As a college student, I pay my own bills. Each month I am faced with rent, the electric bill, the water bill and the WiFi bill. Not to mention the amount of money I spend a month on gas and groceries. Did I mention that I only make $8.25 an hour?
Reading that paragraph, alone, is enough to stress anyone out, but have no fear! I have a few tips and tricks that have helped me save money along the way that are easy enough for any broke college student.
Save your spare change.
If you're lucky enough to have a washer and dryer in your apartment or house your money will accumulate much quicker than mine due to my lack of quarters. Put all of your spare change (and the occasional dollar bill) in a jar. At the end of the month, take the jar to the bank. The next step is up to you. Whether you want to deposit the money into the bank, keep the cash to spend or hide it away is all up to you.
Put away money each paycheck.
Hide an envelope in your underwear drawer. Each payday, withdraw the desired amount of money and place it in the envelope. If you put $10 in the envelope each payday for a year (given you are paid bi-weekly) you will have a little more than two-hundred bucks to put in your pocket.
Sell your old clothes and belongings.
We all know that you probably have a few (or several) things hanging in your closet that haven't been worn in years. Clean out each of your drawers, your closet and your shoe collection. Sell your items to a local Plato's Closet (or any resale shop). You can also look into yard sale sites on Facebook, just be safe about how you make your trades!
Use the envelope method.
I personally have never used this method, but it has worked for a lot of people I know. Here is what you do... have envelopes labeled "groceries," "bills," "eating out" and whatever else you spend money on a monthly basis. On your payday, place the allotted amount of money into each envelope. This is especially nice for those working paycheck to paycheck because it ensures that you won't overspend too much in one area. I do, however, encourage you to have an envelope labeled "random" or "fun," because sometimes life is unexpected.
Shop for off-brand groceries.
Even if you can't fully commit to getting all of your groceries at Aldi, at least try to get the essentials. It is understood that some things must be bought name brand, but there are a lot of things that taste virtually the same even when they are off-brand. Bonus points if you can get your entire grocery list at Aldi. I used to get my groceries at Wal-Mart and would spend between $100-$120 a month on groceries. Now that I shop at Aldi I spend no more than $80 a month on groceries.
Stop eating out.
We're all guilty of spending money on food when we know we have food at home. Challenge yourself to eat only the food that you have in your pantry. If you aren't that good of a cook, get creative. There are many different food combinations that you can make that will keep you from getting bored with your own food.
Obviously following through with each of these tips at once would be a bit overwhelming. These tips and tricks aren't for everyone. You can obviously tweak and change each rule to fit your financial situation. I guarantee that if you follow through with at least one these tips you will see a difference in your bank account.
