So here is a list of ways to save money and a couple ways to make money. You don't necessarily have to be in college to do these things. However, students are the ones who will benefit the most from this. Here are some ways to manage and save your money:
Save That Dough
There’s a few ways to do this. Luckily there’s a way that caters to us millennial kids. There’s this wonderful website called Digit. You link it up with your bank account and it communicates with you via text. The whole purpose is to essentially open a savings account (no credit check required) where your money is stored. It'll take out money from your account on its own and deposit it. So you save money without even realizing it. This is essentially aimed to those of us who forget to save or are more prone to spending everything.
It's extremely intuitive in that it tracks your spending habits. By doing so it only withdraws what you can afford. For example, I'm a very frugal student so it typically takes 10¢ - 50¢ out at a time. At one point it was only taking pennies. The more you spend in a week the more it'll take out. It's backed by a guarantee that it'll never withdraw too much or cause you to overdraw. It also has a option to turn off the automatic withdrawals whenever you want. You can also deposit a separate amount and withdraw back into your checking.
Another cool thing is that it'll text you every day and tell you how much is in your linked account. It'll also tell you how much you had the day before and gives you the option to explain the difference in balance. A quick sign in at the website gives you access to everything you need. It's always nice to sign in because you'll always have a few bucks in there.
Budget, Budget, Budget
I know, this is super boring. I despise doing this. However, this makes me all the more grateful for applications like Mint or You Need a Budget. Both are uniquely different but ultimately have the same goal. I'll explain:
Each one allows you to make categories for bills and purchases and creates designated amounts of money for each. YNAB is quite expensive to buy BUT is free for students (so definitely check it out). Their basic concept is this: each dollar you have has a job. Your goal is to assign each dollar a job and keep it there. You roll over your money for the next month and save bucks for your future self. It really helps you to plan ahead by physically showing you charts and real numbers.
But sometimes you want it to be really simple. In that case you ought to check out the Mint application (it's free). The above screenshot is from the Mint app on the iPhone so you can see how simple it is. See that red mess up there? That's what you see when you go over budget. Pretty simple to understand.
Another neat thing is the home screen widgets that are included. Every morning I go and see my transactions AND my balance in all of my accounts in one homepage screen. I can refresh it whenever I want and see pending transactions. It's pretty great. In that vein, if I were to endorse one of these it'd definitely be Mint. However, if you want a real budget then go with YNAB.
Shop for Groceries the Right Way
Download the Out of Milk app for your phone. It utilizes the old fashioned way of writing your grocery list. Difference is this: it'll pull up weekly ads from grocery stores and add em to your list. The cool bit is that it lists the price for everything and displays the total on the bottom. It's like carrying a calculator with you around the store. It also scans barcodes of products and pulls up the price if it's not displayed in the weekly ad.
Take your shopping an extra mile and go for the store brands. Once you do it enough you can figure out which store brands are great at what (hint: Market Pantry's version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch tastes like cardboard) and take your pick.
Look for Savings
This one ought to be obvious, but even I miss it sometimes. RetailMeNot is pretty nifty in clipping those coupons for you. The phone app takes your location and you indicate your pick of "favorite stores." It'll show you discounts available at those places and save you a pretty penny. Got the Google Chrome browser? Download the Honey extension and it'll automatically search for coupons for you at checkout (it even applies them, too!)
Like to go out and shop retail? Check out the Target Cartwheel app. It somewhat functions like a social network when you connect it to your Facebook. There's badges you receive for the money you ultimately save. Like the RetailMeNot app it shows you coupons for Target stores that are exclusive to the app itself. Wanna take your Target savings even further? Apply for a Target debit card--it's automatically linked to your checking account and gives you 5% off automatically on top of the Cartwheel app. Not too bad, right? Plus, the Target brand itself is pretty solid.
Spend Money to Make Money
The first thing I'll list here is, I believe, the most important. Subscribe to AAA. Seriously, do it. Go for the basic membership which'll set you back $50 for the year but is SO worth it. Within the week of me signing up I used their free roadside assistance twice. A month later I was with a friend when their car broke down--and unlike other roadside assistance services AAA covers the member, not the car.
