College is a time to make mistakes. Embrace them! The “Y.O.L.O.” and “No Ragrets” mottos are great for justifying most of the decisions you will make in these next 4 years and I’ll be the first to encourage living by them—except when it comes to your money.

College students are notorious for being broke and desperate, but with a shiny credit card in your hand, there’s no wonder you (and your bank account) feel invincible. Yet, once you log into your Suntrust app and see the non-existent balance, you’re quickly brought back to reality. Here are some ways you can save money without losing anything from “the college experience”:

Every year I see freshman paying a small fortune for all of their textbooks in the campus bookstore. Not going to lie… I was there too, but I quickly realized how much money I was wasting there and I haven’t been back since. There are many different ways for you to obtain the required textbooks you need for your classes without forking over hundreds of dollars. First tip: never buy a textbook new. Used textbooks are significantly cheaper and are typically in just as good of condition. If you have the option to rent instead of buy, do it! You won’t need the book when the class ends, and you won’t have to worry about trying to sell it. Chegg.com is a great website where you can rent used textbooks for almost every class for a reasonable price. Not only that, but they pay for the shipping to you AND the return shipping.  Another great alternative to bookstores is Amazon.com. Amazon offers a college student membership that’s free to sign up for. You get six months of free two-day shipping and up to 90% off discounts for textbooks and other supplies.  

Nightlife
Another thing college students are infamous for: Partying. Going out is a huge part of social life in college. Those that are drawn to the bar scene understand the hangover their bank account feels after going out multiple times in the week. Although there’s no real way to avoid spending when going out, a great way to be frugal is to drink where the specials are. Almost every bar around campus has a nightly special on one or two days of the week. Pre-banding is an easy way to avoid cover charges for most places and all you have to do is show up early. For those of us that can’t control ourselves, budget how much you will bring out with you. Only taking $20 in cash with you can get you a few drinks, a late-night meal and there’s no way you’ll wake up with a receipt for a $100 bar tab from when you decided to buy a round for all your friends. If you’re worried about cab fares, bring your student ID and Yellow Cab will take you home from any bar for just $4.      

Grub
This is probably the hardest way to keep track of your funds. A Chik-Fil-A run here, a few Gumbys orders there, and your account is meager once again. While going to cheap restaurants sounds like a smart idea, after a while it all adds up. A Starbucks coffee is only around $2.00, but with all of the late nights in the library, forcing caffeine into your system to stay awake, you’ll end up spending hundreds on coffee alone a semester. Prevent this by splitting a coffee maker with your roommates or some girls in your dorm hall and brew your own. Another way to save money on food is to find coupons. A lot of restaurants around campus will give student discounts if you ask. Some restaurants will give you free food for doing a quick 3-minute survey on the receipt. Another good idea is to check out restaurant deals on Groupon, an app you can easily download on your phone. The LivingSocial app is a similar concept. Above all, limiting the times you go out to eat will save you greatly.     

Make money 
There are several ways you can make money in college without doing much work. Last semester, I took really great notes for one of my classes and uploaded them to Moolaguides.com, an online market place for buying and selling study materials for upcoming exams. I ended up making close to $100 for just taking notes! Another way to make money is by selling things you may no longer need on the FSU Free and For Sale page on Facebook. Students can post things that they are trying to sell, without the sketchiness of Craigslist. Another weird yet easy way to make some cash is to sign up as a participant for the research center on campus. You participate in different experiments that help the school while getting paid.      

Overall, these are some ways that will help make your college experience an amazing, but affordable one. Personally, I love cooking with my friends and everyone bringing something to contribute to the meal. It saves a lot of money because we don’t have to pay a tip, plus it’s a lot of fun.