by Jackson Bogen
One of the biggest aspects of financial literacy is knowing how to save and spend your money wisely. The better you start understanding the concept at a young age the better. There are many ways/hacks for students to save money in any schooling system whether it be college, high-school, or even middle school. This blog will provide three overlooked strategies for saving money as a student. Note that each student's circumstances can be different and this guide isn’t necessarily for everyone.
Don’t buy any unnecessary school supplies.
We’ve all done it, bought the textbook in the beginning of the year to never actually open a single page of it. Before taking a class, see if you can speak to a former student who has taken the class already and ask about how much the textbook is used. If it isn’t used very much try waiting a couple of days into the course to see if you really need it, if you don’t, congratulations you just saved yourself a ton of money. Furthermore, online textbooks are becoming more and more common and are usually cheaper than a hard copy; sometimes they are even free. Try finding the textbook online if possible for free. If not, buy an online version.
In a covid world we learned the importance and usefulness of our laptops. So perhaps it isn’t a financially smart decision to go overboard anymore on school supplies. This includes notebooks, cool pens, binders, and paper. If you find yourself not using your tangible school supplies, just don’t buy them anymore.
#2 Drink water!!
Ok yes, a good morning coffee in the morning is a necessity to a lot of people, but perhaps it might be worth it to try water instead. I'm serious, all of those morning coffees really add up, and it might be a good idea to put that money elsewhere. If that’s not possible, bring a reusable water bottle to school everyday and fill it up whenever you can. You’ll end up saving a ton of money if you stay away from: sports drinks, coffee, or bottled water. Water from a water fountain is really all you need.
#3 Eat the school lunch
Maybe the school lunch isn’t the best in the world sometimes but everything tastes better free( or really really cheap). Going out to eat everyday is very expensive and if you are on a budget you should really consider free food options if it is given to you. All of those meals add up overtime as well. So try the school lunch, it really isn’t that bad.