Getting to college is such a big change. For many students, they are living off of money from their parents, but for the rest of them, they are on their own.
When I started college, I was thankful that my parents sent me money for groceries, but that was all that it was for. If I wanted to get new clothes, shop on Amazon, or just recklessly spend my money, it was on my dime.
The summer before I went to school, I did have a job and I worked a lot but it was limited. So when I started at school, I got a job working in the dining halls. The job was not fun, but most jobs at that age, especially on a college campus, are not gonna be a party.
I worked for part of a semester, and I eventually quit the job because I couldn’t focus on my school work. So I had to fend for myself. Here are a few things that helped me when I wanted to spend my own money.
- Save the money you already have
- Spend what money you have wisely, ask yourself, “Do I really need it?” and “Am I going to use this every day?”
- Find a job, and make sure you can balance your schoolwork
- Sell clothes that you don’t wear anymore
- Budget your expenses
- If you have a car on campus, pay attention to where you drive it
- If you frequently drive your friends, you can ask for gas money, it is not rude especially if you drive long distances or if you are the only one who has a car
- Buy used textbooks
- If you are a coffee drinker, make your own coffee, it is cheaper than getting starbucks or going to an on campus coffee shop
- If your dorm or living space has a full kitchen (stove and oven), cook your own food- Soup is always very cheap so is Kraft Mac and Cheese, sandwiches too
- Find student discounts- Amazon Prime has a student discount, so does Door Dash, GymShark, Levi’s, and more. (Here is a list of other places that have student discounts)
- If you need clothes, find discounted items or go to a thrift store
- If your school has a food pantry, you can grab food from there such as soup, pastries, bread, canned veggies, and more.
There are more things on how you can save your money in college, you can find all of this and more at Intuit Mint Life.
Happy savings!