Money Saving Tips for College
What can be harder than a life full of lessons and exams? You name it: Saving Money. A lot of college students just find it hard to manage the way they spend money and for this, they truly need money saving tips that work. If you ever wonder how you’ll make it through, alive and sane, during your school years – this is the best time for you to practice these easy, money saving tips that will stretch your budget to its maximum limits:
8 Savvy Money Saving Tips for College Students:
1. Make that List
No excuses! Just because you may come up with rough estimates doesn’t have to mean you have to ditch the list. Make it a mandatory habit! You need to list down how much your basic needs cost ( rent, utilities, transportation, food, school supplies, debts, and others ). This will help you plan your budget wisely each month. You may even have a few left for savings.
2. Stop Your Impulse
Being a shopaholic may appear cool on the silver screen, but if you want to make a career out of it, you need to stop, breathe, and think. Don’t go out to any places where you can simply shop – out of the blues. Yes, exactly what ‘blues’ mean is when you’re feeling low, where you may just emo-shop ’til you drop. You may end up with a bagful of things you don’t need and a heavy price to pay.
3. Hide the Plastic
Having a credit card may mean getting an extra hand in buying the things you instantly need… and losing your restraint in buying for unnecessary stuff. Because you don’t really feel the value of paying for cash, you might as well hide these cards in a safe place, until you are more responsible for it.
4. Be Organized
If these words sound alien to you, you need to start learning it. Don’t throw away your bills, bank statements, and receipts. These will come in handy when you need to track them in the future. In this way, you can take on your frugal hat and have better ways of tracking down your expenses.
5. Be Creative
Just because you walk your way to school or bring lunches from home means you belong to the ‘untouchables’ in your campus. It’s all about perception. Not only will you save money, but you can also get on a healthier habit. Look for means that can save you money, with an extra benefit.
6. Get Real
What’s the point of drinking an expensive blend of your favorite coffee before going to school? Do you really need to have the latest mobile phone? If you are spending for the sake of glamor, maybe it’s time to get real with what your wallet can truly afford – before you go broke.
7. Shop for Bargains
Shopping for cheap finds doesn’t mean you’re way too cheap. You can save a lot from sale and clearance items. Start clipping those coupons and find a lot of them online. You’ll be amazed at just how much you have saved. Is shopping for secondhand clothes a crime? For the Joneses, maybe, but keep in mind that you make your own fashion statement and not the other way around.
8. Keep Your Guard Up
Watch out! Just because you are young doesn’t mean you are spared from the woes of identity theft. The last thing you want is lose all of your allowance just because you have been careless about your ATM or credit card receipts. Or, you have been too busy to care about who’s looking while you type in your PIN ( personal identification number ).
There are truly a lot of ways to save money – if you have the desire to do so in the first place. There’s no point pretending you are saving when you’re not. These money saving tips will help you make the smartest move of your life. The Rest is All Up to You!
READINGS:
http://teenadvice.about.com/cs/collegelife/a/bl10moneytips.htm
http://businessmajors.about.com/od/studentfinances/a/SaveMoney.htm
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/07/30/how-do-students-save-money-read/
http://www.collegescholarships.org/student-living/save-money.htm
