Being in college means finally living on your own. Doing your own grocery shopping, deciding where to go on the weekends, eating out whenever you please and ordering pizza at 1 a.m. are just a few of the perks of being a financially assisted adult. Unfortunately, if you're like me and not lucky enough to have parents who pay for anything you want, these things can get costly. If you're finding that it's only the beginning of second semester and the savings from your summer job are already starting to dwindle, here are some tips to stretch out what you have left.
1. Make a plan.
Figure out exactly how much you have left to spend, then divide it by the number of months you have left at school. This will tell you what your monthly budget has to be so you don't run out of money. Keep in mind that if you want to have some cash left over when summer starts, you'll have to account for that.
2. Track your spending.
Once you have a budget mapped out, you'll have to find a way to make sure you're sticking to it. You can do this by monitoring your bank account, saving receipts, or downloading an app that will help you log your spending. If you happen to spend too much one month, just take however much you went over out of next month's limit.
3. Buy in bulk.
If you notice that you're constantly buying bag after bag of Goldfish from the grocery store or vending machine, it may be more cost effective to buy a big box of them instead. Pitch in with a few friends to buy a shared membership to a wholesale club such as Costco, Sam's Club, or BJ's. This way you can get a lot more of your favorite snack at a way better price. If you split the cost of the membership and use it regularly, it will be worth it. You can also get super cheap gas this way!
4. Make the most of your dining hall.
Chances are you're paying a lot for your meal plan. So how much trouble can you really get in for smuggling some food back to your dorm room? This may seem like a pretty desperate move, but keeping an empty Tupperware container in your backpack can be a great way to snag some cereal for late night snacking. Also, filling your water bottle with juice or soda can save you some money on drinks.
5. Limit your late-night food runs.
I know that pizza and Chinese takeout are really delicious after a night of partying, but the cost, delivery fee, and tip can really add up. Try to limit these orders to once every other week, or maybe once a month depending on your budget. Your health and your wallet will thank you.
6. Don't drink and shop. ![]()
Drunk shopping on Amazon may seem like a great idea at the time, until you realize that you don't actually want or need any of the things you bought. Remember that drunk purchases are probably not smart purchases. You may need to hide your credit cards before you hit the drinks.
7. Rent your textbooks.
If you're okay with not being able to write in your books, consider renting some of them online. I get mine on Chegg for so much less than I would at the college store. All I have to do is take decent care of them and then send them back at the end of the semester. It's super easy, and it allows me to spend about a third of what my text books are worth. Plus, free shipping!
8. Find ways to make some money.
If you have the time and opportunity to get a job on or off campus, definitely consider doing so. Getting a paycheck regularly can be a huge help. However, if you're like me and find that getting a job would be entirely too overwhelming right now, try to see if there are some odd jobs you can do here and there. Offer to babysit your professor's kid, keep an eye out for emails about one-time work opportunities or find something you can do online that can make you money (like writing the top article of the week for your school on The Odyssey Online!). These little incomes can help make your budget a little less tight.
May the odds be ever in your favor, and may money be ever in your wallet.
