Tips for students

eat at home, don't buy coffee drinks or sodas, make your own coffee and drinks at home, a single container to carry your drink will more than pay itself back in savings

I suggest a strict budget which you will vow to stick to! I made one for my family and I listed all bills, necessities, entertainment etc, added up all the expenses over a year and divided by the amount of paydays over the year and I make sure that money is put aside each pay whether I use it then or not, that method works particularly well for bills and regular expenses. I try to allow for everything from groceries to entertainment. It works well if I’m diligent. It’s not a perfect world and things happen but for the most part my budget helps us a great deal to make ends meet. Also it’s worth avoiding fast food, takeaway coffees etc as they all add up to a lot if purchased on a regular basis; I find op shops great places too, there are great bargains to be enjoyed!

Tip #1: See if your school has a microwave and pack your lunch everyday. Tip #2: Bring snacks from home, so you don't put all your money into the vending machine. Tip #3: Don't buy a single use notebook. Get a five-subject notebook and use one section for every class. This is cheaper and a bigger object is harder to lose. Tip #4: If your campus allows vendors, avoid them unless you have a purpose like a birthday or X-Mas. Tip #5: Avoid money gouging credit card salesmen who try to get you to fill out credit card applications with free food or other prizes. Their only goal is to get you in debt.

what i would suggest is you eat as cheap as you can (there are cookbooks for students), visit the library for cheap or free entertainment (they have movies and other stuff!) and stay away from stores.

Try not to spend on everything you THINK you "need" but on what you know is a necessity. Pay yourself first, and trryyyy not to loan out too much to friends/family. Keep up with MyLot too, since that seems to be REALLY legit! Haha but that's just me coming back as a slight addict to MyLot. Hmm... money seems to be the main concern... maybe don't worry so much about FASION but keep presentable, care about yourself, but try to save the pampering for when there's less worry and less goals to be completed. Hope that helps. :D

Get a meal plan from the school, even if means getting into a little bit of debt for it. This will allow you to eat on campus, so you don't have to eat out or buy groceries as often. If the city you live in is near your school, consider BIKING to campus most days. You'll save bus fare/parking money as well as get a good workout! You can also sell your books back to the university (usually) when you are done with them for class, which puts a few extra bucks in your pocket. Besides that, I can't relaly think of anything! Good luck to you!

I don't have much of a social life, so there is some money saved there. LOL I am a bit of a geek who would rather study in a coffee shop, or spend a nice evening with my husband, than go out and party with friends. I suppose I have saved a lot of money that way. LOL

Romen noodles may be cheap, but don't live on them. Maybe it's just the U.S. students who seem to make them as a staple of their diet? Get online and sign up for free samples. You can get weeks worth of snacks, shampoo, and detergent if you sign up for enough of them.

Tip #1 is to avoid peer pressure. When I was in the uni my roommates all had spending money and they continually wanted me to go places with them and shop and eat out. My solution was to stay home and study, as I did not have money to waste on eating our or buying sodas or having the latest clothes. Even when the college dorm vending machine sold cold drinks for 10 cents I stayed in the room and studied and drank water instead. Every penny counted. I packed a lot of peanut butter sandwiches and took chunks of cheese to snack on between classes in order to avoid getting hungry and wanting to buy something when passing the cafeteria. Congrats on being in school and good luck with your studies. You can scrimp and safe now and will be able to afford to buy nice things when it is all over...lol. There IS life after the university.