As college students, we live our lives under the stereotype of being poor. However, with some simple steps and even phone apps, you can start saving up money and no longer be deemed a "poor college student." Here are 12 steps you can take:
1. Ibotta.
Ibotta is a great app for grocery shopping and it's very simple to use. While some of the deals are on things that you would never buy, they do offer rebates on "generic brand" items so if it is on cereal, you can buy whatever brand you would like and still earn the rebate. While Ibotta is mostly for groceries, they do offer deals on electronics, automotive, some clothing and online.
2. Save Your Coins!
While you might think that saving coins is a long and not very rewarding process, I strongly disagree. The process is probably the most simple of all of these tasks and all you do is save coins that you find or have leftover from purchases and place them in a jar. Once the jar is full, take them to a local Coinstar kiosk or bank and see how much change you've saved up!
3. RetailMeNot
Unlike Ibotta, RetailMeNot is more geared towards retail (obviously) and less towards food. You can search for a store and the app shows you coupons that can be applied to your purchase.
4. Gas Buddy.
Gas Buddy is great for people who travel often, but also great for anyone really. This app is super simple, you put in your zip code location and grade of gas you need and Gas Buddy finds the cheapest gas within a certain radius.
5. Sign Up For Customer Loyalty Programs.
Anywhere that I go more than like, um, once a year, I sign up for their rewards program. Most places offer a birthday month discount and have some sort of point system that you can utilize. Places like Panera offer you free food as you accrue points and places like Safeway and Giant, send you coupons and give you gas point discounts.
6. Groupon.
Groupon is a fast growing coupon-like company that offers local deals on everything from food and massages to skydiving. Most of the deals on Groupon are at least 45% savings on the full prices of the offers. Using Groupon is a great way to save some money when you're going out with friends or looking for some new clothes to buy.
7. Turn Off Lights.
We all heard our parents nag us when we were younger about turning off the lights when you leave a room, but trust me, it does go a long way. If you live off campus in a house where you pay for utilities, make sure that you never leave un-needed lights on. While they do not rack up costs very quickly, over time you will realize how much money you waste leaving them on, just check out your bills.
8. Programmable Thermostat.
The most popular programmable thermostat on the market right now is the Nest. It works just like a regular thermostat but it learns your patterns and will adjust itself during times of the day that you would normally adjust. Your heating and air conditioning really accounts for half of your energy bill and by having a nest learn when to turn itself on and off, you will save big.
9. Buy Generic.
I know a lot of people are against "store brand" or "generic brand" items but seriously, the difference is the marketing people. Buying Kirkland Signature (Costco's brand) Trail Mix is no different than Planters Peanuts Trail Mix. Peanuts are peanuts and M&M's are M&M's, there is no difference except the price and money you will save. So next time you go out try these brands: Archer Farms/ Market Pantry/Simply Balanced (Target), Safeway Select (Safeway), 365 Organic (Whole Foods), Great Value (Walmart) etc.
10. Buy In Bulk.
Okay clearly, I love Costco. But who doesn't? The best way to save some easy money is buying in bulk on certain items you use a lot of. Toilet paper, paper towels, bottled water, cereal etc. As a college student living in a house of six, we go through a lot of toilet paper so instead of buying six rolls at Giant for $5.99, we head over to Costco and buy a 36 pack for $23.99.
11. Cut Costs on Cable.
In the day and age of Hulu, Netflix, HBOGo and all the other online TV services, my roommates and I hardly used our Verizon Cable plan that we purchased last year. So instead we got a Roku; this little guy hosts all of our different TV services and you can subscribe to individual TV channels with a TV provider account. Although you do have to have subscriptions to all of the services and those cost money, overall, I think that this option is cheaper than subscribing to a cable plan that is never used.
12. Clean Out Your Closet.
This option is not necessarily saving money but earning back some money instead of just throwing away your clothes. Places like Plato's Closet will buy back clothes that you would otherwise throw away. Although they only give you a fraction of what you paid, it is better than nothing and a very easy way to earn some quick cash.
Now using some of these easy steps, change your ways and save some money!
Happy Saving!
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