Ten ways to reduce college expenses

Money can be a big problem in college, depending on what your background is. Juggling jobs and school work can also be tough. In college I often wondered where all the money I earned was going. That was when I started my first budget.

Cost of living in colleges are actually pretty high for the average student. Right from the basics such as housing and food all the way to cars and luxuries. But this cost can usually brought down dramatically. But remember, while cutting costs is simple it can require a lot of determination to sustain. (photo: getrichslowly.org)

Here are some steps to trim those expenses:

1. Never buy books at the bookstore.
   Ok, let me rephrase that: never buy books at the bookstore without comparing prices elsewhere (online including half.com, amazon, barnes & noble) and with your fellow students, who often may even let you loan that book free for a semester if they are your friends. Books can cost $500 for a semester: I never spent over $100 after my freshman year. Sometimes the college may update to a new edition that's not yet available anywhere but the bookstore: don't fret. The professor will often help you use the old edition since usually the material and questions don't change that much.
2. Make your own food
   At my college, the cost of a meal was $9, that's over 20$ when you account for full lunch & dinner with a coffee for breakfast. I found I can cook for almost a week in that much money. Simple math shows you that's a food bill of 100$ versus $600 - whew. Also, avoid shopping at corner shops or little stores right next to the college and go to a super market even if it's a little further away. Property prices near the college are a lot more expensive - and your food bill will have to pay for that.
3. Use buses or walk
   Of course try to use friends to hitch a ride first, but if you can't buses are usually much cheaper than driving your own car (especially with today's gas prices). If you're going to the mall or to watch a movie, colleges often have buses to them for free so look into that. For shorter distances, walking is always good and will keep you in shape.
4. Credit cards
   You most likely don't need them - especially not more than 1. One card may be a good idea if you buy all your clothes from one store and they offer one for better deals. Even then, only use that card for purchases from that store. Credit card debt is one thing that college students very often have trouble with and it's a very good idea to just not have a card to begin with. If you do have a card, pay it back every month: the interest rates will make that $200 into one grand very fast. Debit cards are a much better way to go to avoid debt - but again do not spend more than you have because the fees can be close to $100 per day. (photo: warungdigital.com)
5. Live at home
   If you can afford to live at home instead of at rented housing, give it some thought. Living with parents will definitely help reduce expenses and will also help you reduce food expenses. Going into college it may not seem the coolest thing to do, but ‘trying to be cool’ is something that you may regret later on. Plus you can bring friends back home and after eating college food and living in a dorm, this will probably be very refreshing.
6. Save the change
   Spare change jars have been a passive saving technique since change was first offered, but fewer and fewer transactions these days use real cash. If you do use cash, put the change in a jar and watch it save. If you use online banking. many banks (I use Bank of America’s Keep the Change) put round up differences into a separate account. This builds up really quick instead of spending that money on gum or a candy.
7. “Crap I just don’t need” list
   There is a lot of advertising that delivers to college students – and college students often do respond to it. We are famous for impulse buys and things that never end up being used. Instead, every time you want to buy something that you can’t live without, write it down on a list. Keep it on the list for a while, say 30 days, and then remove it if you still want it then. Eventually, you'll start noticing how long the list is, and how well you've gotten along without any of it.
8. Buy online
   Books are hardly the only thing that you should be comparing online prices for – check online for any big purchase. It’s a little out of your way, but most savings methods are. Firefox and its extensions can help you find deals, rebates, coupons, and sales. RetailMeNot automatically pops in to let you know when a site you're at has freebies and discounts available, while PriceDrop adds buttons to Amazon.com's item pages to help you get notifications when prices go down. For electronics and computers, tigerdirect.com and newegg.com are great places to look. Overstock and Price grabber are good places for other purchases as well.
9. Avoid tv
   As mentioned in the previous post, avoid purchasing a tv. You can watch most of the shows on a computer. Even if you already have a tv, try to minimize the time you watch it and do something else instead (note: go to the college gym).
10. Free college food
    There are probably a LOT of events at your college that involve free food. Go to them. Not only will they help cut that dining bill, college lunches and dinners are also a great way to meet new people – especially during the beginning of a year. These events may also help you find an interest that you didn’t think you had and help you build a good extracurricular for your resume. Sweet. (photo: farqs.org)
    

Those are our tips. There's also a great article about this in the Pittsburgh Tribune. Well, what do you do / did to cut money in college? Let’s hear about it in your comments.