For a college student, one of the top causes of stress is money management. With the ever-increasing costs of tuition and living expenses, it’s easy to get overwhelmed when checking your bank account balance. So here are some simple changes to implement and watch the money stack up.
First, identify where you spend your money. Do you spend money on coffee every day? What about lunch, do you ever bring it from home instead of buying it on campus? And then the big one, how much do you spend each week on extras like parties, movies and shopping? All of those add up quickly and can lead to a whole lot of buyer’s remorse.
When you really look at the cost of things, you may realize that small changes could save you enough money to buy that thing you’ve been saving for.
A cup of coffee, depending on the size and where you get it, could cost anywhere from $1.50 to $5. Even if you buy the $1.50 version once a day, only on weekdays, it adds up to $30 a month.
Another thing that really adds up is the cost of movie tickets. Now, I want to see the new releases as much as anyone, but a ticket in the evening could cost you $9.50. An easy way to avoid this is to simply go earlier. Tickets before 6 p.m. are only $7.50, and saving $2 is nothing to sneer at.
There are also cost-cutting movie theaters that can save you money, like Cinema Saver in Endicott. Tickets are only $2 for students, and even though you may have to wait a little longer to see the new releases, it is well worth the wait to save $5.
Now, the one I haven’t addressed yet: parties. It’s an understandably large part of the college social scene, but with cover charges and overpriced drinks at the bars, it may be financially beneficial to limit the boozing. I’m not saying don’t go. By all means, go out and have fun, but maybe limit partying to once in a while, or once a week for you die-hard party people.
With the price of cabs, drinks and covers it can cost upwards of $40 for a night on the town.
Of course, there are other ways to save money. Some of them include buying used books or using the library, price-shopping expensive items and avoiding vending machines. Some of my personal favorites include using Amazon when I want to buy movies or books and bringing a water bottle instead of buying one.
With just a few months of budgeting and careful spending, it’s amazing how much money you can save for the really good stuff, like vacations, or for me, maybe a motorcycle.