12 Easy Ways to Save Money on College Essentials
Here at CF, we’ve talked a lot about budgeting your money and calculating your splurges. Unfortunately, spending on essential items often interferes with spending on clothes, beauty products, and even going out with your friends.
Fortunately, it’s not impossible to get your essentials for less – it just takes some strategic planning. Here are 12 ways to save money on the essentials so you’ll have more money for the fun stuff!
Books
Like it or not, it’s pretty difficult to make it through college without cracking a book. Trying to depend on loaners from the library or classmates is a bad bet, too, especially around exam time, so you will eventually break down and buy your books. But buying books doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune. Here are four ways to save on your textbooks:
- Don’t buy your books until you need them for class. Sometimes professors drop books, swap books, or run out of time before the end of the semester. So wait a few weeks to avoid buying an unnecessary textbook.
- Buy used. You can check out used bookstores near campus, talk to friends, and even check out online classifieds like Facebook Marketplace, which often has used textbooks for sale.
- Buy off campus or online. While it may be convenient to buy your books at your campus bookstore, you can almost always find them cheaper by shopping elsewhere. For online shopping, try Half.com for some fantastic deals!
- Try renting your textbooks. There are tons of new book-renter websites popping up all over the web that allow you to rent your books and then send them back when you’re finished for a fraction of the cost of buying. For the best selection, check out popular sites like Chegg or BookRenter.
Food
When you’re juggling exams, papers, internships, and projects every day, fast food starts to become more and more appealing. But not only is this habit unhealthy for your body, eating out in general is nasty for your pocketbook. Cut out the fast food and use these tips to cut your grocery bill even further:
- If you’re on a meal plan, use it! Many schools won’t let you roll over your leftover funds from one year to the next, so don’t be afraid to use your meal plan to the max.
- Make a list. Your mom wasn’t just being anal when she’d plan out a month’s worth of meals before hitting the grocery store: deciding what you’re going to make for a week before stocking up on food helps prevent you from buying excess and letting fresh food go to waste. Plus, it never hurts to double-check your fridge and cupboards before you buy another can of tuna. You can use a calendar and notepad on your phone for quick reference when in the store so you don’t end up over-buying.
- Go vegetarian once a week. Meats, especially red meats, are flat-out costly, and often unhealthy. Going vegetarian is better for your body, the planet, and your bank account. If you can’t go full-on vegetarian, consider eating vegetarian one day a week. Many college girls are giving meatless Mondays a go, and with mouthwatering recipes like Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Fig and Basil, there’s no need to feel restricted.
- Drink your water. Juice, pops, and energy drinks are not only costly, but generally add little or no nutrition to your diet. Stick to water and milk to keep your dollars spent on nourishment.
Toiletries
Nothing says “college essentials” like toiletries. Just imagine trying to go more than a day without toothpaste or shampoo, yuck! But you don’t have to break the bank here either:
- Skip the name brands. You might miss your salon hair products at first, but the extra change in your purse will make the swap worth it.
- Clip out coupons. There are more coupons for toiletires than any other product, expect maybe food. So look for local store flyers or check out online printable coupon sites, like CouponCabin, for awesome deals on everything from shampoo to eyeliner. Just search for your favorite products, click, print, and save!
- Stock up on freebies. Department and drugstore beauty counters are usually loaded with free samples. Stop by and ask them what they have available, they’ll usually be more than happy to share. Hit one or two stores and you’ll end up with a whole bag full of goodies to last you at least a week!
- Enlist the parents. Your parents are probably still supporting you a lot, and though it’s not appropriate to ask for bar money, a care package from Mom with some eye makeup remover is totally in line.
What are your money-saving strategies?
How do you save money on your essentials? Do you keep the savings or spend it on something fun? Leave a comment and let us know!
Posted on on September 5, 2010 / Filed Under: College Life / Tags: Books, College Life, Food, Money, Toiletries
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Ashlee
I’ve been peddling out this tip to everyone who’ll listen: Before you buy your textbooks, ask your teacher if you can use the previous edition! More often than not, they’ll say yes. I’ve found the previous editions of two $128 (each) books online for less than $13 (each) including shipping!
Liv
If you’re a huge coffee drinker like I am, you know that those skinny vanilla lattes are not cheap! They usually cost you around $4 or $5. I recently discovered the joy and cost efficient tip of just getting a regular coffee wherever you go. Mix in your own cream, sugar, honey, etc. You save around $3 every time! It’s a huge money saver over time!
Ashley
During my sophomore year, I started checking out my textbooks from my school’s library! I was SHOCKED that no one else had thought of it. I would just keep renewing it until the end of the semester. Saved me hundreds of dollars. :)
Anonymous
You can save money on toiletries by going conditioner only!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1793958/conditioner_only_hair_washing_how_ditching.html?cat=2
Rin
Definitely look into older editions of textbooks. New editions usually have only minor differences, like different page numbers and updated statistics.
Another tip: You don’t need to buy those 100-calorie pack snacks in the stores, which rack up the price-by-unit by huge amounts. Instead, buy the bulk size and some little baggies and make your own 100 calorie packs by reading the nutritional label. I’ve save $50!
