Fall semester is upon us! As the freshman begin to realize the exciting experiences that await them, they will (at least most of the time) not be thinking too hard about one very important thing that upper-classmen know all too well… Money problems.

What does it feel like to have less than 50 dollars on your meal plan with more than a third of the semester left? How about realizing that you’ve spent a summer’s worth of work-money on a couple of months of partying? Or what about when you can feel the weight of your wallet falling faster than a sack of potatoes?

But, I digress. Although many students do have an issue with managing their money as they enter college, most of the very same students end up becoming excellent at money management over time. All it takes is a little struggle, a good plan, and the motivation to put the plan into action. So here are 5 great ways that you can save money this semester!

1. Make Yourself a Budget!

There’s a reason why this is number one on our list! It’s very east to spend money without accounting for how much you spend, especially when you don’t have money on hand. Using debit or credit cards can be one of the biggest reasons why students run out of their money so fast; when you don’t have your money on hand, you don’t physically see it leaving your hand either. Start off your semester well by accounting for how much money you have at the beginning, and spend it incrementally over the entire semester.

2. Recycle!

Hey, let’s not fool ourselves here. After a long weekend of partying, most dorms, frat houses, and college apartments are littered with dozens of sticky aluminum cans. Take the incentive and bag ‘em up. Most cities and towns have bottle and can return centers where you can get 5 cents per can. Let everyone else’s party put some money in your pocket!

3. Explore Your Campus!

This may seem like an indirect relationship, but getting around your campus can be a very wallet-friendly activity. Most colleges and universities offer numerous on-campus amenities like book and movie rentals, guest lectures, student performances, intramural sports activities, and the like. Oh, and did I mention? Most of these amenities are FREE! So, not only will enjoying these free activities be easy on your wallet, they’ll get you more involved in your university in return.

4. Plan Ahead!

As shocking as it sounds, just over half of all students will graduate in six years rather than the assumed four years according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Any extra time at school is either going to cost your parents more money as they’re forced to take out more student loans. Some parents even delegate the loan responsibility to their child… Talk about a looming cloud once you finally graduate! Plan ahead by picking the important classes over the ones that are a bit obscure; once you’ve finished the courses in your major, you’ll have plenty of time to take more exuberant or interesting courses.

5. Kill Your Vices!

Again, lets not fool ourselves. Students come into an environment where heavy drinking, tobacco consumption, and marijuana consumption can all be considered prevalent within the student body. Having a few drinks at the end of the week should suffice over going to Trivia Night Wednesday’s, Thirsty Thursday’s and the typical Friday-Saturday party night combo all in succession. Although enjoyable to a point, it’s never attractive to others when you black out or smoke yourself into oblivion. Save your health and save your wallet by cutting back on your substance intake.

You’ll thank me later.