I decided to take a break from book reviews because this has come up frequently when someone mentions being in college. Often, when a friend suggests to go out to do something, my response is "I'm a college student. What makes you think I can afford that?" Here are several ways I've learned to save money while in college.

1. Find places with student discounts: There are many places that offer discounts to students if you show your school ID. Some big ones are Spotify Premium (no ads! Yay!), Amazon Student (free shipping for six months), Goodwill (10% discount on your purchase), and Burger King (10% discount on order). Fast food restaurants are great for these discounts; I know a lot of us get sick of dining hall food every once in a while.

2. Speaking of restaurants, do the restaurant surveys: When you go eat out, generally on your receipt you see a survey for the service, how the food was, etc. Do it! Seriously. This could give you a discount on your food, a free meal, or a chance to win gift cards. The surveys aren't long either. What's a few minutes of your time when you can get free food?

3. You've probably heard this before, but rent or borrow textbooks: Don't pay hundreds of dollars for a book you're only going to use for a semester, or even at all. Check the library for books you can check out or go online to find the book at a cheaper price. I suggest Amazon or I heard Chegg.org was pretty well too. I spent way less than a lot of my friends because they all bought their books at the bookstore.

4. Coupons are your friends: Use them often and use them wisely. Be one of those extreme couponers you see on TV. At Target, get an app called Cartwheel. Just scan the barcode and it says if there are any discounts for that item and stacks them together for checkout. Also Groupon is good as well, or so I hear.

5. Try not to use your own car: Save on paying for gas every month by having someone else do it. Carpool with others, use public transportation (which also gives student discounts), or, if your school has it, use your shuttle system. That's what they're there for! It really adds up after a while.

6. Limit spending, especially when eating out: Don't go all out when you go out. I know our parents aren't here to keep us from buying that gorgeous silk blouse or five boxes of pizza, but maybe keep their voice in your head when you contemplate buying lobster for no good reason other than you've never tried it.

7. Go to your school events!: I know my school, in particular, loves to give out free stuff at events like pep rallies. Free t-shirts, water bottles, goodies from the bookstore, and one of my friends even won a free TV. An honest-to-God free TV. Enter the competitions at your school and see if you can win something big.

8. If you need to do schoolwork or just want to go for fun, go to the library to find out more about Museum Passes: Museum Passes allow a student to go into a certain museum, if you library offers it, and get in at a discounted rate. It's way more than the student discount and it admits two to four people per pass. But make sure your library has the pass for the day you want to go, they're only good for one day and there is only one per day.

9. Try not to buy coffee all the time: I know Dunks and Starbucks are pretty great, particularly when they're on campus, but don't go all the time. Limitation is key. Make your own coffee by getting your own coffee maker or going to the dining hall for it. It may seem small, but it racks up after a while.

10. Last, but not least, reduce, reuse, and recycle: It's okay to use things more than once. Like when you have no more clothes and your laundry costs money, take something out of the laundry basket. I mean, don't take something that stinks to high heaven or has a huge stain on it. Multiple plastic bags within another plastic bag is my thing. I generally use them as trash bags, so they'll never run out because I always buy things. I never have to spend extra money on trash bags. Plastic plates and utensils are great too, just wash and reuse.

What this all boils down to is to know your limits. The limits of your bank account to be precise. With a few of these tips, maybe your balance won't be at $0.