3 Ways to Make the Most of Your Money in College
As college students, it’s safe to say that most of us are on a pretty strict budget. Whether our money comes from student loans, financial aid, summer jobs, or our parents, it’s rare for a student to have more money than they can spend.
Luckily, there are lots of ways you can learn to be smarter with your money so you can have a fun, fabulous year at college without breaking the bank. Here are three easy ways to make the most of your money while you’re in college.
Plan, Plan, Plan
The word budget is scary to many people, but all it really means is planning out your spending and staying organized with your money. And it’s easier to make a budget than you think.
We’re all used to having to stay super organized for school anyway, so why not extend that skill to your purse? Start by looking at how much you have to spend for the year, minus initial expenses (like tuition and books). Divide that number by the number of months in your school year to get your monthly budget. Some expenses are constant every month, like your rent, while others fluctuate, like your cell phone bill or how much you spend on shopping. Once you take off your constant expenses, look at what’s left. This is the amount of money you have to work with to pay those fluctuating expenses, so you need to plan accordingly.
If, after your fixed expenses, you only have $50 a month to spend, for example, you know you can’t afford to run out and buy a $100 leather jacket. It’s simple math, but it takes careful planning to get to this step, so do this before you head off to school so you don’t run out of money before you come back home.
If you want to create a budget online, one great place to do it is Mint.com. Mint is basically a free service that keeps track of where you’re spending your money and helps you create a budget based on what you normally spend. It will even send you emails or text messages if you’ve gone over budget in a certain category this month! It’s super easy to use and takes only a few minutes to set up, so it’s great for those of you who are too busy to go the pen and paper route.
Go Old School and Pack a Lunch
As we all know, lunch on campus can be super-expensive, but if you have a busy schedule or live far from campus, it may not be possible for you to run home to eat. The solution? Packing a lunch.
Bringing your own lunch to school may seem so eighth-grade, but it is a simple way to save lots of cash for other things (*ahem*, aforementioned leather jacket). Plus, you can make it fun: try taking turns with your roommates packing lunches for each others’ busiest days, and have fun by leaving little treats or ‘Mom’ notes inside (“Have a super day!”).
The boring old lunch pail has also been updated for the fashion-conscious; lots of companies are coming out with lunch containers that look more like purses than paper bags, but will still keep your noshings cool and crisp. Here are a few cute options:
Product Info: Plaid Lunch Tote, Juicy Couture. Polka Dot Lunch Duffle, Target. Zebra Print Lunch Bag, Pbteen.
Get Creative
If you’re broke, it doesn’t mean you need to hide in your room, eat Kraft mac & cheese, and cry! There are lots of ways to have fun without spending a dime.
This fall, for example, my friends and I are going to take turns hosting Glee nights (our favorite show). Each week, we’ll all head over to a different friend’s pad to watch the show together. The only expense will be a few snacks or drinks, which we can all pitch in for. This way, we have a nearly free night, but we still get to all hang out and have fun together.
As far as fashion on a budget goes, remember that it doesn’t have to be mall or nothing when you need a fashion fix. Try checking out a thrift store for cheap finds, or go the free-cycling route: raid your Mom’s closet, or have a clothing swap with your friends!
At the end of the day, being on a budget doesn’t mean you have to suffer, it just means you have to be a little more creative with how you get your fun and fashion! It’s completely doable, I promise.
What do you think?
Are you on a tight budget for school? How do you manage to stay stylish, have fun, and still save enough money to eat? Leave us a comment and let us know!
Posted on on July 11, 2010 / Filed Under: College Life / Tags: Budgeting, college, Featured, Fun, Life, Money, Style
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Halie
Some good tips (if a little obvious, no offense), but seriously, what college student (or anyone) on a budget is going to spring for a Juicy lunch bag. Seriously?
Julie
@Halie maybe a college student with parents who indulge her a lot? (My aprents aren’t like that but I do know a lot of girls who have like a lot of designer/expensive stuff because their parents buy it for them).
