6 Ways To Avoid Becoming A Broke College Student

6 Ways To Avoid Becoming A Broke College Student

Cyber Monday is coming up y'all!
Emily Crumley
Emily Crumley Dec 5, 2017
169
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I don't know about you, but ever since I've gotten to school my bank account is reaching some scary low numbers. So in the spirit of Black Friday and my personal favorite, Cyber Monday, I've decided to share some of my tips for saving and earning money while at university.

1. Take advantage of your meal swipes

A lot of times it can be extremely tempting to order food from off-campus.

Whether it's Insomnia Cookies or your local Chinese food restaurant, it just seems so much more convenient to have food delivered right to your dorm rather than having to walk all the way to the dining hall. But this is where your money gets drained. $25 might not seem like a lot to spend on a Saturday night but it adds up SO FAST, you'll be broke and begging your parents for money before you even realize it.

2. Sell your old clothes online

Apps like Poshmark make it super easy for you to connect with people that will buy clothing from you. While you may not be making a profit off of what you sell, it's still money in your bank account at the end of the day instead of that sweater you never wore taking up space in your over-stuffed drawers.

3. Sign up for UNiDAYS

One app/website I swear by is UNiDAYS because they give you so many student discounts from a wide variety of brands. Before you buy ANYTHING check this site for a sale. They also send you emails about new deals which brings me to my next point...

4. Watch your inbox

If you're like me, you've signed up for accounts on multiple different online shops. This means you're getting emails ALL THE TIME. While many are them are not worth opening, when Cyber Monday comes around, start reading all of them. You'll find amazing sales for most online shops that will keep you from over-spending.

5. Take online (reliable) polls

An easy way to make (a very small amount of) money is to sign up for a website that will pay you to answer their questions. I like Opinion Outpost and Google Rewards, personally, and the surveys are super easy to take in your free time.

6. Conserve and repurpose

Invest in a set of silverware; it will keep you from having to repurchase plastic utensils all of the time. Buy a reusable water bottle; don't keep buying giant cases of water bottles. Use the boxes you get in the mail to store random items and organize your drawers instead of buying containers for EVERYTHING.

Emily Crumley
Emily Crumley Dec 5, 2017
At Villanova University

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15 Actual Thoughts You Have While Wandering Around TJ Maxx

God bless TJ Maxx.

Kari Toncre
Kari Toncre Jul 15, 2018
45473
views

I recently went to TJ Maxx with a friend with the sole purpose of not buying anything. We literally looked at everything, though, and later, I walked out with half a dozen items I was not planning on buying. I'm just glad it was only six from the number of things I saw and liked.

Here were my thoughts as I wandered around TJ Maxx for an hour.

2. "Of course I have to check out the clearance section... except that's basically the entire store."

4. "This may look horrible on me but I'm going to try it on anyway."

5. "Maybe I should just look at some nice clothes for work. You can never have too many business casual clothes..."

7. "$5 makeup... How bad could it be?"

8. "American Eagle shorts for only $15?!"

9. "I can't carry all this stuff."

10. "Do I have a giftcard?"

11. "I want to decorate my house with everything in here."

12. "Oh, look, something I didn't need but buying anyway."

13. "Could I pull this off? It's cheap and looks good on the mannequin..."

15. "Yes, I found what I wanted. No, I did not need any of this."

Please note that all items are in stock as of the time of publication. As an Amazon Associate, Odyssey may earn a portion of qualifying sales.

Cover Image Credit:

eleventhgorgeous / YouTube

Kari Toncre
Kari Toncre Jul 15, 2018
At Bowling Green State University

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10 Gifts To Buy Every College Girl Who Has No Idea What She Wants

9. An all-inclusive spring break...

Kinsey Roberts
Kinsey Roberts Nov 19, 2018
114
views

It's almost the holiday season which means that you are probably looking or going to start looking for presents for those in your life (hmm...this is a hint to not wait until Christmas Eve and you know who you are). You may be making your list and checking it twice just to find out that you have no idea what to buy your college-aged best friend, sister, daughter, niece, or girlfriend because she already has everything that she wants.

She may not be able to tell you exactly what she wants because every time she wants something she just buys it, thanks to her parents making her have a job, so you have no idea what to buy her. I don't want you to start freaking out yet because I'm the college-aged girl who's here to save the day with this list of presents that she will love. (To my family who has no idea what to buy me: all the ideas on this list would make amazing gifts, just saying.)

1. Starbucks gift cards

Starbucks gift cards are always an easy go- to that any college girl will love. Plus we don't feel as bad spending $7+ on a drink when we use a gift card because it's not real money, right?

3. Gift cards to her favorite restaurant!

We are in college and food from our favorite restaurant is a splurge for us on most days.

4. Face masks

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College is stressful and face masks help us relax while helping us take care of our skin.

6. School supplies

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In all honesty, the last semester has been heck and all of our school supplies are gone. Please slip some pens and pencils into our stockings and put some of our textbooks for next semester under the tree.

7. Winter clothes and accessories

Odds are we have been suffering through the cold for the last month because all of our winter clothes have been at home. Please do us the solid and help us update our winter wardrobe by adding some cute sweaters, leggings, boots, beanies, scarves, and gloves into the mix.

8. Vera Bradley

We all are probably are in need of a new something from Vera Bradley...even if we don't "need" it we probably want it. *bonus points if you match the pattern to stuff that we already have*

9.  An all-inclusive spring break...

Every college girl's dream is to have a spring break completely paid for and what better time to make this dream come true than at Christmas? (Just joking....maybe.)

10. Time with you. 

In all seriousness, she will love the gift of being able to relax and spend time with you over the holiday season.

Kinsey Roberts
Kinsey Roberts Nov 19, 2018
At Eastern Michigan University

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