Key Takeaways
- College can end up costing you a lot more than just tuition these days with all the extras they offer up to get you to spend more of your money.
- Doing things like sharing an apartment, building a budget, taking part in free activities, using public transportation, and buying used textbooks will help keep costs down.
- With student loans already being very expensive to pay back, keeping costs down in other areas are a great way to set you up for success while you attend college and once you graduate and enter in to a career.
Maybe it’s going to happen soon, or perhaps it happened recently, but you get to go off to college and be free! Meanwhile, your parents are crying, either because they love you and are going to miss you, or they are happy to finally see you go! Either way, who cares, you’re off to college to be free.
Well, freedom has a lot of different definitions, and one of them you want to be careful about, is how free you are with your money. We’ve got five tips that can help you save money while you’re in college, so you don’t end up with huge debt later.
- Share a room or apartment (or even stay at home!). Colleges know how to get more than just tuition money out of you. Many of them have renovated or built brand-new apartments or dorms that have all kinds of flashy amenities that come with a hefty price tag. Instead of taking the bait, check the area for lower cost apartments, or share an apartment or dorm with several roommates to keep your housing cost low. Housing is one of the biggest costs out there, so keeping this low will be an enormous help to you in paying down other things, like your student loans. And, if you are in a situation where you can stay home and attend college, that can be an even better route to go (if you and your parents can stomach it!).
- Build a budget. It’s an ugly word to a lot of people, but a budget is a great way to ensure you aren’t spending money you don’t have. Put together a budget with all your expenses and any income that may be coming in, so you can track this flow. You might be doing some side gigs or have a side hustle that helps pull in a little extra, so you can off-set some of those expenses.
- Look at campus-offered activities. Most colleges offer an abundance of free campus activities. From concerts, to plays, to movies, clubs, and festivals, colleges offer all kinds of activities free of charge to their students. Or you can think of it this way: you are paying tuition to them anyway, so why not take advantage of what they offer?
- Leave the car at home. If you have a car, leave it with your parents, or maybe sell it for extra money! Cars are expensive. You have to keep registration up-to-date, pay for gas, maintenance, and if you want to park on campus, you typically have to pay a large fee. Not to mention, with many colleges being in metropolitan areas, local laws might have you paying even more money to keep a car in town. Instead, take advantage of public transportation like buses, trains, or metro-rail systems. You could bike, or even use a service like Uber or Lyft. Take advantage of the fact that most college campuses have an abundance of alternative, inexpensive ways to get around, so don’t bring that car, or worse, buy one, while you are in college unless it’s an absolute necessity for you (or you want to make extra money driving for the aforementioned ridesharing companies). It’ll save you a lot of money over four years.
- Buy used books and sell them back. Textbooks are very expensive, and you have to buy a lot of them every year for college. Instead of buying new ones, go for used ones. They are usually much less expensive and are still great quality. Also, when you are done with the books, don’t leave money on the table. Sell those books back. You won’t be able to sell them for what you bought them for, but it’s still money in your pocket.
While you may finally feel the freedom that college offers you once you leave home, money’s not free! These five tips can help you save thousands of dollars over your college years. And when you are already dealing with expensive student loans, it really helps to keep costs down wherever you can.
Until next time, enjoy!
Gary