For the article, I like the lunch part. I used to stay at school a lot (here in Mexico is super common that you still live with your parents until you get married or move to another city) and I packed my lunch, then heated it up at the dinning hall (it had microwaves that we could use). It was cheaper and healthier than to eat at any of the places available on campus.
Carolanne
great tips! i really like the idea of taking turns hosting a tv night. might just try that out! =] and i love glee too!!!
Carolanne
@Halie haha true! kinda goes against the whole idea of the post. but of course, it’s just for inspiration, no? but still… hahahaha thats kinda funny
Kaleigh - University of Western Ontario
@Halie I agree the Juicy lunch bag is on the pricier side (about $80) but I listed some more reasonable options. I just thought it was a cute bag and, honestly, it will pay for itself in a week or two for just bringing your own lunch rather than eating on campus. Plus, this cute lunch bag could be your reward for being so money-saavy in other areas of your life. It’s all about balance, and give-and-take in my opinion! I hope you found the rest of the post useful though :)
Vanessa
I totally did the glee night thing with my friends while we were studying abroad. But what we would do is that we would usually watch glee in my apartment (my italian flatmates were the most chill about having noisy happy americans singing) and we would have theme nights. My favorite was doing breakfast for dinner – I made tons of french toast, other people made hasbros, scrambled eggs, pancakes, fruit salad. It helps diversify from just having chips, dip and popcorn every week.
Being able to cook is such a money saver, especially when you can figure out super easy but cheap dishes to make on a rotating schedule: rIce, pasta, soup dishes.
Am
Hm, for me ….
1. Go online! There are a lot of fashion articles online (on websites such as this), reviews, music (youtube) etc. Basically there is hardly a need to buy magazines monthly anymore.
2. Read reviews online before buying a product. While I know that buying products is not really saving, investing is. There are tons of websites out there.
3. Other than clothes swapping, you may like to visit flea markets or fairs for cheap clothes. My sister went for one and the owner was unable to sell her pieces (the crowd consisted of mostly old people), so the owner gave my sister most of the “leftovers” instead (abt 5 tank tops, 2 sundresses … My sis bought some stuff from her though)
JuliaMit
I’m just looking for an apartment, it’s so expensive! I’m losing it with all the budget counting stuff. Thanks for the tips.
Jacy
Packing a lunch is s great tip! that saved me nearly $30 a week, which adds up fast!
I have never had much luck at thrift stores, but I like to shop at places like Ross and Marshall’s. I find cute stuff there frequently, and it is hard to beat their prices!
Charlotte
i ALWAYS take a packed lunch. granted i’d love to be able to buy a fresh sandwich, but it saves me a lot of money on the days I can’t just nip home for lunch. I always take a sandwich or a salad, but a great little idea is bringing a flask of soup for the winter!!
we also always have glee night on a monday!!
great tips :]]]
Charlotte xxx
Kim
I think every college girl should pack her own lunch. You will be amazed on how much money you will save. Although I think you should bring a lunch the majorty of the time, i also think it’s okay to go out for lunch every once in a while with your girls. We derserve something special sometimes ya know :)
MizzBahama
I totally agree with packing your own lunch. You save tons of money and you have more control over your diet. I’m definitely be looking into a cuter lunch bag though, I’m sure it will give me more motivation. Does anyone have a affordable lunch recipes to swap with me?
That quesadilla/wrap with mixed berry lunch looked deelish!
Another idea for entertainment is to host redbox/movie stop nights. Instead of paying $8 – $15 to go to the movie theater, just rent your favorite movie or video game from redbox for a $1 and have each of your guests bring a snack or beverage or everyone can pitch in $2 to order a pizza.
You can also check online for free budgeting software designed just for college students.
Awesome article! Very helpful!
Ashley
@MizzBahama, you can check out bento sites for ideas (they’re generally fairly cheap, especially if you buy certain items in bulk, but they’re generally also quite healthy). And they don’t have to look cute like some people think, but I find that I’m more likely to eat something that’s aesthetically pleasing than just a boring sandwich. Some places I go to for inspiration are Bentolunch (a community on LiveJournal), Just Bento, and Lunch in a Box.
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!