18 Ways To Up Your Money-Saving Game If You're A College Student

The campus bookstore can really come in clutch when you’re on your way to your calculus midterm and your graphing calculator runs out of battery. Or, when you reaaally need a tampon or an ibuprofen and don’t have time to run back home to get one before your next class. But things often cost more here than they would at an off-campus store. Try to avoid having to make too many purchases at your school’s bookstore, unless you really have no other choice.

When you take out subsidized federal student loans, you won’t have to start making payments until after the six-month grace period post-graduation. After this period, your balance starts accruing interest and you’ll be expected to make monthly payments. But that doesn’t mean that you have to wait until you complete your degree before you start lowering that balance. If you’re working during school, consider using part of your income to start making payments. Even paying $50 per month to lower your balance can shorten the lifespan of the loan and save you money on interest charges.

If this is something you think can benefit you, reach out to your student loan servicer to lay out the steps to begin making payments. And if you have private student loans, reach out to your lender to see when your payments are supposed to start.

When you’re coughing up cash for school supplies, dorm items, food, clothes, and more, you can end up spending quite a bit. So it’s actually kinda nice to see a little bit of that money back in your pocket after using Rakuten (as I can attest). Personally, it’s my favorite shopping tool since they have hundreds of brands and retailers onboard who give cash back. Some percentages can be really unimpressive (1% cash back doesn’t really seem like much!), but there’s a wealth of retailers that offer much higher returns. And, the money adds up really quickly and gets paid out to you quarterly.

If your school’s dorms are open, living on campus can tack thousands of dollars onto your tuition bill. And when you’re attending a school that’s just too far from home, you pretty much have no other choice. But depending on your city, renting a house or apartment off campus can work out to be more affordable (especially if you’re sharing with one or more people). You can split the rent, utilities, and grocery bills.

But before you decide to go apartment hunting, it’s a good idea to work out the costs yourself. Figure out how much it will cost to live on campus (don’t forget to add in your meal plan and any other extra costs), then figure out how much it would cost rent a place nearby (also consider transportation costs for getting to and from campus).

If you do decide to live off campus, you should know that your utility payments and other bills can actually help you build a healthy credit score. You can use your payments to try to increase your FICO credit score when you sign up for Experian. Basically, the free Boost feature connects your bank account and adds your consistent, on-time bill payment history for streaming subscriptions, phone, and utility bills to your credit report, which could help bump up your score a bit. FYI, the tool won’t be able to add these payments if they’re made through checks, cash, or Venmo.

As a student, you may find yourself living out of home for the first time and spending a ton of money on tech, appliances, clothing, wellness, and more. But knowing when to buy these products can help you save big. That’s where BeFrugal comes in. It’s a newsletter that sends you new discounts on a variety of items. I’ve often found cookware sets, clothing, bedding, shampoo and conditioner, shoes, and more at nearly half-price through this newsletter. It’s almost like clipping coupons, except you don’t have to spend a ton of time leafing through a bunch of circulars. BTW, BeFrugal also has a browser extension for finding cash back offers.

Student discounts are lurking almost everywhere — but it can be almost impossible to track them all down! But that’s where UniDays comes in handy. It’s basically a hub featuring student discounts from brands, retailers, and services. Think Hulu, Adobe, Apple Music, HelloFresh, Zipcar, and more. They include brands across lifestyle, beauty, fashion, food, technology, sports, and media —you’ll just need your university email address to sign up.

One huge mistake I made as a student living on campus with a meal plan was constantly buying extra food to keep in my fridge. I loved cooking at home and thought that I’d love cooking one or two times a week at school, but this didn’t turn out to be the case. I was often too tired or too busy to gather all my ingredients and go down to the communal kitchen to make a full meal. It was usually easier to just buy food from the dining hall. I overestimated how often I’d cook meals at school and as a result, my groceries went bad quickly.

Of course, having some extra food on hand can be a good idea. For example, cans of your favorite soup or hearty microwaveable meals can help you avoid going out for food when you really don’t feel like it, or when your meal card balance is running low. You just have to strike the right personal balance, and avoid buying produce and other perishables that you won’t realistically use up in a short amount of time.

Some people take out additional loans for other lifestyle expenses — like furnishing an off-campus apartment or purchasing technology for school. While it may feel like you won’t have to deal with loan repayment for a loooong time, they can really sneak up on you once you graduate and you face being charged interest. So to limit the amount of debt you go into, avoid borrowing money for purchases that aren’t directly related to school. Find another way to finance that couch you really want for your apartment, or spring for that laptop when it goes on sale.

Since the pandemic hit, being able to get online is more important than ever. You need it to connect to your live Zoom classes, turn in online assignments, use your school’s online class portal, and more. But that doesn’t mean your Wi-Fi costs have to burn a hole in your wallet! Call up your internet service provider to try to negotiate a lower monthly bill. Prior to calling, do a little research to see the rates from competitors so you know what would be a reasonable ask. You might even find that your provider has some special deals for students, so it’s a good idea to ask about those too. Besides, service providers don’t want to risk losing a customer, so they might be willing to have a conversation with you about your bill.