Have you ever found yourself eating Cheerios for dinner while sitting in your dorm thinking about how you are going to pay your bills? Well, luckily, we have advice for saving money while you are in college.
Firstly, consider moving off campus. Oftentimes, colleges charge several hundreds of dollars more a month for you to live on campus than if you had your own place off campus. The benefit of living off campus is not just your immediate finances. You can also start benefiting your credit history by paying your rent on time each month.
Secondly, if you are considering going to graduate school, you don't need to spend tons of money on prep courses. Granted, for many students, the rigid structure of a class can help boost test scores. But quite often, students complain of the lack of preparation that these 'prep' classes really gave them. Talk about a waste of hundreds, even thousands of dollars! Instead, try going to Barnes & Noble or other book stores and buy a few books that have tests that were given in previous years. Sometimes taking a few practice tests is all you need to get ready.
If you are interested in a test prep course, we recommend Kaplan. They are affordable and you get the best bang for the buck (Visit Kaplan Recent Deals).
Thirdly, join various 'saver' programs that many supermarkets offer their customers. The vast majority of supermarkets have programs where you sign up for a free card and you can get great savings on many of the supermarket's items. For example, in college, I could oftentimes shave 33% off my bill by simply showing my supermarket card. Never pass up a chance to save money! Also, while at the supermarket, keep in mind that many products have cheaper, store branded substitutes. A classic example is milk. Simply spending an extra 5 seconds to look at the different brands of milk can save you several dollars. The funniest part is that the milk made by different brands are sometimes bottled by the exact same company or full of milk from the same farm. Don't be tricked by the brand name!
Finally, consider working for a company such has Tutor.com. You can earn good money by simply working from home to assist high school, middle school, and elementary school students in subjects such as math, English, and science. Companies such as Tutor.com are perfect for students in college: Flexible hours, a great resume builder, work from home, and the ability to multi-task by working on homework simultaneously. In fact, the founders of Cityslick.net helped pay their bills in college by working with Tutor.com
With these tips, you'll be saving money in no time!
