College is hard on your wallet and schedule with books, classes and studying, but what’s worse is walking around campus, going out or even just shuffling through your fridge and feeling like you can’t keep up.
Finances are an essential (yet dreadful) aspect of every college student’s experience, but with the right budgeting and smart shopping, you can stock your fridge and your closet with all the right stuff for less, while managing
IDGAF: “I don’t give away food”
Helping out your friends can seem necessary, especially when they are also struggling with finances, but one thing you have to force yourself to do is draw a line somewhere. When you start to realize you are struggling financially to get even the basics of what you need, you need to be open and honest when people ask for things from you.
This can be done very politely and easily by simply saying something along the lines of, “I’m sorry, you know I would normally help you out, but I have a really tight budget right now until the end of the semester or else I’m going to run out of money.” This will work just fine. If it doesn’t work, you probably need some new friends because those ones obviously have no respect for your financial well-being.
Shop on inexpensive websites
Forever 21 has a really great online sale selection, as well as PacSun. So if you need some cute clothes those would be great options.
You could also always resort to sketchy China-made websites, but these come with the burden of wondering if your package will actually be delivered or not, as well as if it will even look good in person–but when you’re broke, there’s few options you wouldn’t resort to. If you do end up doing this, the higher-rated ones include Zaful and Shein, so make sure to stick to those and always read the reviews before buying something.
Another great option for regular and casual clothes is Goodwill or any other thrift store. At WVU specifically, there is a Goodwill outlet about forty-five minutes from campus near Washington, Pennsylvania that sells clothing buy the pound.
This is an understandable hike for a lot of people, but a great option if you or a friend have a car and are able to get to it. If not, there are plenty of thrift stores in walkable distance, or even a bus ride away from campus.
Eat cheaper
When talking about food, everyone wants a lot of it and they don’t want off-brand stuff, but when you have a tight budget, unfortunately, you don’t have many other options. Aldi’s is an amazing option for students because it is insanely cheap and they have a really big selection.
Get a store card for every grocery store you shop at. You can end up saving immense amounts of money this way that you may not have even known you could have been saving beforehand.
Along with this, make sure you always have a grocery list rather than going in with big, bulging eyes, and never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach because you will cry after seeing your bill.
Hopefully, if you follow these tips, you’ll be able to stay on budget and make it to the end of the semester without having to beg anyone for a noodle cup.