You leave for college with your bank account loaded with plentiful funds and enough cash stockpiled in your wallet to last for a couple of months (or so you think).

Turns out, there are a lot of senseless ways to squander away your money whether good intentioned or by misfortune. You desperately want to partake when your friends order in dinner (off the meal plan), join them when going to local concerts, and throw a few of your own selections when online shopping for new tailgate items or more going out clothes.

It’s only natural to want to get involved in the transaction party. However, you fail to acknowledge that several unanticipated expensive lessons may be looming. So, here are my five expensive lessons I learned within my first five weeks of college.

Don’t spend money on a concert ticket you don’t end up going to.

I know that you want to be involved with all of your new friends and not miss out on anything, but it just isn’t necessary to keep buying these tickets if you have no interest in the artist.

For instance, if you don’t know who Future is, don’t buy tickets for his concert because you will probably stay there for 5 minutes and waste the $30 you spent on the general admission ticket, not to mention the round-trip Uber it cost to get you there and back.

Don’t get wrapped up in the “I’m Shmacked” business either. Instagram makes this event look really fun and depicts another “can’t miss out” event, but another $48 later – you and your friends hear, “it’s not worth it to go.” These $20-$30 tickets definitely add up, and who cares if it was a “student discount,” you can find student discounts for events you are actually interested in.

Don’t update your phone if you are not 100% sure it will work.

It is unnecessary to update your phone to the newest iOS software unless your phone will ultimately not work without it. Don’t just update it when iTunes tells you to, because there is a good chance you’re going to have a problem.

You don’t want your phone to freeze for over 12 hours, then to realize that you cannot successfully perform any of the recovery acts that Verizon advises. The expert at the Verizon store opens your phone and performs all the “techie” acts only professionals know how to, just to find out that you need to purchase a new phone if you want to have any communication with the outside world.

You get forced into an early upgrade which sounds awesome at first, thinking you’re getting the latest new iPhone, but $295 later, you had a purchase plan buyout to fulfill, first payment and taxes owed on the new phone and of course a new case and screen protector were vital.

Okay, the charging case will have to wait for a bit. So, yes, an expensive morning, and don’t just update it unless you’re fiscally prepared to drop a lot of money in the blink of an eye.

Don’t be irresponsible and lose your keys in one of your lectures.

Please make sure that your keys are in your bag or your hand when you leave a lecture. You don’t want to lose your key because in order to get a new key, DPS has to come and change your locks and charge you a grand $50 that gets tacked onto the already hefty college bill. So, be responsible, totally not worth it.

Make sure you plan your flight for the exact day you want to leave, don’t change your mind.

You’re obviously so excited to book your trip home or to visit a friend at school, so you rush to look up flights on Expedia, find a sick deal and click purchase right away (since your parents’ credit card is saved in the app anyway.) You just want to know it was booked. You often don’t think things through and later realize you could have gotten out earlier or come back on a later flight but caution, be ready to fork over a minimum of $200 to change that flight! Double check your schedule and see which classes you are able to miss if you want to leave the night before, because you probably can. It isn’t worth it to sit on hold with Delta just for them to tell you that your flight booked was non-refundable, non-changeable and essentially non-negotiable! Think things through and know exactly when you can go!

Finally, don’t spend your money on ordering in food and off-campus food excursions.

Despite popular belief, the dining hall food is actually edible. Your parents probably spent an obscene amount of money on a minimum meal plan that you most likely don’t use enough of anyway, so actually try to utilize it (at least during the week anyway)! Get creative, throw in some veggies, quinoa and chicken to the salad bar staples - you’ll be surprised how even you can spruce a meal up. Save take-out for the weekends and definitely limit those nicer restaurant visits for a special occasion.

Being conscious of your spending is a vital tool you will benefit from throughout college as well as later on. There are smart ways that you can still spend money and keep up your social life without going bankrupt. You have to find what works for you in terms of spending to create the happy medium between you and the dreaded phone call to your parents, asking for more money!