Buy in bulk on dry food good that won’t go bad anything soon, like oatmeal or canned veggies. Even if you don’t use it this semester, it’ll stay good for up to five years, depending on the product. Only buy things like bread, dairy, meat, and produce in small amounts. Also, try to wait to plan your meals until after the week’s prices are out. I wait to see whether pork, beef, or chicken is on sale, and then plan my meals around that.
KA
Making my own coffee–I have a coffeemaker and a bunch of mugs, and I like to keep some cookies on hand too, so I can have friends over instead of going out to see them all the time. When I do go out I just get coffee instead of crazy latte things all the time.
In general, I find that the places that are walking distance from campus are more expensive, because they can count on the convenience factor, so if you have a car you might be able to go somewhere cheaper.
Also, if you live in the dorms, split the cost of cleaning supplies with friends. None of you is going to use a whole bottle of Windex or carpet cleaner or whatever, but you’ll probably all need it at some point.
Collect furnishings from graduating seniors who just want it off their hands.
Think about getting your books from the library instead of buying them. Sometimes you’ll want your own copy but if you’re just reading one or two chapters it’s not worth it.
And you can look for little ways to make money too. Participate in studies in the psychology department, or try and keep your books as nice as possible to maximize what you can get back for selling them.
Yuki
I love this list. It has so many different things that I unfortunately had to learn the hard way. The NUMBER ONE thing I like in here is the clipping out coupons tip. I didn’t learn that until my second year of buying my own groceries. This is a great tip because it’ll help to figure out which stores are the best at deals for certain things and which sales aren’t really that beneficial. And cuttting out the name brands saves loads of money, I was glad that that was in this list as well!
The only thing I don’t necessarily agree with is the vegetarian option simply because it isn’t necessarily less expensive. The main focus should be on the amount of filling things you can eat that are still healthy and cheap. Buying a loaf of french bread from the bakery section can last for a long time with sandwiches, as a side of garlic bread, and can be baked for croutons or made into a tasty french toast. It takes more vegetables to fill a person and does require alot of snacking on the side which can be more expensive since a head of green lettuce costs the same as a pack of cheap steak (~$2.00 where I’m at). I guess if people cut down on the more expensive meat and add carb rich foods for breakfast then it might be less expensive too.
blkberrydiamond
look to non-profits and churches for school materials. You should not have to pay for notebooks, binders, pencils, pens, etc. From the time i graduated from high school to the time i left for college…i did not need to get a thing thanks to my home church
Alexandra
Get a upromise account. It’s free and most websites will give you 1-5% of your purchase back to upromise for your other college expenses (sites like target, amazon, and ebay to name a few). Also, you can find coupon codes there as well as the occasional free shipping and the like. Never online shop without it and it all adds up! They also do food coupons for certain grocery stores that you don’t have to print out or anything, just select and they are just added to your card and are automatically put into your account. None of the grocery stores near my apartment participate, but perhaps someone else’s does!
Sari
In regards to water, the best thing to do is buy a water pitcher/filter and drinking tap water! Bottled water is super expensive AND bad for the environment.
Autumn
Alot of people don’t realize that course textbooks are required reserves at the library. If you don’t have a problem studying at the library…. you can usually check the book out for two hours to do the necessary reading. I save hundreds every semester!
Reina
If you’re addicted to bottled water and sick of paying for it, buy a Brita! Me and my roommates pitched in for a cute purple one and each bought a water bottle from our bookstore so it’s an eco-friendly idea as well as a perfect soda/juice alternative like you said!
Juri Alien
I know it’s unavoidable to make debts as a student unless you have really rich parents. When I graduated I also had to pay back my debts. It’s really frustrating. Maybe an additional tip for saving money is to barter. If bartering would have been that popular when I was in college I definitely would take advantage of it. On sites like barterquest.com you can barter furniture or text books for other stuff that you might need during your college time. I know it doesn’t help you to pay back your debts but it helps you to save money and thereby maybe you don’t need to make debts.
Sabrina
I do have a few tips to save money. Over the summer before you start you’re semester, get a summer job. It can be a simple job, that pays ok, and is within walking distance of where you are.
Now, when you get your paycheck, do what I do. When you get your first 2 paychecks, DON’T SPEND THEM!!! just put it in a savings account or in your money jar and leave it there. This way, you have emergency money, or you don’t go in the red if you have an account.
Now, I hate shopping for school supplies. So what I do is spread my shopping throughout my summer vacation. If your at a store and you see pencils, markers, or paper on sale, get it then. It will be less hectic then getting it all at once. I also find this easier because then you can also look around in different shops and compare products and quantities. Then after you buy your supplies, put it in your closet and leave it there. Don’t use it till college starts.
My last piece of advice concerns water bottles. Yes, bottled water is expensive, so buy a water bottle. If you find that your parents or a friend uses bottled water, take a few. True, you have to throw them away sometime, but they are reusable. Refill it with water or your favorite green tea. Or, you can cut the top of and use the bottom for a plant holder to decorate your dorm. Or use it to hold loose change or paper clips. Just decorate the outside to make it look pretty.
Jessica
Another really good way to make a little bit of money on the side is through using sites that pay you to do short little surveys for them. Sites like CashCrate and Global Test Market are pretty good for this- they won’t replace a regular job, but they’re good for making a little bit of spending money on the side!