College Life: 5 Ways to Spend and Save Money

Photo by backonthebus

Among the many wonderful things you may learn in college, there’s one thing you may learn the hard way: money management. As a recent college graduate, there are many money saving tips I wish I'd known before heading to college.

College students have enough to worry about: Studying for tests, paying for tuition, making it to class on time and, of course, having fun. How and where you spend your money is probably the last thing on your mind. College is an expensive investment. There isn’t much you can do to control those expenses, but there are ways to control your personal spending. 

Check out these five tips to help reduce those costs and help you avoid eating Ramen noodles every day of the week. 

1. Track Your Spending
The best thing you can do is track exactly where your money goes. Make a list of all mandatory expenses, such as rent, utilities, school supplies and groceries. Once you know where your money is going, it's easier to establish a budget. Make sure you budget a bit for fun or you'll fall off your budget as easily as you'd fall off a diet. Just stick to your plan and form good spending habits early.

2. Avoid Credit Cards
Although having a credit card may sound like a good idea, don't be fooled. Credit cards are one of the biggest problem areas for college students. They may seem like free and easy money to a poor college kid, but the money you borrow must be paid back with a steep interest rate and hidden fees. Fortunately, recent federal legislation makes it far more difficult for students to obtain credit cards without an adult co-signer, but it's still possible to get into trouble. If you must get a card, make sure to sign up for one with a low interest rate that won't balloon after the introductory period. And make sure you pay the balance off every month.

3. Save, Save, Save! Then Splurge
If you’re really itching to buy that brand new iPod but just don’t have the funds, be smart and save up your pennies. Charging such extras to a credit card provides instant gratification, but then you’ll pay extra in interest every month. Why not save that extra money, wait, and get the iPod a month or two from now? 

4. Eat Cheap and Smart
Eating out may seem like less work than cooking at home, but you’ll have to work much harder to pay restaurant prices than for groceries. If you plan meals before you go to the store, you won’t buy things you don’t need. Doesn’t a $4 plate of spaghetti sound much tastier than a $10 plate from a restaurant, not to mention the price of a drink and tip.

5. Borrow or Buy Used Textbooks
This is one tip almost every college student has probably heard. We've all heard horror stories about the dreadful cost of books. If you can’t borrow text books, buy used from websites like Amazon.com, Half.com or CampusBooks.com. You also might consider buying the international edition. One of the best-kept secrets is that the international edition of a textbook will usually be significantly cheaper than the U.S. edition. When you’re done, sell them back online to other college bargain shoppers and get back much more than you would from the bookstore. This way, everyone wins.

 Author Tamera Muniz is a recent graduate of the University of Northern Colorado's Journalism Program. She has worked as an intern for The Greeley Tribune and the UNC Athletic Media Department. Tamera also studied in Barcelona, Spain with the Study Abroad Program.