They also offer discounts at a competitive rate for a slew of places and give you the option of comparing auto insurance quotes. Because of them I was able to find this insurance company near my house that I had no idea existed--in the end my monthly insurance payments went from $100 to $50 (AND that's basic insurance, not state minimum). Paying my bills never felt so good.
The membership also comes with free identity theft monitoring, which essentially pays for itself, no?
Are you the kind of person who loves music? Go for Spotify. High quality music that streams to a number of devices. Coolest part is that your phone becomes a remote for the Spotify app on your desktop. I could be across the room and pause/skip a track with a swipe of my finger. The best part? It's only $5 for students. You can make your own playlists, see what your friends are listening to, discover new music with user generated playlists, and even listen to nature sounds when you can't sleep.
Wanna really squeeze your credit/debit card? Sign up for memberships then cancel before the trial is over. This could be useful for things like checking your credit score or getting an audible dot com membership without the commitment.
Big television fan but can't afford cable? Find a friend with HBO Go and ask for their password. The HBO CEO gave indirect permission for users to share their log-in info. I can't say the same for Netflix, but I will say that I share my account with my niece and nephew in North Carolina (and I'm in New York).
Check Your Credit Score (for Free)
This one is pretty vital. Something everyone should be on top of is their credit score and report. It's one thing to neglect your budget. Fine, treat each bill and paycheck and whatever like a surprise on Christmas morning. Cool. But you see that new car? That nice apartment with the sweet view from the master bedroom? What about that new cell phone? You can't get ;em without a credit check.
Don't let those rejection letters be a surprise. Know what to expect and check yourself. Creditkarma.com gives you your FICO score AND your credit report so you can look at hard inquiries, collections, accounts, and so on. This way you can get a good idea of whether or not you'll be accepted for something before you even apply (and by the way, each time you apply for something like a credit card or even a new phone on T-Mobile or the like, that's called a hard inquiry and too many will hurt your score).
The great thing about this is that your score is updated once a week--and they'll give you a date for the next update. Also, the site will recommend credit cards you ought to apply for by using your credit score. It'll present the cards that'll most likely accept your application and tells you what the benefits and such will be. This is important because a good credit score has several accounts (credit cards, loans, etc). Honestly, I'm a huge fan of this site and I use it every week. It's an essential item for any responsible adult, and since I started utilizing it my credit score went up 80 points.
Wanna Make Money?
Now, this could be a separate post all on its own. Getting into this is pretty extensive but if done right you can make some bank. It's called Mechanical Turk and it's run through Amazon, that website everyone knows and loves. I personally try to do at least $5 a day because that covers my basic bills for the month. However, that doesn't include things like food, gas money, and other things. So far I've made $1,500 and I've been doing it since late May (and that's with a month long break). There are those who dedicate themselves to it and make 2k or more a month.
Check out this forum on mturkgrind.com for a easy start up guide. Read each thread after signing up and get the ball rolling. You'll need to enter your bank information and it'll take a few days for everything to verify. Plus there's a ten day waiting period for you to actually do "hits." Just read the tutorials above to understand the lingo. If you're patient and diligent then you can make a little extra beer money. You may not be able to quit your job like me but it'll be something.
Another way to make money is relatively obvious and simple. I won't bother posting the url because everyone knows it. I'm talking about eBay. Now, typically, you can post an item for free AND request for shipping. Having free shipping on an item does make it more appealing, but it also depends on what you're selling. Anything can be posted here (for the most part). Books, used clothing, cables, video games, empty DVD cases, and so on. Heck, one time I sold a $80 Walmart gift card for $100 (don't ask me how--I still don't know how that happened, but it makes for a great story).
Depending on where you live you can also donate blood plasma. This isn't possible in New York where I live but it's a thing in Philadelphia and Greensboro, North Carolina. Do some research and find out what your state's laws are regarding this practice.
Be Smart
Above all this one is the most obvious. If you're smart with how you spend your money and where it goes then by the end of the semester you ought to have a better grip on everything.
