I kid you not. Saving money is one of the hardest task. In fact, I would say that it’s harder than making money. Or else why else would millionaires and billionaires lose all their money? I read somewhere that staying rich is harder than becoming rich, and it’s absolutely true….
Most college students only have so much money. Sadly, our colleges don’t teach use how to save money and survive a financial recession. You either learn from your parents or learn the hard way. Hence, in this post I’ll list down the 10 super-simple ways you can save money as a college student. You can trust this list because it’s based on my personal experience…
Are you ready? Let’s dive in then…
(1) Borrow Books
Visit any college and you’ll find a library. I’m sure your college too has one. Books are expensive, and someone who has a tight budget might surely feel the pain. So, what can you do? Rely on your friend? I won’t recommend that! Don’t rely on anyone… Either buy used textbooks or borrow from your college library.
Unless it’s a book that you’ll need even after completing college, don’t buy it. You’ll only be wasting your or your parent’s money on a 500-page textbook. On the other hand, borrowing from your college library will not only help you save A LOT of money, but also you won’t have to think about selling it to someone in the future.
The third option is digital eBooks. digital eBooks are way more affordable than a hardcopy or a paperback. The contents are same, in digital format. In all the years of my college days I only bought three books. Though I never used any of the books after graduation, they still are with me today… Maybe it’s time to get rid of them, or I’ll donate to my college.
(2) Read Finance Books
For some reason I’m always interested in reading books related to money. No matter whether it’s about earning money, saving money, or investing money, I love reading books related to money. I have written a dedicated post on the 15+ best personal finance books. Trust me, if you can read and digest even five among the 15+ you’ll become better at money management than everyone around you.
Reading these books will fill you up with confidence and encourage you to save more money. Above all, books like The Psychology of Money will open your eye about the secrets of earning money, saving money, and investing money. The more your read about what experts have a say about finance, the more you’ll be open for a change and growth. At least I have felt a drastic change after I read books.
(3) Learn Budgeting
THIS. Please learn budgeting. I cannot explain in words about how important following a budget is. I’m serious with this one! Creating a budgeting is not an easy task though. To create a budget you’ll have to note down each and every financial transaction. Even a dollar matters.
If you read the finance books I recommended you in the previous section, you’ll automatically know why budgeting is important. Why, even multi-billion dollar companies follow a strict budget that helps them survive any ongoing or future financial vicissitude. Track your income and expenses with apps like YNAB and Monarch Money. Few years ago Mint was one of the most reputed budgeting and financial expense tracker, but YNAB has far outpaced it.
Use everything under your power to create and follow a strict budget. I can ensure you that if you follow a budget diligently, you’ll start seeing positive results within a month. You’ll become more disciplined with money, and this simple habit will pay you positive dividends for you entire life.
(4) Cook At Home
This is hard for a college student, especially for the one who stays away from home. But, if you CAN, please cook at home. I know it’s easier to eat out because it saves you time, but if saving money is your priority, then you should try to balance time and cook at home.
Cooking at home at bulk not only saves you money but also gives you proper nutrition. Something that outside food provide you. Because most outside foods are unhealthy and should only be eaten in emergency. I was fortunate enough to get home cooked food, so I only had to eat outside in emergency situations. If you’re still pressed of time, it’s best if you cook food in large quantities and freeze it.
Eating frozen food is still better than eating out. At least you’ll get enough nutrition, and will also keep yourself safe from bad oils and fats…
(5) Utilize Student Discounts
Retailers offer discounts with a valid student ID. Though I don’t know whether every retailer do this, but student discount is pretty much common with software services. Nearly every software service I use today has a separate option for students. The services are either dirt cheap or completely free. Grammarly, for example, is one great software that is free for students.
Funny enough, you can also use your student ID to get a massive discount on Amazon Prime. I don’t know whether the offer will be available when you read this, but as of writing this Amazon Prime has some insane discount for students with a valid ID.
Utilize your power as a student and extract any discount you can. The good thing is that you won’t be charged after you graduate, but you’ll get an option to convert to a paid user. Unfortunately, I wasn’t mature enough to extract any discount during my college days, so all that liberty of being a student went in vain.
(6) Use Public Transportation
The sole purpose of using public transportation is to save money and have good convenience. In most countries public transportation is the largest people carrier from one location to other. Hence, now that your primary motive is to save money, why don’t you use public transportation?
I know having your own car is always better because it gives you freedom, but now that your primary motive is to save money won’t it be better if you start saving money by using public transportation? Why, since you’re a college student, you might also get student discount that will inevitably help you save money even more…
I spent my entire college life travelling in public transport because we weren’t wealthy enough to have a car. And I can say this with 100% confidence that I never reached college after the bell rang. Affordable, good timing, and even more cheaper for college students.
(7) Sell Unused Items
Do you know decluttering items can also earn you extra cash from items you no longer need? I have learned his from my mom, and my mom learned this from my grandpa. My grandpa was quite religious. He used to say that decluttering the home and making money out of unused items is a way of welcoming God in our lives…
You may not be religious, and you may not be living in your home, but you still might have something you don’t use anymore. It could be a measly $10 item. If you can sell even that and make some money, that’s equivalent to saving some money.
Above all, decluttering also helps clear your mind for some unknown reason… I have personally experienced this many times. After I clean my room and see everything is in place, I get an instant sense of satisfaction and encouragement. You won’t know until you try it yourself…
(8) Only Use Secured Credit Card
Trust me, not everyone is good with money. In fact, I would say that I have met only a handful people who are actually good with money. Non of them are college students though. Most of these people I’m talked about has experienced severe financial crisis at least once in their life. And, it’s sometimes directly or indirectly connected to credit cards.
Does that mean I’m stopping you to use credit cards? No! In fact, developing a habit of using a credit card teaches you the value of money. The only thing I’m recommending you is to use a secured credit card, and not an unsecured credit card.
A secured credit card not only saves you from overspending, but also gradually improves your credit score. Which is super important. If you’re interested in credit cards, just search on good best secured credit cards, and you’ll get more than enough options.
(9) DIY Laundry
Wash clothes yourself instead of using expensive laundry services. It’ll save money more than enough for a good pocket money. In fact, it’s not hard to do laundry. Yes, you might not have a habit to clean clothes, but learning something new is always a good idea.
If you’re new to laundry, I’ll recommend you to do it one step at a time. To avoid burn out and laziness creep in clean only a few clothes everyday. Don’t force yourself because sometimes doing laundry is not easy, especially if your college has strict regulations (I know because my college had this BS regulations).
You can find several videos on YouTube about doing personal laundry. I have watched some videos while writing this post so I know that the videos are pretty good. You don’t have to think too much, just follow the steps in the video and you’ll good to go. And above all, you’ll also end-up saving pretty good if you carry this habit forward.
(10) Get a Student Job
Finally, nothing is better than having more money. With more money you can spend more and save more… You get more opportunities and the list goes on. But how can you make money as a college student? You probably won’t get a permanent job, but you sure would get a side hustle. And, that’s exactly what most college students do for extra pocket money.
This trend of students working for pocket is mostly common in the US and Japan. I don’t know how accurate this is but in Japan even school students can work part time jobs and earn pocket money. Pretty cool right? In the US too, college students work at places like grocery stores, restaurants, etc., for pocket money.
I don’t exactly remember where I read this but few years ago I read a community post on Facebook about a guy who made $1,500 every week from side hustles. The $1,500 per week income convinced him to convert his side hustle into a full fledged small business. So, if you’re interested here are some side hustles you can try…
