Saving money is less of a daunting task than you might think. It may seem like an impossible feat at first, especially as a college student. You may think that there’s not enough time to save money, or that there’s not even enough money in the first place to save. But saving money is something everyone can do, even if you’re a broke college student.
There are hundreds of ways to save money, but just in case you need help getting your foot in the door, here is a small, basic list of tips that are among the most important when it comes to saving some extra cash.
Eliminate Fast Food
The first and most important tip is to stop blowing your money on fast food. Instead, try meal planning. It’s a great way to both save money and eat healthier.
You might think that as a college student, meal planning is too much of a time sink in your everyday schedule. Why spend hours on cooking and cleaning each week when you can be spending that time on homework?
But, meal planning doesn’t have to be time consuming. Just do a quick online search for easy prep meals. Even buying pre-packaged food from a grocery store is still a cheaper option than fast food. So next time when you’re planning a trip to the grocery store, make a list of meals for each day.
Bringing a lunch to school or work can also help you save money. As a person who spends my entire day at Kirkwood, packing a lunch has helped me save a lot of money. Packing a lunch also allows for healthier options versus the typical burger and fries from a fast food place.
Look for Grocery Store Sales
Taking full advantage of sales and coupons is another great way to save on groceries, clothes, and personal products. Many grocery stores have store-brand products that can be significantly cheaper than name brand products—such as Walmart’s “Great Value” or HyVee brand food, to name a few.
But if you don’t want to buy store-brand food, many stores often have sales or coupons for on-brand groceries or clothing. HyVee is a great example–while their prices alone can be higher, their hot deal coupons and sales are a phenomenal way to save money.
Hyvee frequently has coupons in their paper for meat on sale, which is both high quality and individually packaged, meaning you can freeze and keep it for long periods of time.
Kwik Star also frequently has deals on butter, bread, potatoes and other essential grocery items.
Finding these sales and coupons doesn’t need to be difficult—many places will mail you monthly coupons, including many fast food joints when you inevitably want to treat yourself.
There are apps available to help you find coupons and sales. Take some time and do some research, and next time you need to make trip to the grocery store, check to see if there are any deals. In the long run, it’ll save you money.
Cut unnecessary services
Do you really need four different streaming services and Spotify Premium? Sit down and ask yourself if you really use and need each different service. Look online for less-expensive or even free options. And if you really find that you’re missing your service, you can always re-subscribe.
Recently, I cut back on Spotify Premium, YouTube Premium, and multiple other streaming services. Instead, I use Musi, an app that plays YouTube videos with visual ads only. And if you don’t want ads–you can pay a single fee on Musi for no ads, forever.
Shop Secondhand
Consider whether a $60 jacket that you’re only going to wear once or twice is really worth it. Is there a cheaper option online or in a thrift store? There are Plato’s Closet and Stuff Etc. locations in both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. These stores not only have lower prices but often run sales as well.
There are hundreds of ways to save money. Some small, some big. But in the end, it all adds up.
Categories: Opinion
