a reduced ticket price movie theatre. It’s sort of a hidden gem in Tampa for broke college kids looking to not spend $10 on a movie ticket.
Use your student ID card to get discounts. Most companies participation are location dependent, but it doesn’t hurt to try and ask, what’s the worst they’ll say, “No?”
Jiffy Lube: 10% off with a valid student ID card
Chipotle: Free drink with a purchase with a valid student ID card
Waffle House: 10% off purchase with a valid student ID card
Subway: 10% off purchase with a valid student ID card
Go to Applebee’s from 10pm-2am any day of the week for 1/2 price appetizers with a purchase of a drink. The closest location to campus is on W. Hillsborough Ave. Split a few appetizers with friends or get your own, either way you can still walk away feeling okay for going out because you saved yourself half of what you would have normally paid.
Everybody loves Chinese food, so when you splurge for the night and order take-out with your friends get the UT Special from Wok n’ Roll. You get an entree order of whatever you choose (chicken and broccoli, sesame chicken, lo mien, etc.) with rice, and your choice of either an egg roll or a can of soda, all for $5.00 +tax. The portions are more than enough to fill your craving!
Save Some Change:
When you have to go food shopping, look for bogo deals, buy 2 get 1 free. If you buy that item often it is more sensible to save even a few cents or a dollar on the deals (that’s an extra dollar to put towards Chinese take-out or another beer at Dollar Beer nights at MacDinton’s). Chips, sauces, pastas, etc. can all be kept for long periods of time, and bread items can all be kept in the freezer until you need them.
Also, know your products and your stores. Brand name items are going to be more expensive, so if you are not picky, go with the just as good store brand item that is cheaper than the brand name. You can get toiletry items like tissues, soaps, cream, air freshener, napkins, cotton balls, etc. at the Dollar Tree for only $1 compared to other store prices.
Collect any loose change in a cup or a bucket of some sort. Once you have enough filled in the cup, go to the local CoinStar (you can usually find them at Walmart) to cash it in. You’d be surprised how much you can get for collecting a handful of change for a few weeks.
Most of all: spend smart! Don’t buy things just because you can, be smart with the money that you have and spend it wisely on things that you actually need and can use.