College Students can Save Big in Small Ways

When it comes to saving money, every little bit counts. Even the least budget savvy students can make their income, student loan or funds from parents last longer using these simple ideas for saving money in college:

-Take advantage of student discounts. Companies which offer discounts to students on goods and services do not always advertise that they do so. By showing a valid student ID, students can get discounts on movie theater tickets, computer software, airfare, food at restaurants, the list goes on. Student discounts are particularly common in areas near colleges, so make sure to ask whether student discounts are offered at the establishments you frequently patronize.

-Anticipate your needs and minimize shopping trips. Though drug stores offer many common household items as well as groceries, their convenience comes at a hefty markup. If you wait until you run out of paper towels and toothpaste to purchase more, you will likely end up at the nearest convenience or drug store paying top dollar for the items you need, not to mention picking up your favorite overpriced snacks in the process. This habit can diminish funds fast. Keep a running list of items you are almost out of on your refrigerator, for instance, and make one trip to a reasonably priced grocery or discount store to purchase everything on the list. Not only will you pay less for the items on your list, you will avoid the trap of making multiple trips to the store and wasting money picking up extra items on each visit.

-Treat yourself with a tradeoff. Spending your money wisely does not mean you have to give up every indulgence. Make sacrifices that will allow you to save up for a splurge. For instance, cut back on the number of meals you eat at restaurants for a designated time period, and use the money you save to treat yourself to something you cannot usually afford. Regardless of whether you splurge on clothes, a steak dinner or a video game, choose wisely and consider your indulgence a reward for having the self control to save money. You may just discover the inspiration to save money more often!

-Make every cent count. Start a coin jar, and drop all of your loose change into it as often as possible. Modern coin machines have eliminated the need to spend countless hours rolling coins in order to cash in your pennies. Coin machines allow you to trade in coins for their cash value minus a service fee (usually a percentage of the total), though many stores providing access to coin machines will give full credit if you redeem it in the store. Using a coin jar allows you to save money without much thought, and regular contributions can add up fast.

Saving even a small amount of money can be extremely rewarding, and even more so if you can manage to contribute to a savings account. College students are often under the assumption that their money problems will magically be solved once they graduate and get that assured high paying job. Ask any recent college graduate, and you will likely hear that this couldn’t be further from the truth. Many entry level positions are unglamorous to say the least, and marginally sufficient to pay the bills at best. Developing good money saving habits in college will benefit students throughout their collegiate career and beyond.

About the Author: Edmund Rogers, a graduate student in English, is the editor for iStudentLoan.com, a student loan and student loan consolidation provider which also supplies a free online resource for learning about and applying for a student loan. For more information, please visit http://www.iStudentLoan.com